As a self-taught baker, I’ve done a fair share of experimenting with different baking tools. Whether you’re just starting out or having been baking for awhile, my top 10 baking essentials will help you step up your baking game!
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Equipment
1. OXO Good Grips Mixing Bowls
I absolutely love these OXO mixing bowls! They’re sturdy, dishwasher safe, and have a grip on the bottom, which keeps them from sliding around on the counter while you’re mixing. As someone who doesn’t have a stand mixer, these bowls are a must!
2. Chicago Metallic Baking Sheets
These baking sheets are great for cookies (and other savory foods). They’re big enough to fit half a batch of cookies without overcrowding and the heavy metal makes helps insulate the cookies and cook evenly.
3. Wilton Muffin Pan & Cake Pans
I love Wilton cake pans. They’re quality, they don’t warp, and they consistently work well. They also offer a lot of different shaped pans, including the molds I used to make the Pooh Bear Hunny Pots and the Doom Buggies. I use their pans almost exclusively and have never had any issues!
4. Faberware Silicone Spatulas & Mini Spatulas
Silicone spatulas are a must! Faberware is my favorite brand for these as they are a good quality and stand up frequent use. Whether you’re stirring together dough, scraping batter into a cake pan, or transferring frosting to a piping bag, it is always easier with a silicone spatula. I especially like the ones that have silicone or plastic handles as they can go in the dishwasher.
I also love the mini spatulas. They’re perfect for stirring melted chocolate or candy melts, adding food coloring to small batches of frosting, or getting mixtures out of cans or jars.
I’m sure I’m in the minority of bakers, but I do not have a stand mixer and while I would love one, it’s not something that’s really feasible right now. If you’re like me, have no fear! Just about everything can be accomplished with a hand mixer. As it’s going to be used a lot, I recommend spending a little bit more to get a quality one. I really like my KitchenAid hand mixer, as it has a good amount of speed options and is able to hold it’s own against all of the batters and doughs I throw at it.
Cooling racks are so helpful! They provide the perfect place to let your baked goods adequately cool after coming out of the oven. I like these stackable ones as I have a smaller kitchen and they take up less space!
Decorating
7. Piping Bags & Piping Tips
If you’re interested in decorating cakes and cookies, you’ll need some piping bags and piping tips. Again, I really like the ones from Wilton. They work great for batter, frosting, and chocolate.
An offset spatula is a must have! It’s incredibly helpful for spreading batter in cake pans, spreading chocolate, frosting cookies and cakes, and so much more.
When coloring frosting or fondant, I definitely recommend using gel food coloring. Since it’s a gel, the color is more vibrant and you can use less of it. I have both Wilton and AmeriColor gel food coloring. I really like this set from AmeriColor as it has a lot of colors and the little squeeze bottles are easier to use.
Miscellaneous
10. Parchment Paper
I love parchment paper. I use it just about every time I bake as it’s the best way to make sure your cakes and cookies don’t stick to the pans. I’ve used a variety of parchment paper, including Reynolds and Wilton but I like the Reynolds brand because it’s less expensive and works just as well!