Cake Decorating - Step by Step

make your own cake like a professional

Half the fun of making a homemade cake recipe is getting creative with the decorations. After the cakes themselves are baked and stacked, you get to let your inner artist go wild, crafting flowers, figurines, and other decorations out of fondant or other smart materials. And when you get it right, nothing beats the look on everyone's faces when you reveal the creation—possibly to the tune of "Happy Birthday" as everyone oohs and aahs.

But whether you're looking for a homemade birthday cake idea, putting together treats for a holiday party, bringing dessert to a potluck, or simply want to spend a little time making something extra beautiful this weekend, we want to help you turn your next dessert into a treat worthy of a celebration. That's why we're highlighting some of our favorite decorating tips. From the so-simple-it's-genius (fruit leather and fondant flowers) to an impressively detailed haunted house that—we promise—will have folks talking about your skills for years to come, we've assembled 20 of our most impressive, most interesting, and (most importantly) most doable confectionary concoctions both from our site and from around the web.

Don't worry! These recipes all have easy-to-follow instructions, including templates and links to useful products and essential additions to help you avoid any "Nailed It!"-style mishaps. So you can rest assured that you'll be able to make even the most complicated-looking cakes here and come away looking like a Cake Boss.