Best Cake Decorating Classes Near Me: Find In-Person & Virtual Training

Learn More About Cake Decorating Courses

What is Cake Decorating?

From traditional wedding cakes to trendy gender reveal cakes—not to mention creative, highly personalized birthday cakes—cake decorating is an integral part of celebrating birthdays and other special occasions throughout the U.S. and much of the Western world today. Cake decorating is the art and craft of embellishing cakes of various shapes and sizes, and many make their living creating cakes for weddings, birthdays, and other events or by teaching cake decorating classes. These classes are popular with aspiring professionals but also with amateurs as well, as cake decorating is a fun and delicious creative outlet that many of various demographics enjoy. While cake decorating can involve a wide range of toppings, such as sprinkles, chocolate, candy, fruit, and even flowers, most classes focus primarily on skills involved in assembling and decorating a cake with icing or fondant. Cake decorating students will learn how to make and work with various icing types, create crumb coats, all about icing textures, and use piping techniques to create impressive flowers, leaves, and borders.

The typical styles of cake decorating seen today originated in the 19th century with the introduction of baking powder and temperature-controlled ovens. These and other Victorian innovations at the time made baking consistently tender-crumbed cakes with a variety of creative ingredients possible for the first time in history. Carefully iced cakes with beautifully intricate piped designs first appeared in France in the1840s, though it wasn’t until the founding of Wilton’s School of Cake Decorating in 1929 that cake decorating as we know it in the 21st century became popular as a profession and in the home kitchens of the U.S. Today, cake decorating classes are more widely available than ever, with many baking schools offering professional courses for aspiring cake decorators as well as fun, relaxed options that double as social events.

Why Learn Cake Decorating?

Whether a person wants to learn how to decorate cakes for personal or professional reasons, they’ll find participating in a cake-decorating class and learning the skill offers numerous benefits.

Personal Benefits of Learning Cake Decorating

Bond with Loved Ones: Cake decorating can be a fun, communal activity, so many casual classes are designed as social events that can function as date nights or places to make new friends. Meanwhile, home bakers can continue to bond with loved ones over the years as they create memorable desserts for birthdays, holidays, and special occasions.
Create Cost-Effective Celebratory Desserts: Learning cake decorating skills allows an individual to create beautiful, personalized cakes for various events at a fraction of the cost of purchasing from specialty bakeries. This can be especially beneficial for frequent celebrations or large gatherings.
Enjoy Culinary Creativity: Cake decorating skills allow bakers—professional and home alike—to express their creativity in the kitchen. From experimenting with different types of buttercream, fondant designs, and edible decorations to trying out unique fillings and flavor combinations, cake decorating encourages innovation and artistic expression.
Deepen Appreciation for Pastry Arts: For those interested in exploring different aspects of baking or learning more about pastry arts, learning cake decorating can deepen their appreciation and understanding of this culinary field. Attending cake decorating classes provides learners with insight into various techniques, the importance of color theory and design in food presentation, and the cultural significance of decorated cakes in different traditions.

Professional Benefits of Learning Cake Decorating

Develop Marketable Skills: Cake decorating is a highly regarded skill in the culinary world. Aspiring bakers and pastry chefs can enhance their resumes by mastering cake decorating techniques, which are in demand in many bakeries, pastry shops, and restaurants globally.
Create a Professional Network: Cake decorating classes often provide opportunities to connect with fellow culinary enthusiasts and professionals. These connections can lead to valuable networking opportunities within the baking and pastry industry.
Career Opportunities: Skilled cake decorators are in high demand today as bakeries around the world work hard to meet the constant demand for quality wedding cakes, gender reveal cakes, and birthday cakes. Learning cake decorating can open doors to various career paths, including becoming a baker or a pastry chef.
Build Potential for Entrepreneurship: The skills acquired in cake decorating classes can be the foundation for entrepreneurial ventures, such as opening a bakery or offering cake decorating workshops. Understanding the intricacies of working with buttercream and fondant to create beautifully detailed cakes can lead to further skill development in cupcake, cookie, and pastry baking and decoration for those interested in becoming well-rounded bakers or pastry chefs.

What You’ll Learn in a Cake Decorating Class?

Cake decorating classes generally fall into broad categories: casual and professional. While the approach and depth differ, both cover similar core topics. Professional classes may include additional subjects like food safety in commercial kitchens and business skills for aspiring bakery owners. They also typically explore theoretical and historical aspects of cake decorating considerably more deeply than their more casual counterparts. However, learners can count on both classes to provide instruction on essential technical skills for creating beautifully decorated cakes, whether with buttercream, fondant, chocolate, fruit, or other toppings.

Cake Preparation and Icing Techniques

The foundational skills of cake decorating are proper cake preparation and basic icing techniques. Students learn about different cake textures and flavors, from dense, crumbly chocolate cakes to light, vanilla sponges, and how these affect the decorating process. Classes often cover the essential skill of creating a crumb coat—a thin layer of icing that traps crumbs and provides a smooth base for the final layers. Participants also practice various icing techniques, which may include perfectly smooth buttercream finishes or textured effects ranging from homestyle swirls to quilted patterns.

Students also learn about different types of icings, their consistencies, and how to prepare them. This includes working with buttercream, fondant, and sometimes royal icing. Classes teach piping techniques, from basic borders to intricate lace patterns and a variety of flowers and leaves. Many courses also cover fondant work, including covering a cake smoothly with fondant and creating decorative fondant elements.

Design and Creative Skills

Both professional and casual cake decorating classes teach practical design principles and creative skills. While fun, relaxed classes usually focus on leading students through one or two specific cake designs, some will teach multiple piping techniques and provide various colors of icing so participants are able to get creative in personalizing their designs. However, professional classes can get very detailed in this area, supporting students through planning and sketching their cake designs and translating them into actual cakes. Professional cake decorating classes cover color theory, proportion, and balance in cake design, as well as traditional and modern decorating styles, from elegant wedding cakes to whimsical children’s birthday cakes.

Many courses include instruction on creating sugar flowers, figurines, and other edible decorations. Students learn to use various tools like modeling tools, cutters, and molds to develop impressive cake designs. Some classes may also cover more advanced techniques like airbrushing or hand-painting on cakes.

Advanced Techniques and Specialized Skills

Many cake decorating classes also cover advanced techniques and specialized skills for those looking to take their craft to the next level.

Sugar Work: Students learn to create delicate sugar sculptures, from simple flowers to intricate figurines. This involves working with heated sugar and mastering techniques like pulling, blowing, and casting.

Chocolate Work: Cake decorating classes may teach tempering chocolate, creating chocolate decorations, and even building chocolate structures for cake toppers.

Airbrushing: Some courses introduce airbrushing techniques to add depth, shading, and intricate designs to cakes using food-safe colors.

Sculpted Cakes: Advanced classes often cover the art of creating three-dimensional sculpted cakes, teaching students how to carve cakes and use various supports to create unique, sometimes even trompe l’oeil shapes.

Wedding Cake Design: Specialized courses focus on the intricacies of wedding cake design, including structural considerations, traditional and modern styles, and client communication.

Soft Skills

Beyond technical skills, cake decorating classes foster several soft skills that students can use in their professional careers as well as in their daily lives. Teamwork is often emphasized through group projects, helping students learn to collaborate effectively. Communication skills are honed as students learn to articulate their design ideas and discuss techniques with instructors and peers.

Problem-solving is another skill students develop in cake decorating classes as they learn to troubleshoot common issues like bulging fondant, melting buttercream, or collapsing structures. Time management is also key, as decorators often work under tight deadlines for events.

Finally, cake decorating classes also nurture creativity and attention to detail, skills that are valuable not just in baking but in many aspects of life and work. Whether a cake decorating student hopes to apply their new skills in the workplace or at home, they will develop the confidence in their creativity and technical skills to execute their visions with success.

How Long Will It Take to Learn Cake Decorating?

Mastering cake decorating is a journey that can vary in duration based on each learner’s specific goals, aptitude, and dedication. Basic techniques can be grasped in a few hours through introductory workshops, while comprehensive professional expertise may take months or even years of practice. Many institutions offer a spectrum of courses, from one-day classes teaching fundamental skills to comprehensive multi-week programs exploring advanced techniques. Introductory courses typically cover essential tools and basic design principles, providing a solid foundation for beginners. Advanced courses, on the other hand, delve into complex skills like sugar flower crafting and intricate piping work, catering to those with prior experience who want to continue to grow in their craft.

What are the Advantages of Taking a Cake Decorating Class?

Hands-On Learning with a Live Expert Instructor

Practical Experience: Live cake decorating classes offer students the chance to work in professional kitchen classrooms, creating icings, fondants, and sometimes even cake bases from scratch before assembling and decorating their final product. This hands-on learning experience is invaluable, with a live expert instructor guiding students through techniques and answering questions as they arise.
Real-Time Guidance: The real-time feedback of an experienced instructor is a must when learning something as nuanced and sensory as cake decorating. Understanding concepts like achieving the right consistency of buttercream, handling fondant properly, and mastering piping techniques can be challenging when learning independently but are quickly grasped with an instructor’s guidance.
Structured Learning: Live cake decorating classes follow proven curricula created by experienced pastry chefs. These curricula, a set schedule, and skilled instructors create a structured learning experience that ensures students master both theoretical knowledge and practical skills, avoiding knowledge gaps while keeping students focused.

Fun, Memorable Experiences to Share with Others

Unique Social Events: Many schools and studios advertise their cake decorating classes as fun social experiences, ideal for date nights or group activities. Participants can make memories and bond over a shared creative experience while learning practical skills they can use at home.
Make New Friends: Taking a cake decorating class turns learning into a fun outing to be enjoyed with old friends or new. Many form strong friendships in these classes, where students often form strong connections over shared interests in baking and pastry arts.
Professional Connections: Cake decorating classes can be valuable networking opportunities for aspiring bakers and pastry chefs. Students can build relationships with peers and experienced instructors, potentially leading to job opportunities or collaborations.

An Investment in Career and Personal Growth

Access to Resources: Live cake decorating classes are typically held in kitchen classrooms equipped with professional-grade tools and equipment. Students get to work with specialized cake decorating tools, airbrush systems, and other equipment they might not have access to at home.
Professional Opportunities: For aspiring bakers and pastry chefs, cake decorating classes provide educational experiences that can be listed on resumes to showcase commitment to professional growth. Some classes may offer certificates verifying the learners’ skills in cake decorating.
Lifelong Culinary Skills: Taking a cake decorating class equips individuals with practical skills they can use for years to come. Even a fun social class helps students learn how to create beautiful, personalized cakes for special occasions, bringing joy and building connections through shared celebratory moments.

Best Cake Decorating Classes

NY Cake Academy’s Cake Decorating 101 for Two

Award-winning NYC cake decorating school and supply shop NY Cake Academy offers a wide variety of classes for aspiring and current professionals, amateurs, and complete beginners looking for a fun activity to experience with a friend or a date. Their Cake Decorating 101 for Two falls in this latter category, with each ticket providing entry for two to this casual and relaxed class for ages 16 and older that meets in their location in the Flatiron District. In one two-hour-and-thirty-minute session, students will learn the foundational skills of cake decorating, including essential piping techniques like shells, stars, zig-zag, and rosettes. In the hands-on section of the class, students will create their own textured buttercream cake using their new skills, including creating a crumb coat, working with American Buttercream, and various piping techniques using multiple piping tips. All supplies are included in the cost of enrollment.

NY Cake Academy’s Buttercream Essentials Certificate Series

NY Cake Academy also offers a comprehensive five-session Buttercream Essentials Certificate Series. Aspiring professionals and passionate amateurs are equally welcome in this thorough exploration of buttercream as a tool for cake assembly as well as for decorating. Students will learn about different types of buttercream, the full spectrum of piping tips, spatulas, cake combs, and palette knives. Sessions include Piping Principles, Horizontal Cake Textures, Drop Flower Secrets, Palette Knife Art, and Buttercream Flowers. Supplies are included, and students should wear closed-toe shoes and tie back long hair to prepare to work in this professional kitchen.

SugarRoom’s Tiered Cake, Leveling, Filling, Crumb Coat and Icing

Cake design studio SugarRoom provides baking and decorating classes in their cake supply store in Long Island City. Their Tiered Cake, Leveling, Filling, Crumb Coat, and Icing Techniques class is for intermediate cake decorating students ages 16 and older. During the four-hour session, students will learn how to construct, fill, and ice impressive tiered cakes suitable for weddings, anniversaries, milestone birthdays, and other special occasions. Prerequisites include knowledge of piping and spatula techniques, and all tools are provided. Students will have the chance to assemble and ice their own two-tiered cake to take home and enjoy with family and friends.

Chicago Botanic Garden’s Hands-on Baking: Cake Decorating

The Chicago Botanic Garden provides a variety of gardening, crafts, exercise, and other lifestyle-enriching classes at their living museum and conservation science center in Glencoe. All levels of experience, ages 18 and up, are welcome to enjoy their Hands-on Baking: Cake Decorating class. In one two-hour session, students will learn how to use piping bags, icing tips, turntables, and offset spatulas to build and decorate cupcakes and cakes. All supplies are provided, though participants should bring their own containers for bringing their decorated chocolate buttermilk cake home. By the end of the class, students will be comfortable assembling, icing, and decorating a cake from scratch on their own.

Cakery by Syd’s Basic ButterScream: Chemistry, Baking, and Decorating

Baking supply shop and training center Cakery by Syd offers a wide menu of cake and cookie classes, with many featuring seasonal themes. Los Angeles-based students can attend their Basic ButterScream: Chemistry, Baking, and Decorating class at their shop in Glendora. This beginner-friendly Halloween-themed class meets over three sessions, so students have ample time to master icing and piping techniques, including roses and borders. The class begins with a deep dive into the science and art of baking a cake before moving on to lessons on decorating skills. Ages 13 and up are welcome to attend this thorough cake-baking and decorating class, which will leave students confident in creating their own original cake designs by the end of the course.

Pans on Fire’s Cake Decorating Series

Pans on Fire is a retail kitchenware store that hosts public cooking classes for adults, teens, and kids at their location in Pleasanton. San Francisco Bay Area residents can attend any of their Cake Decorating Series classes, which are offered periodically for students of all ages. Students under ten must be accompanied by a paying adult. All levels of experience will enjoy these classes, where participants will decorate a six-inch vanilla cake following the guidance of an expert instructor. All students should make plans for taking their cakes home and can anticipate receiving a recipe packet in their email following class.

Live Online Cake Decorating Classes

Live online cake decorating classes allow individuals, families, and friends to learn how to decorate cakes from the comfort of their own kitchens. While YouTube videos and on-demand classes can guide learners through the basics, live online courses can turn learning recipes and techniques into exciting, memorable date nights or parties with friends.

These classes allow learners to work with the equipment and appliances they already own and know well as they interact with a live expert chef instructor. Being able to ask questions and receive feedback in real-time allows students to avoid common pitfalls and navigate the challenges unique to cake decorating, including many that are highly sensory and easily understood with the help of an experienced mentor. Buttercream texture, crumb coats, rosette techniques, and other aspects of cake decorating can be challenging to master on one’s own but become a fun, memorable evening with a live instructor and possibly a date, family member, or a few friends.

In fact, learning to decorate cakes is such a fun experience that it lends itself well to both in-person and online group classes. NYC-based Taste Buds Kitchen and other reputable cooking and baking schools offer live online cake decorating classes that can be found on Noble’s Classes Near Me tool. Classes may range from date night classes to professional fondant-focused courses to virtual cooking camps for kids, like Taste Buds Kitchen’s Cupcakes & Cookies Camp. Meanwhile, online group events like Virtual Colossal Cookie Deluxe Cookie Decorating (Kit Included) are an excellent opportunity for online corporate team-building, virtual family reunions, and bonding with other groups who may enjoy learning to create rosettes and write with icing.

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Top Certificate Programs

Top Certificate Programs

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Top Certificate Programs

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NY Cake Academy Cake Decorating 101

NY Cake Academy Cake Decorating 101 for Two

NY Cake Academy Geode Cake

Learn More About Cake Decorating Courses

What is Cake Decorating?

Why Learn Cake Decorating?

Personal Benefits of Learning Cake Decorating

Professional Benefits of Learning Cake Decorating

What You’ll Learn in a Cake Decorating Class?

Cake Preparation and Icing Techniques

Design and Creative Skills

Advanced Techniques and Specialized Skills

Soft Skills

How Long Will It Take to Learn Cake Decorating?

What are the Advantages of Taking a Cake Decorating Class?

Hands-On Learning with a Live Expert Instructor

Fun, Memorable Experiences to Share with Others

An Investment in Career and Personal Growth

Best Cake Decorating Classes

NY Cake Academy’s Cake Decorating 101 for Two

NY Cake Academy’s Buttercream Essentials Certificate Series

SugarRoom’s Tiered Cake, Leveling, Filling, Crumb Coat and Icing

Chicago Botanic Garden’s Hands-on Baking: Cake Decorating

Cakery by Syd’s Basic ButterScream: Chemistry, Baking, and Decorating

Pans on Fire’s Cake Decorating Series

Live Online Cake Decorating Classes

Cake Decorating Corporate & Onsite Training Noble Desktop

Cake Decorating Training Map & Top Locations

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