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Learning how to frost a cake well can make home-baked cakes glorious. From cupcakes to layer cakes, how you cook, mix and adorn your cake can make all the difference!

What Frosting Type to Use
Frostings, glazes and icings for cakes aren’t only for eye appeal. They also add flavor and hold in the moisture. Some cakes need to be refrigerated and others need to be kept at room temperature. The type of frosting you choose should complement the cake in flavor and coloring and also is dependent on how the cake is best stored.

Traditionally, buttercream frostings are used on American layer cakes. Seven minute or cooked frostings are sweet and popular for fancy cakes. Pound cakes and other densely textured cakes require powered sugar glazes and thin toppings that soak into the cake and add to the rich flavor.

Carrot cake begs for a cream-cheese frosting. Chocolate tortes call for a glamorous topping poured over the layers and hardened. Angel cakes and sponge cakes need an ultrathin spreading of butter frostings or puffs of whipped cream.

Birthday cakes usually have a butter-based frosting that can be smoothed across the cake top and decorated. Match your frosting type to the cake type for best results. Many cake recipes will suggest the frosting that goes best with the cake.

De-crumbing the Cake
After your cake is cooled and brushed free of loose crumbs, it aids the decorator to chill or even freeze the cake layers so that the frosting will go on smoothly and not tear the top of the cake. European cakes are often sprayed or brushed with flavored syrup to moisten the cake and make it easier to frost.

Before beginning to frost the cake fully, top with a thin layer of the frosting and then chill. This “crumb-coats” the cake and makes it easier to spread the final layer of frosting.