One thing most cake decorators aren’t taught

Hi {{ first_name | default: "friend" }},

As cake decorators, we spend years chasing better technique.

Smoother buttercream.
Sharper edges.
More realistic details.

But there’s one skill almost no one is formally taught — and it’s the reason so many beautiful cakes still fail.

Structure.

Not supports and dowels in a vague, “stick some rods in and hope” way.

I mean understanding why a cake stands, where weight actually travels, and how decisions you make early (pan size, recipe choice, density, internal layout) determine whether a cake survives delivery.

This was the biggest gap I noticed early in my career — especially once I started competing and building gravity-defying designs.

A cake can be flawless on the outside and completely unstable on the inside.

And when something collapses, decorators usually blame themselves:

• “I’m not talented enough.”

• “I just can’t do 3D cakes.”

• “Other people make this look easy.”

In reality?

They were never taught to think like an engineer and an artist at the same time.

That mindset shift — from decorating cakes to designing systems that happen to be edible — is what changed everything for me.

It’s also the foundation of how I teach now.

This year, I’ll be sharing more about how baking science, structure, and intentional design work together — whether you’re stacking tall tiers or building gravity-defying showpieces.

No gimmicks.
No guessing.
Just understanding.

If that kind of approach sounds like something you’ve been missing, you’re in the right place.

More soon,

Emerlie

P.S. If you want a peek at the kind of work this thinking makes possible, you can explore my free resources here: {{ link }}