How to Make A Vintage Cake: Decorating Techniques and Tips for All Skill Levels

A vintage cake is intricately decorated using multiple piping styles. It first originated in Europe in the 19th century by master cake decorator, Joseph Lambeth, who wanted to wow people with a technique that reflected the ornate Victorian architecture of the time. Vintage style cakes are traditionally made with royal icing, especially for the more intricate details. Today most vintage cake decorators use buttercream frosting.

Vintage cakes take quite a bit of time to create, but the results are well worth it! Before you skip ahead to the decorating techniques make sure to give yourself ample time to gather your baking and decorating tools, bake your base layer cakes, make your buttercream frosting, and practice your piping decorations. Follow the steps below and you’ll be set for cake decorating success! And remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day, so your cake doesn’t need to be either.

Gather Your Baking and Decorating Tools

The key to the perfect vintage cake is having a variety of piping tips. You don’t have to have a full piping set to get started but now’s a good time to start building your collection. You can achieve a lot of beautiful vintage cake designs with a star or shell tip, so that’s a good one to have in your collection. You’ll also want to make sure your kitchen is stocked with a few other necessities, listed below. Once you’ve gotten the hang of the process, you can add tools that fit your style and preference.

Must-Have Decorating Tools

• Bench scraper
• Cooling rack
• Offset spatulas
• Parchment paper for practicing decorating techniques (not pictured)
• Piping bags
• Piping tips: large round tip (for filling cake layers), leaf tip (for ruffles), open and closed star tips (for swirls and shell shapes), scallop tip (for ornamental borders), and small round tip (for inscriptions)
• Piping tip coupler
• Rotating cake stand
• Round cake pans
• Rubber spatula
• Serrated knife
• Toothpicks for inscriptions

Prepare Your Base Layer Cakes

No matter your decorating skill level, the first step to creating a vintage cake is to prepare your base layers. This can be done up to 1 day before the decorating begins. The number of layers you want to add to your cake is up to you, however, we recommend starting with no more than two to three, especially if you are just starting out at the beginner level. Refer to Betty’s How to Bake a Cake article for helpful tips.

Betty’s Tip: Take a shortcut to scratch with Betty Crocker Baking & Cake Mixes! Betty’s quick and easy-to-follow mixes will give you a head start on your vintage cake, so you can focus your time on the fun part: the decorating! Plus the variety of cake mix flavors will kick-start your creativity.

Prepare Your Frosting

Most modern vintage cake recipes call for buttercream instead of the more traditional royal icing. While royal icing can still come in handy for more expert-level intricate designs and inscriptions, we prefer buttercream. Not only is it much easier for bakers of all skill levels to work with, but it holds its shape very well, making it perfect for a multi-layered cake. Follow this Vanilla Buttercream Frosting recipe for step-by-step instructions as well as a tip for coloring your frosting.

Betty’s Tip: Keep in mind that vintage cakes require an abundance of frosting—we recommend making at least 6 to 8 cups of buttercream. This will ensure you have enough frosting for each color you want to add to your cake as well as some leftover for filling in any imperfections or gaps.

Fill Your Piping Bags

You’ll want to fill a bag for each color of frosting you are working with. Start by making a ½ to ⅓ inch cut from the narrow end of your piping bag, then insert your piping tip and coupler. Twist the end of the piping bag, just above the tip and coupler, to prevent any frosting from leaking out. Using a rubber spatula, add your frosting to the piping bag. Be sure to only fill the bag a little over halfway up—the more you fill it, the more pressure you’ll have to apply in order to decorate. Once the bag is filled, gently press any air bubbles out of the top.

Betty's Tip: Using a piping tip coupler or adapter makes changing out frosting colors and tips easier. It also secures the piping tip so that it won't fall out. Because the temperature of the frosting can change with the warmth of your hand, it’s also a good idea to use multiple piping bags for the same color of frosting. Prepare multiple bags ahead of time and alternate as needed to maintain consistency.

Practice Piping Your Designs

When it comes to piping designs, practice makes perfect for all skill levels! It’s always a good idea to practice your designs before adding them to your cake. You can pipe your design on a piece of parchment paper or a clean plate and scoop the frosting back into the piping bag when you’re done. Practice piping at a 45 degree angle using varying pressure and different sizes of piping tips. You can also practice layering smaller designs on top of larger ones.

Betty's Tip: First time using a piping bag? No problem! Watch Betty’s quick and easy How to Pipe Frosting video.

Vintage cakes are all about consistency, so don’t expect to be an expert on day one—it takes practice and patience. Vintage cake designs can also be highly intricate, so take your time and most importantly, have fun!

  1. After you’ve baked your layer cakes and allowed them to cool completely (at least 30 minutes), level them by cutting off the domed tops to create a smooth decorating surface. Use a serrated knife and stabilize your elbow against the side of your body so you can achieve an even and level cut.

  2. Frost your center layer first. Flip one of your cakes cut side down and place it on your cake wheel and use an offset spatula to add a ½-inch thick layer of frosting. (A butter knife works well here, too.) Repeat this process for the remaining cake layers. Make sure to set aside 1 to 2 cups of frosting for the outside of the cake.

Betty's Tip: Use a piping bag and a large round tip to fill your cake layers with frosting.

  3. Create your crumb coat by adding a thin ½-inch thick layer of frosting to the entire outside of the cake. Use an offset spatula or bench scraper to even out the frosting while you rotate the cake on the stand. Start at the bottom and work your way toward the top. Bubbles and uneven areas will happen, but don’t worry! You can simply add more frosting to even them out. Once your cake is completely frosted, chill it in the refrigerator for at least 1 to 2 hours, or until the frosting is firmed up.

Betty's Tip: Not familiar with a crumb coat? No worries! Watch this quick Betty video: How to Crumb Coat a Cake.

  4. Once your cake is chilled, piping bags are filled, and practice rounds completed, it’s time to decorate the cake! Start by adding a traditional Lambeth border to the bottom of your cake. Using a large star tip, pipe shells on the bottom edge and top edge of the cake. Hold the bag at a 45 degree angle and squeeze the piping bag until the buttercream fans out and gently forces the tip upward. Relax pressure, lower the tip and pull the bag toward you to create a tail.

Betty's Tip: The key to piping is using even pressure. Place your elbow on the table or a stack of cookbooks to help steady your hand.

Congratulations on completing your first vintage style decoration! Your cake looks beautiful just as it is. But if you’d like to continue adding layers of piping, follow the techniques for intermediate and expert decorators below. (Remember, practice makes perfect!)