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Jane Cox
Mrs. Tillery
AP Literature
November 17th, 2011
Cake Decorating
People wonder about the point of decorating cakes. The point is simply to make a
cake look appealing and additionally, giving more flavor to this sugary dessert. Cake
decorating is defined as “a Sugar Art that uses icing and various edible decorative
elements to make cakes visually interesting” (www.yourcakedecoratingclass.com). Cake
decorating can be traced back to the mid-17th century where it originated in Northern
Europe. The art of decorating cakes is considered to be “one of the newer edible arts,
especially when it is compared to other culinary arts” (www.recipe-for-cake.com). Since
then, there have been methods created as to how to decorate cakes, such as: the Lambeth
Method and the Australian Method, but one that most people prefer here in the United
States is the Wilton Method. The Wilton Method, itself, has put a touch on cake
decorating that is simple, yet appears to be complicated and detailed.
Back in 1929, Wilton Enterprises was founded by Dewey Wilton in his
one room school in Chicago, Illinois. Here is where his business blossomed into “a
leading innovator in cake decorating and candy making designs, products and
publications” (www.wilton.com). He started out teaching bakers how to create the
delicious candies and cakes that has made Wilton as successful as they are today. Later
on in Wilton’s stardom, they found financial problems while trying to meet their
consumer’s needs. Dewey Wilton then made the executive decision to create

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publications, books and how-to phamplets, that would guide those who wanted to learn
how to decorate cakes, without the help of the classes, to sell for more income, which
later led to the desire of their fans demanding for Wilton to come out with their own line
of products. Of course, Wilton wanted to please their buyers, so they eventually put out a
line of their own to aid every day people in the making of Wilton’s famous cakes. When
the business started to grow dramatically, “ Vince Naccarato was announced President of
Wilton Enterprises in March 1977 and moved the business to its present location in
Woodridge, Illinois” (www.wilton.com). His wise decisions took Wilton off even more.
He joined in with companies, such as, Copco and Rowoco to create their good quality
products. They even created a television series on cake decorating to display cake
decorating ideas and techniques and made partnerships with many other companies to
enhance their merchandise. To this day, Wilton still carries out their classes that started
from the very beginning in a single room. In the end, Wilton has risen to the top and
become one of the leaders in cake decorating and it’s merchandise.
Although there are many different methods to consider while decorating a cake,
Wilton’s Method is probably the easiest. The Wilton Method “mainly uses butter cream.
The Wilton Method quickly became one of the most popular types of cake decorating
techniques because it allows beginners to move through different levels of expertise and
design” (www.cakedecoratingart.com). While other methods focus on using fondant and
royal piping icing to intricately design each cake to perfection, Wilton keeps it to the
simple of plain, old icing. Wilton’s method draws out a complete outline on how to go
about the steps of creating the perfect cake. Wilton shows people that the high dollar and
complicated decorating styles are not needed to create an elegant cake. The Method

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revolves around how to ice the cake. Some say that “frosting a cake can be a fun job,
until you get along with it and understand that it is not at all times as simple as it appear”
(ezinearticles.com). Thanks to the Wilton Method, icing is no long a hassle. The process
starts out simply by applying a crumb layer to keep crumbs from showing through onto
the exterior of the cake’s design. After that layer dries for fifteen to twenty minutes, there
should be another layer of icing added on top of that layer to cover up the crumb layer.
Allowing that layer to dry, once the icing has slightly hardened on the outside, their
secret to smoothing out the icing it to use a paper towel and gently rubbing it to give a
smooth surface to make it appear as fondant. Sounds a little crazy, but in order for it to
work, the icing must be slightly hardened, or else the paper towel will stick to the cake,
and it can pull off the icing. In conclusion, this method makes what appears to be
complicated, quite easy.
The Wilton Method of cake decorating is a unique art that is fun and interesting for
people of all different backgrounds. The Wilton Method teaches you how to make a plain
cake into a beautiful work of delicious art. Cake decorating involves incorporating many
artistic talents and skills. In the Wilton classes, they teach several various techniques. Here is
a list of some of the different techniques you can learn: Icing drop flowers, rosettes, shells,
pompom flowers, leaves, shaggy mums, ribbon rose (www.squidoo.com). These can be
applied to cakes, cupcakes, cookies, and many other dessert pastries. There is a vast list of of
techniques available to learn through Wilton. “For 35 years, Wilton has offered fun cake
decorating classes” (www.michaels.com). Through Michael’s you can take three of The
Wilton Cake Decorating Courses to learn how to create the very cakes that can be seen in
magazines and in bakeries. The courses they offer are decorating basics, flowers & cake
design, and gum paste & fondant. In the decorating basics course they teach, step by step, the

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process of the Wilton Method to bake a great cake. Also in this course, they teach how to
make and color icing and the best way to ice a cake. Most importantly, they give you the
knowledge of the basic fundamentals of cake decorating . In the flower and cake design
section they teach the art of making various flowers, such as the famous Wilton Rose. They
also teach the art of arranging a beautiful and balanced cake top design. The gum paste and
fondant course teaches people how to work with and use these easy-to-shape icings. Students
also learn the Wilton Technique to making various flowers such as a calla lily or carnation. In
addition to that, they also learn how to make several designs and fun cakes. Wilton has
several techniques that are wonderful, fun and easy to learn. Each of their techniques are used
in many bakeries and schools, which has helped them get their name out in the world.
From the beginning, Wilton’s goal has not been to teach people how to decorate
cakes, but how to explore and be creative in the way that they go about in doing so. As
mentioned “the curriculum at the Wilton School of Cake Decorating and Confectionary
Art focuses on teaching students the kind of technical mastery and innovative designs
that allow them to go on and create their own unique designs”
(www.cakedecoratingart.com). Wilton equips their learners with the knowledge of the
basics and the how-to’s, but once thing that they can not teach them is how to use their
imagination to come up with their own designs to awe people. The way they teach is
hand-on, so their students work with the teachers to grasp the concept. Originally,
Wilton’s “classes were advertised to enterprising chefs, caterers and other gourmands
with an interest in baking and cake decorating” (www.cakedecoratingart.com). Today,
these classes are offered to all those who have interest in them. The classes are typically
held in Michael’s arts and craft stores, where they offer three different courses consisting

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of four classes each. Wilton is not all about hiding their secrets; they like sharing their
ideas to help this art to grow.
Most importantly, Wilton is really good about updating their designs. Wilton’s
courses “offer new and updated techniques that are perfect for both beginners and
advanced students” (www.michaels.com). The changes are clearly made in their books
over time. Wilton pays attention to the change in times and he change of what designs are
commonly found in designs, to know how to make their updates. “To keep up with the
times, the method also incorporates English and Australian approaches, and recent pulled
sugar and gum paste techniques” (www.cakedecoratingclasses.org). As time has
progressed, the Australian and English Methods have grown, especially with the creation
of wedding cakes, but Wilton is still the most common way found to decorate cakes.
Wilton has opened it’s arms to accept the times, the changes, and their competing
methods to help them grow as a company. Overall, while Wilton makes sure to keep their
style traditional, they also embrace the modern way of decorating as well.
All in all, Wilton has by far made it’s mark on the art of cake decorating. “Today,
Wilton Enterprises offers the industry´s most comprehensive and innovative selection of
baking, cake decorating, candy making, cookie making, wedding, baby, party, seasonal,
kitchen and hydration products," all which have made them the successful company that
they are today (www.wilton.com). Wilton has what is needed to fit any occasion, no
matter how big or small. Seeing them grow from a classroom to a large company over the
years shows their true success. Their classes, their products, and their method itself has
changed cake decorating for the rest of the world, while still sticking to the traditional

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styles that brought up the art itself and incorporating it into modern day design. Wilton’s
success has effected the success of cake decorating and will continue for years to come.

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Works Cited
“Cake Decorating Made Easy.” Squidoo. LLC, 2011. Web. 17 Nov. 2011.
<http://www.squidoo.com/‌busymoms_cake_decorations>.
David, Maggie. “Cake Decorating .” Your Cake Decorating Class. N.p., 2011. Web. 17
Nov. 2011. <http://www.yourcakedecoratingclass.com/>.
G, Sid. “The Cake Decorating WIlton Method.” Ezine Articles . Worldwide, 2011. Web.
17 Nov. 2011. <http://ezinearticles.com/‌?The-Cake-Decorating-Wilton-
Method&id=1579377>.
“Is Cake Decoration an Art? Exploring this Confectionary Tradition.”
cakedecoratingart.com. Copyright , 2011. Web. 17 Nov. 2011.
<http://www.cakedecoratingart.com/‌articles/‌is-cake-decoration-an-art-exploring-
this-confectionary-tradition/>.
“Learning to Decorate Cakes the Wilton Method Way.” cakedecoratingart.com.
Copyright, 2011. Web. 17 Nov. 2011.
<http://www.cakedecoratingart.com/‌articles/‌learning-to-decorate-cakes-the-
wilton-method-way/>.
Michaels. “Wilton Cake Decorating.” Michaels. Michaels , 2011. Web. 17 Nov. 2011.
<http://www.michaels.com/‌wilton_cake_decorating/‌wilton_cake_decorating,defa
ult,pg.html>.
“A Short History of Cake Decorating.” cakedecoratingart.com. Copyright, 2011. Web.
17 Nov. 2011. <http://www.cakedecoratingart.com/‌articles/‌a-short-history-of-
cake-decorating/>.

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Wilton. “Corporate Overview.” Wilton . Wilton Industries, 2011. Web. 17 Nov. 2011.
<http://www.wilton.com/‌about/‌corporate.cfm>.
“Wilton Cake Decorating Classes .” Cake Decorating Classes. Copyright, 2011. Web. 17
Nov. 2011. <http://www.cakedecoratingclasses.org/‌cake-decorating-
classes/‌wilton-cake-decorating-classes/>.
Wilton Industries. “History of Wilton.” Wilton . Wilton Industries , 2011. Web. 17
Nov. 2011. <http://www.wilton.com/‌about/‌history.cfm>.