How to Make a Cake Board

A few weeks back, my TIP o' THE WEEK was to show you how to COVER your cake board. I guess I'm doing things a little out of order because this week I'm showing you how to MAKE a cake board!

Side note: Technically, I'm showing you how to make a cake drum (thick) with cake boards (thin). However, I don't often go for technicalities so I call everything a cake board. Sorry folks, that's just how I roll. (I'm also one of those people who refuses to order a Starbucks coffee using any of their fancy lingo. It's a Medium Soy Latte people... nothing more, nothing less.) But I digress...

SO, this is a GREAT tip if you need a cake board that is of a custom shape or size! I am showing you how to make it with standard 12" round boards, but once you know the skills, you can apply them however you'd like!

Ingredients: 

• 3 Cake Boards (Thin, approx.  1/4") of any relative size/shape
• Tape (This can be duct tape, masking tape... anything stronger than scotch tape)

Step One:

Apply the tape to the first cake board. (Enough so that it provides a solid hold)

Step Two: 

Apply the second cake board on top of the first. I recommend arranging it so that the corrugation of the board goes in opposite directions. This gives your finished product more stability.

Step Three: 

Repeat! Three boards layered together is sufficient, but if you'd like a thicker base for your cake... keep going!

Step Four: (Optional) 

Tape up the sides. You can run tape along the side of the boards or you can do as I have done here, adding strips.

Honestly, you don't have to do this step. But sometimes I like to because it makes it easier when applying the ribbon edge when you are covering your cake board.

And Viola! You have a wonderfully unattractive but sturdy DIY cake board. Now you just have to cover it!

How to cover a cake board

For this week's TIP o' THE WEEK I thought I'd share with you steps to cover a cake board.


It's really easy, pretty quick and it only enhances your cake. 


When you've spent a lot of time decorating a cake to look it's best, it can be a bit of a bummer to, at the end of it all, have it sit on a white/gold/silver generic cake board. So...dress it up! *Another great thing about this: you can turn it ANY color you want* 

Step One: Using a hot glue gun, cover the sides of your board with ribbon.

Cut off the excess!

Step Two: Lather the board with vegetable shortening (or frosting) Make sure to put ample amount as some will automatically get absorbed into the fondant.

 Step Three: Roll Fondant to size and cover the face of the board.

Step Four: Wipe down the board with vegetable shortening. This cleans the fondant and leaves it looking nice and polished.

TaDaa! The perfect base for your cake. So much better than the generic white that it was originally. And it only took a few minutes!