So … the first question begs where to start? Well with cake of course! There will always be an ongoing debate on bake from scratch versus bake from box or pre-bought. I do not dare to venture into this debate, all I have to say on the matter, is do what makes you and the people eating your cake happy!

For some, cake decorating is about everything from cracking the first egg, to attaching the last piece of decoration. For others it’s about creating an edible masterpiece that no one believes is edible and for other’s it is something that falls on the scale inbetween.

No matter how you decide you want to bake and decorate you still need ingredients. If you are a registered business and have an ABN number and (possibly) some storage, you can wade into the wonderful world of the wholesaler. The bonus to this is that in the long run your ingredients will work out cheaper which equals more profit in your pocket! However, if you are just starting out, a hobbyist, or someone who just wants to do decorate for fun or you want to make your kids birthday cakes then the question becomes: Where do you find cake decorating ingredients?

Stock standard items such as eggs, flour, butter and sugar of course can be bought from the trusty old supermarket. Woolworths and Coles also have some other standard baking items such as fondant, marzipan, colours, flavours and if you are so inclined cake mixes. Lately they appear to have started stocking some small specialist items, cake flour, icing flowers for decoration and so on.

For the serious hobbyist, one can start looking further a field, Bakery Sugarcraft in Sydney, Cake Deco in Melbourne, Complete Cake Decorating Supplies in SA, to name a few. If you live near these places you can visit them otherwise you can order online from all of them. (If you have an ABN number you may get better pricing too, but you don’t have to have an ABN to buy from them.)

The smaller specialist places should not be discounted either. Earl Craft ‘n’ Cake specialise in cutters, their prices are reasonable and they don’t inflate postage. Blossom Sugar Art is great for a specialist brand of moulds known as First Impression Moulds. Then of course there are places like Choc Art and Inspired By Chocolate, which are of course all things chocolate websites, …mmm chocolate… while chocolate moulds help make great chocolate cake decorations you can sometimes use them for fondant as well.

Finally, places like Spotlight, $2 shops, and of course EBAY are also a wealth of cake decorating items. Unused playdoh toys, scrapbooking impression mats and stamps, are all items that may help you create something very unique. Remember though it is recommended that any tools you use for cake decorating you only use for cake decorating. Once you sequestered the kids playdoh toys, that’s it, they are yours for life, the kids will have to go out and get their own!

Some of the sites of mentioned sell on EBAY as well as online, it’s always worth doing a price comparison before purchase and remember to factor in postage, this can sometimes turn a bargain into an overpriced item, so remember to include it in the total cost.

All the places I’ve mentioned are here in Australia, there are plenty of sites in the US and UK including the EBAY versions there are times it may even be worth comparing the prices to suppliers here. Generally though you will find that by the time you convert and add postage it costs less to get it in Australia. While the range of items in Australia isn’t as large as the ranges in other countries, many suppliers will be happy to order items in for you, so don’t be afraid to ask, the worse that can happen is they say no.

Check out the Supplier Directory for even more places, they are categorised so you know which ones are in Australia and which are not.

Is there a supplier you use that you think is great? Then be sure to let me know why you think they are great, if they are a general or specialty store, online and/or shop based and provide the link(s) so I can add it in.

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