WARNING: There is one important thing that you need to keep in mind when choosing how to decorate your cake.  What is the material made of?  You do not want to poison your guest, so keep this in mind.  For example, if you use any kind or ribbon or fabric then you need to make certain that the dye used to color the material is non-toxic.  Floral cake tubes should also be used to insert flowers or other items into your cake.

•    Use fresh flowers, large flowers can cover up icing mistakes.  The flowers should be non-poisonous and preferable edible.  (http://whatscookingamerica.net/EdibleFlowers/EdibleFlowersMain.htm)

•    Use silk flowers, fall leaves, or ivy and drape them down your cake.

•    Flowers made of gum paste or buttercream frosting can be purchased at many bakeries.  They are just as easy to use as silk flowers and are always edible; this should be used if you want a specific flower that is poisonous or not edible to be placed on your cake

•    Fresh fruit can be beautiful touch to any cake, with bright colors and a wonderful flavor.  Sliced lemons, frosted grapes, raspberries, or even chocolate dipped strawberries would be excellent choices. 

o    To give the frosted look to you fruit beat 2 egg whites until frothy, but not peaking.  Add 2 drops of vodka to the egg whites.  Brush mixture onto the fruit and then sprinkle with superfine granulated sugar.  You should use powered egg whites if you are concerned about salmonella.  Allow fruit to dry before placing them on the cake.  This method can also be used on fresh flowers.

•    Fake fruit is bright and weighs much less than the real thing, so you will not have problems with it sinking into your cake.  Remember to use non-toxic fruit.

•    Attractive candy can also be used to decorate your cake.  They make beautiful candy bee-bees and silver candy coated almonds that would be beautiful and very easy.  You can stencil a design and place the bee-bees along it or just use free-hand and create a border.  Rock candy could be used to make beautiful diamonds on top of the cake.  Seasonal candy like crushed peppermints, miniature candy canes, and candy pumpkins could be used for seasonal weddings.

•    Chocolate covered pretzels make beautiful heart-shaped designs.

•    Slivered almonds or chopped nuts would look great on almost any cake.  Create a simple border and place the nuts on to.  You could also place the nuts on the sides of the cake when the icing is fresh.

•    By creating a high border on the top of the cake you can spoon canned cherry pie filling on top to make a delicious and vibrant red topping.

•    White chocolate shavings can be place into the icing to create a beautiful surface, and it does not have to be perfect, a beginner could do this.  Or use dark chocolate on a white frosting to add an even more interesting finish. 

o    To make chocolate curls allow a chocolate bar to sit in a warm place for about 15 minutes.  Place it on wax paper and use a vegetable peeler on the chocolate pulling towards you to make the curls.  Use a toothpick to handle the chocolate curls so that they do not melt. 

•    At most craft stores you can find edible metallic dust.  By using a clean brush and this dust you can add a shine or pearl finish to your cake.   You can also buy stencils and use the dust to apply these stencils to your cake.

•    If you like the look of a fondant cake you can purchase ready-to-use fondant and place it on your cake yourself.  This will take some practice and you might even consider taking cake decorating classes with your local cake shop or Wilton professional.  With a little practice you should be able to do this very easily.  You might even consider adding some texture to your cake by using fondant cutouts, textured rolling pins, or molded mats to roll you fondant on.

•    If learning to work with fondant seems to problematic for you using real sheets of fabric might be a better option.  If you choose this option you need to make sure that the fabric has not been dyed with a toxic dye.  You will also want to clean the fabric before placing it on your cake.  Just like fondant you will need a coat of icing underneath the fabric layer, so that when you take the fabric off to cut the cake it will still be an iced cake.

•    Use real ribbon or strands of fake pearls, to add color and a beautiful finish to a plain cake.  The ribbon can be secured with a small amount of piping gel.  To cover up the seam end of the ribbon you can use large flowers, buttons, broaches, or costume jewelry.

•    You could also decorate the cake with costume jewelry, large decorative buttons, or rhinestones.  Just make sure that your guests do not eat them and that they are made of a safe material to be placed on your cake.

•    If you like the large bow look, you can buy real ribbon bows that are already made and just set them on your cake yourself without much effort and you’re done.

•    Flexible colored wiring can be bent into many shapes and stuck into you cake so that the shapes come out of it.  You can bend it into spirals, springs, hearts, flowers, or anything that matches your theme.  Make sure the wire is safe for your cake, before placing it into the cake.  You also want to make sure that the wire is completely covered so that it does not rust while inside of your cake.

•    Real or fake twigs could also be stuck into the cake to create an interesting design, just make sure that the twig is not poisonous and can be stuck into your cake.

•    Use toys or decorative plastic pieces to show a fun whimsical touch to the cake.  Some examples of what you might like to use would be plastic snowflake, Halloween ghosts, miniature champagne flutes, toy trackers, or sports logos.

•    Metallic fabric cording could also be placed on your cake to create a border or scalloped edge.

•    Using floral cake tubes you can place feathers into your cake.  You do not want to place them directly into your cake because they are not sanitized and the dye may not be safe for your guests.

•    A simple cake placed on a beautiful stand or table will be dressed up enough.  Try decorating around the cake with, rose petals, mess, silk, glass beads, candles, twinkle lights, mirrors, fake snow, feathers, or small bud vases.


Planning your cake out in advance will allow you to shop around and find the best prices.  Purchasing items at clearance sales or end of season sales can help lower the cost.  Planning ahead will also give you the opportunity to practice making your cake in advance so that if you come across a problem you can find away around it without panicking at the last minute.