Why Parchment Paper Is The Secret Hack To Becoming A Cake Decorating Pro

Nearly every baker wants their cake decorations to turn out neat, clean, and beautiful, but sometimes it feels all too easy to end up with messy icing designs that leave you feeling like you just committed a crime against cake. Getting beautiful cake decorating down to a science takes hard work and practice, but you can make it easier with one simple hack.

This cake decorating hack will transform the appearance of your icing from "rookie" to "professional." All you'll need is a tool you likely already have in your kitchen if you bake regularly: parchment paper. Parchment paper can help in many different stages of the cake-making process, but it's especially useful when it comes to decorating cake. You just need to pair that multi-use parchment paper with a bit of frozen buttercream frosting, and you'll end up with those beautiful cake designs that look like they came straight from your favorite celebrity baker.

One of the best skills to master as an up-and-coming baker is a buttercream transfer. This process will ensure that the designs you create end up on your cake and look more stunning than ever before.

This is where parchment paper becomes an essential tool for this brilliant cake hack. To perform a buttercream transfer, sketch the cake design you want on parchment paper. Once you've finished your sketch, use buttercream to "fill in" the design you made on the parchment paper. Make sure to pop your buttercream design in the freezer after you've placed it on the parchment paper — and leave it to freeze until it feels firm. Then, carefully press the parchment paper, buttercream side down, onto the cake where you want the design to be.

With this trick, you'll no longer have to worry about trying to recreate your sketch from a visual alone, and you'll also ensure that it ends up securely on your cake. The best part? You can do this with any type of design — even tracing a photo onto parchment paper and filling it in with the buttercream works beautifully. Your cake will look neater than ever, and everyone will want to know your secret for making such pretty cake décor.

Parchment paper is especially useful in cake decorating — and not just when you're transferring buttercream designs. Barefoot Contessa Ina Garten has another parchment paper hack to make less of a mess on your cake. 

This hack starts right after your cake cools but before you frost it. After setting your cake on a cake stand, cut parchment paper into triangles and slide each paper triangle under the cake. Make sure that the triangles overlap and that you can reach them so that you can pull them back out after you're done decorating. 

When you frost your cake, the edges will be completely pristine, and you'll also avoid the awkward mess of trying to hoist an already-frosted cake onto your cake stand for display. When you make use of the parchment paper in your kitchen, you'll not only have the cleanest cake edges, but you'll also be able to easily transfer beautiful designs to your cake like the star baker you aspire to be.