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See why.Cake Stands
What makes a great cake stand?
Published Dec. 1, 2015. Appears in Cook's Illustrated March/April 2006, Cook's Country TV Season 9: Sweet Indulgences
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What You Need To Know
You can decorate a cake on a plate, but a good cake stand makes it faster and easier by elevating the cake for better visibility and by rotating for quick and even frosting application.
We still like our previous winner from Ateco, but if its top and base are not 100 percent dry before assembly, they rust together and stop the top from spinning. This simply requires extra care, but we started wondering—is there a better option?
To find out, we surveyed the market and saw seven new models, priced from about $25.00 to $80.00. We tested them against new copies of the Ateco, rating each stand on height, weight, stability, surface, and rotation.
Height and stability were paramount: Shorter stands, at about 3 inches tall, made us hunch over, which hurt our backs and didn’t give us a clear view of the cake; taller stands, at 4.5 to 6 inches tall, were much more comfortable to use and allowed us to see all angles of the cake. (Weight was less of an issue; only one stand, our previous winner, felt a bit heavy to some.)
One pricey new model tilted for better access to the bottom edge of the cake, but it was jerky and unpredictable—it sent a whole cake crashing to the counter twice. Another stand with stability issues required a plate from our kitchen to hold the cake, which then sat atop the stand to spin but never felt secure.
Every other stand has you load your cake layers directly on top, no plate required (though you may choose to use a cardboard cake round). Testers preferred smooth surfaces with very shallow circles etched on top to help center the cakes; some stands didn’t have guidelines, while others’ guidelines were too pronounced, causing our tools to clunk down into them while we were smoothing on frosting. As for removing the cakes, they all performed equally well whether we were taking just a slice or moving the cakes whole.
Rotation was trickier—some were too stiff, and others were too loose; the best were smooth and fast with precise bearings that allowed us to stop the spin in one motion. In the end we still liked our previous winner from Ateco, but another model earned the top spot. It was slightly less expensive than the Ateco and had two additional features that testers liked: an attached base and surface for easy transporting and rust-free washing and guides on its surface for centering—two handy features that helped make decorating like a pro that much easier
Everything We Tested
Highly Recommended
- Height: 3 stars out of 3.
- Weight: 3 stars out of 3.
- Surface: 3 stars out of 3.
- Rotation: 3 stars out of 3.
- Stability: 3 stars out of 3.
This stand was tall, providing excellent visibility and comfort. It was solid but light, and its surface and base were attached. This made it easy to carry but also meant it couldn’t be submerged in water (although we did just to see what would happen; it still spun perfectly). It rotated quickly and smoothly yet stopped precisely where we asked it to, and it had three shallow circles etched onto its surface for easy centering.
Recommended
- Height: 3 stars out of 3.
- Weight: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Surface: 2.5 stars out of 3.
- Rotation: 3 stars out of 3.
- Stability: 2.5 stars out of 3.
Our previous winner still had a charming bakery look, a smooth turning motion, and a precise stop. It was tall for excellent visibility, but compared to new models it was a tad on the heavier side and lacked guidelines for centering cakes. Its top and bottom came apart for easy cleanup, but we found that this made it harder to carry around—you have to be careful to grab the base or it’ll come apart. Over time, if the parts weren’t 100 percent dry when reassembled, they rusted together.
- Height: 3 stars out of 3.
- Weight: 3 stars out of 3.
- Surface: 3 stars out of 3.
- Rotation: 2 stars out of 3.
- Stability: 2.5 stars out of 3.
This stand was tall with a wide surface. It had a nice sturdy base lined with grippy rubber that clung to the counter. It was easy to spin and had shallow circles etched onto its surface, handy for centering cakes. But while it spun smoothly, it didn’t stop very well. It shimmied left and right before settling down, which made it slightly harder to work with.
Recommended with reservations
- Height: 1 stars out of 3.
- Weight: 3 stars out of 3.
- Surface: 3 stars out of 3.
- Rotation: 3 stars out of 3.
- Stability: 2 stars out of 3.
This stand spun smoothly and had a nice rubber bottom that gripped the counter securely, but it was a bit too short: Testers found themselves hunched over while decorating. Also, its wide base made it harder to carry around when loaded with a cake.
- Height: 2 stars out of 3.
- Weight: 3 stars out of 3.
- Surface: 2 stars out of 3.
- Rotation: 2 stars out of 3.
- Stability: 3 stars out of 3.
Since we last tested cake stands, better inexpensive options have come onto the market. Our previous Best Buy didn’t hold up well: It was a bit short and stiff. Its surface was charted with a grid pattern, which was helpful for portioning cakes, but the grooves were too deep—when we tried to smooth out the sides of the cakes, our spatula got stuck.
Not Recommended
- Height: 3 stars out of 3.
- Weight: 3 stars out of 3.
- Surface: 2 stars out of 3.
- Rotation: 3 stars out of 3.
- Stability: 0 stars out of 3.
This stand was tall with a smooth turning motion. It tilted back and forth to varying angles to give users better access to the bottom of the cake. This feature seemed superfluous but turned downright tragic when we tried to tilt a cake and the entire thing went flying. Another problem: Ridges on its top were handy for centering cakes, but they were too deep, and so our offset spatulas and bench scrapers clunked down into them when we tried to smooth the sides of the cake.
- Height: 1.5 stars out of 3.
- Weight: 3 stars out of 3.
- Surface: 1 stars out of 3.
- Rotation: 2 stars out of 3.
- Stability: 3 stars out of 3.
This model came with a plastic dome that snapped on for easy transport, but the stand didn’t work well for decorating cakes. It was too low, so testers had to hunch over; it also spun too slowly, and the bottom of its carrying case and its handles got in the way of turning and blocked access to its surface.
- Height: 2 stars out of 3.
- Weight: 3 stars out of 3.
- Surface: 1.5 stars out of 3.
- Rotation: 2 stars out of 3.
- Stability: 1.5 stars out of 3.
This model came with decorating tips and two disposable pastry bags, but it was a bit short and required a plate from our kitchen to balance atop it to hold the cake. We tried multiple plates, but because the plate and the stand weren’t attached, they never felt very secure. There was nothing supporting the rim of the plate, so we had to be very gentle and careful when cleaning up or decorating the bottom of the cake—too much pressure would upend the entire thing.
Reviews you can trust
Reviews you can trust
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