Save Ugly Store-Bought Cakes With This Simple Decorating Tip

There isn't always time and/or money to pre-order a beautifully decorated cake for a special occasion. Sometimes we have to work with what's available in the store to grab-and-go — which isn't always the prettiest selection. Luckily, there's a super simple yet effective tip that will save your unappealing store-bought cake. 

Anna Gordon, founder and co-owner of The Good Batch Bakery in Brooklyn, New York, told Chowhound that you can easily upgrade a plain cake by adding flowers or piping on some additional decorations. "To redecorate a cake, you could always scrape off the frosting and trying your own finishing, but that is a bit risky," the professional baker says. Save yourself the time and frustration of having to redo the entire frosting and add onto the cake instead. 

Whether you're trying to spruce up a Costco sheet cake or want to match a theme for a birthday party, shower, graduation, or holiday, piping on some more decorations is a fun, creative (not to mention tasty) way take your cake from boring to beautiful.

To make piping flowers and other designs on your cake a breeze, consider using reusable piping tools that are easy to clean like the Kasmoire Reusable Piping Bags and Tips Set or the Wilton Dessert Plus Decorating And Cake Icing Tool. After loading up your piping bag with a tasty homemade buttercream frosting (most types of buttercream work well for piping), pipe a border around your cake or add to the border that's already there. Bear in mind, if you pipe store-bought frosting, you'll want to follow one extra step first. 

Don't be afraid to load up the frosting to give your cake some dimension. As Anna Gordon says, "Most of the time less is more, but sometimes more is more!" Using a star tip, you can pipe a star border by simply squeezing the piping bag and moving it slowly around the cake. 

Rosettes are a beginner-friendly floral decoration for cakes and are also traditionally made using a star tip. You start by squeezing a star onto the cake, then, without lifting the tip, squeeze a circle around the star. The result is a beautiful flower decoration that resembles a rose. Pipe rosettes around the cake to make a border or in random spots to fill in blank spaces. 

There are other creative ways to add decorations on cake. Try the prettiest way to decorate your cake with just a spoon and a bag or the lace hack for easy, yet impressive cake, decorations.