The best tips for cake boards, with tons of ideas, how to make your own DIY cake boards plus how to cover a cake board using practically anything.
Whether you’re making your own or covering a cake board in fondant, fanci foil, or paper, there are tons of ideas here for decorating cake boards and bases.
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Here we’ll go through how to make and decorate your own cake boards and bases without needing to buy the fancy ones.
Okay, confession time…I have a small pet peeve. Are you ready? It’s the ‘forgotten cake board’.
Now, I don’t mean that someone actually forgot to put the cake on a cake board, I mean when they make a truly great looking cake and then forget about the design of the cake board.
I know what you’re thinking, “Do they even really matter that much?” In my opinion, it can make or break a cake. You may not think so, but the cake board really completes the whole picture.
Have you ever seen a beautiful cake sitting on top of a flimsy, thin, unfinished Wilton board or a board covered in regular foil? It lowers the level of that beautiful cake.
I like to think of the cake board as the jewelry of your wardrobe. You don’t want it to outshine your entire outfit, but you want it to add a finishing touch.
So, now I’m going to pull back a little and tell you I’m not getting onto you. You don’t have to go to the principal’s office if you’ve been neglecting your cake boards.
We have ALL done it. I promise…and to prove it, I’ll show you.
I think by showing you examples of what I did wrong, that will help to prove my point that a good cake board (and I don’t mean they have to be overdone) can really complete your design.
By the way, there are several videos close to the end of this post that go through several different ways to cover a cake board.
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Ok, let’s get started.
Jump to:
- Types of cake boards:
- What NOT to do with cake boards:
- Cardboard cake circles:
- Covering a round cake board:
- Covering a square cake board:
- Ways to decorate them using fanci foil:
- Foam core cake boards:
- How to cover them with fondant:
- Video of marbled fondant covered cake board:
- Video of quilted fondant covered cake board:
- Other says to decorate them:
- Video on how to cover them:
- Final notes & helpful tips:
- Other posts you might like:
Types of cake boards:
First we’ll talk about the different types of cake boards and bases. Now, this isn’t every single kind of cake board ever known to man, but they are what is generally used.
There’s also MDF cake boards. These are made out of wood composite. They’re mainly used when making large stacked cakes or sculpted cakes.
For this post, we’ll focus on cardboard cake circles and foam core cake boards. (MDF boards can be decorated in the same way).
One quick thing to note: There are premade cake bases you can buy and I do use these especially with buttercream cakes because they are easy to wipe off if my buttercream goes everywhere.
I’m about to tell you the ones NOT to buy, but there are many that (as my mother would say) don’t look tacky.
Make sure if you purchase a premade board, that it will be sturdy enough for your cake and that it isn’t super shiny or flashy.
By the way, if you want to get some tips on how to stack cakes, see this post.
What NOT to do with cake boards:
Ok, time to get real. When I first started decorating cakes, I focused so much on the cake that I neglected the cake base. Well…I’ll just show you.
Ok, this was a birthday cake I made for myself the first year I was making cakes. So, the cake board isn’t actually horrible, but it’s so dang shiny, it casts this weird glow on the cake.
The main problem with it though is that it’s so thin. It actually bowed when I picked up the cake.
Oh Lord…this next one is just terrible. This is one of the Wilton bases. Now, I love Wilton, but definitely not this cake base. Again, it’s super shiny and the silver totally takes away from the cake.
I read somewhere that these bases are actually just cardboard cake circles attached together and then some sort of silver wrapping over the whole thing. It’s just not good.
Now, we’ll talk about the different options and I’ll show you some ideas on how to use them.
Cardboard cake circles:
These are used under each cake tier, but you can also attach several larger ones together to make a cake base depending on how heavy your cake will be.
If you’re making a really large cake, you should use something sturdier, but these are great for single tier cakes.
Here’s how I use them.
Covering a round cake board:
First I tape several together with packing tape.
Take some fanci foil in white (I REALLY dislike the silver fanci foil) and cut it out larger than your base. Set your boards face down.
For the circle cake board, pull up a piece of the foil and tape it to the back with packing tape.
Put your finger under the paper, pull up on it a bit and then fold over and tape down.
Keep going around until it’s all covered. No, it’s not gonna look pretty.
Now, here’s a trick: Take another one or two smaller cardboard cake boards and attach them to the bottom with some hot glue.
This will allow the edges of the cake base to sit up from the table a bit and it’s much easier to get your fingers under the board when you go to pick up the cake.
I also sometimes add some little ‘felt feet‘ to the bottom. It lifts it up a bit more. Neat trick, huh?
Take your board and roll the edges on the table to flatten down any little pointy parts.
You can even glue a ribbon around the edge now if you want.
Covering a square cake board:
This is very similar to covering a round cake board. I wrap mine like you would wrap a present.
Tape several boards together, then tape each side of the foil down to the back of the board.
Now, push in the foil at the ends like you’re wrapping a present.
Lift up the top and fold back. Tape to the board.
Now, take that bottom flap, pull up over the side and tape to the back.
See? It’s like getting a little present right?
At this point, you can add some smaller square or rectangle boards to the back or you can just stick on some felt feet like we did for the round board.
You can also add some ribbon around the edges.
Ways to decorate them using fanci foil:
Here are a couple more ideas of covering cake boards using the fanci foil and ribbon, which just takes it up a notch and isn’t so plain.
Foam core cake boards:
Ok, these are my absolute favorite. They’re light, yet sturdy at the same time. They usually come in ¼ inch to ½ inch thicknesses.
I’ve used ¼″ foam core boards between each tier (not layer, of course) of cakes when I’m stacking a cake that will be very heavy, but I normally use the ½″ thick foam core board for the base of cakes. It is extremely sturdy.
By the way, if you want even more details about the anatomy of a decorated cake (like when to use boards and bases and how many layers of cake to use), you’ll want to check out this post.
How to cover them with fondant:
You can cover foam core cake boards the same way you covered the cardboard cake boards with the fanci foil. You can also cover them with fondant, then attach a ribbon.
Here’s a board I covered with marbled fondant:
Video of marbled fondant covered cake board:
I also covered this board in a quilted fondant pattern.
Video of quilted fondant covered cake board:
Other says to decorate them:
Another way I like to cover boards is with scrapbook paper. Usually you can get sheets that are 12 x 12 inches, so that works great for smaller cakes that will set on a 10″ to 12″ board.
Just set your board over the scrapbook paper and trace around it. Cut it out and glue to the cake board.
Now, you want to cover that with clear contact paper to seal it, otherwise it will absorb any icing that gets on it. Then just add a ribbon around the edge.
Video on how to cover them:
Final notes & helpful tips:
I like to cut a little circle out in the middle of whatever is covering the cake board, add some melted candy coating to the middle of the board and then set the cake on top on it (the cake itself will be sitting on it’s own board the same size of the cake).
This way the cake will be good and stuck to the base board and not just what’s covering the base board.
(That’s all in the video above as well.)
Make sure that whatever cake base you choose, it will be sturdy enough for what you’re putting on it.
I like to make my bases at least two inches larger than the cake itself. That gives you an inch around the cake.
Sometimes I go even larger if I want to add decorative items to the board or if there will be a floral arrangement close to the bottom of the cake.
Don’t forget to finish your edges with ribbon.
Don’t forget to attach another cardboard round or some felt feet under the base to give it some height and make it easier to pick up.
Please, please don’t use regular aluminum foil to cover your boards. There are so many better options that are just as easy but look so much better!
So there you have it! Some really great ideas to get you started.
For some added bonus points, go back to the start of this post and look at those cake bases where I talked about what NOT to do and compare them to the others. It makes a big difference, right?
Other posts you might like:
- 15 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Baking Scratch Cakes
- How to Store a Cake
- The Biggest Cake Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make
Don’t Forget to Pin it for Later!
Lisa Tibbedeaux
When stacking several cardboard cake boards, it really helps if the corrugated/wavy part of the cardboard circles (on the inside) are going in different directions. If all the cardboard is going the same direction, the corrugated insides can collapse and the boards will not be strong.
Kara Jane
Yes! This is exactly right…Thanks so much for adding in this comment! It’s a really important point to make.
Janet
When you decorate the bottom of a cake with a border, as you did in the last photo on this page of a purple cake with white buttercream “balls”, do you pipe the border after you have placed the cake on the cake board or do you pipe it on the cake and then move the cake to the cake board? Thank you! I started following your blog recently and have found your posts to be very helpful. Thank you!
Kara Jane
Hi Janet, if I’m working on a buttercream cake, I usually transfer the crumb coated cake onto the final cake board and then do the final icing and borders on the final board. (Unless that final board will be fondant, but I don’t normally put a buttercream cake on a fondant board anyway.) It’s much easier to do that final coat or at least the borders after you’ve already moved it to the final board. Hope this helps!
Lisa
My question is this, how do I cover a board for a layered cake. I don’t want an extremely thick board under the top tier, but it does need a solid base.
Kara Jane
Hi Lisa, Do you mean a tiered cake? The board under the top tier can just be a cake board round the same size of the that tier. It doesn’t need to be covered…it’s already food safe. You can use the cardboard cake rounds as long as that tier isn’t super heavy, but if the tier has ganache and fondant, or just otherwise heavy, you’ll want to use something more firm like a 1/4″ foam cake boards. Hope that helps.
Adebambo
Hi Kara.
What do you use for the 4 circles (step) at the back of your already covered cake board.
Thanks.
Kara Jane
Hi there, I think I know what you’re talking about, but correct me if I’m wrong. Those are felt stickers. I get them from either the dollar store or at a home store like Home Depot or Lowes. They are thick and one side is sticky. I just stick them on, so it allows the cake board to sit up a little from the table. It makes it easier to move around. If you click on the word ‘felt feet’ in that blog post, it’ll take you to an affiliate link in Amazon where you can purchase them. Hope this helps!
P.
Have you ever used the 1/4 ” foam core board for the middle board of a double barrel cake? I can order them smaller in circumference. Do you think they will be too thick? I have 4 layers of cake and about 10 fondant roses and it’ a drip cake on the top of that cake. Its an all buttercream cake. I’ve done it with a cardboard round before but just 5 roses and pink I may want a thicker board. Thanks.
Kara Jane
The 1/4″ foam core board might work ok. I’ve used them in tiered cakes a ton, but not in double barrel cakes. I think it should work just fine though. You just want it little smaller than the circumference of the cake, so it doesn’t stick out when you ice it.
Bronya Seifert
I did a similar post to this last week, and totally agree!!! It’s such a shame when a beautiful cake is ruined with a neglected cake board. I’m in the UK and the boards available are slightly different, but, still, they should always be covered.
Kara Jane
Yes…I totally agree and I’ll have to take a look at your blog!
Shaz
If you use the carboard circles to go between tiers so..under a 6inch cake and then sat on a 8 inch supported with dowels..do you need to cover the cardboard? Or it is food safe?
Kara Jane
No, when you buy the cardboard cake rounds, you don’t have to cover them with anything.
Crystal
I have a client that wants a 3 tier cake but they want each layer on its own decorated cake board base because they don’t want the ribbon on the actual cake so how would you go about stacking this cake
Kara Jane
Maybe I’m confused, but what I’m imagining doesn’t sound like it would look right. Generally a decorated cake board is at least a couple inches larger around than the cake that’s sitting on it…and they want each tier to sit on its own board like that and then stacked? I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that before, but maybe I’m confused about what they want. I could see maybe using 1/2 inch thick foam core boards under each tier (the same size as the tier though) and attaching ribbon to the outside of those boards and then stacking them, but I don’t know how it would work, or look having decorated cake boards that are larger than each tier that are directly stacked on top of each other. Maybe someone has done it before and it looked great, but I’ve just not seen anything like that I guess and I don’t think it would work. Another thing you could do if the client is dead set on having each tier separate, is use one of those cake tier stands like these: https://tableclothsfactory.com/products/5-tier-clear-acrylic-cupcake-cake-stand?variant=47054932239&gclid=CjwKCAjwq-TmBRBdEiwAaO1en9ZdZWp56qcgBIVO1Smb5MsVrAKA6ydsaDd7CGvDlvtjboSg8hYlnRoCA84QAvD_BwE or https://www.wilton.com/towering-tiers-cake-stand/307-892.html
Nicole
Hi! I have a client that is asking for a pull apart cake, in the shape of a cross for a baptism. 36 cupcakes. How do I figure out what size board I will need for this?
Kara Jane
Hi Nicole, I’m thinking cupcakes are probably around 2 – 2 1/2 inches around. You could use that as a sort of guide if you wanted to do some calculations. I’m sure there might be an easier way to do it, but honestly I’d probably cut myself out 36, 2 1/2 inch squares and put them into the shape of a cross on my table. That way you can move them around and see how many you’ll need for the vertical line and how many for the horizontal line. Then figure out how big the entire board will need to be. I hope this helps!
Jen
You’re a life saver! I’ve been looking everywhere for simple instructions on how to cover cake boards without fondant. Thanks 🙂
Kara Jane
Oh yay! So glad I could help! I’m all for other options on cake boards…especially the ones that you can wipe off if they get messy, which you can’t do with fondant. Glad it helped! 🙂
Faith
When covering the board with the contact paper how do you stick fondant decorations to it. You have pearls on one of the boards above. Thanks for your help.
Kara Jane
Faith, I just used a bit of water…it makes the fondant very sticky.
Dhebbiee
Hi, pls can you cover your board with fundant on a buttercream icing cake? Thanks
Kara Jane
Yes you can do that. I would only add the cake to the fondant covered board after you’ve finished covering it in buttercream.
Dhebbiee
I’m sorry i don’t understand, how would you add the cake to the fundant cake board after covering it. Cuz i thought i would just cover the butter cream cake straight on the fundant cake board.
Kara Jane
You can do that, but if your board gets messy with buttercream, then it might be a bit difficult to clean up the fondant board.
Dhebbiee
Ok so after you’ve finished covering your cake with buttercream icing how would you now transfer it to the fundant cake board?
Kara Jane
You can use a long spatula to do it just like you would if you were stacking it onto another cake tier. You don’t have to do it that way though. If you want to try adding the buttercream to your cake when it’s already on the fondant cake board, that’s totally okay. I’m just a messy decorator and I would totally mess up my board.