Create beautiful baked goods with easy decorating tips using Domino® Powdered Sugar

Want to dazzle your guests without expensive equipment or endless hours spent in the kitchen? The key is Domino® Powdered Sugar and a few sheets of parchment paper. With just those two tools at your disposal, you can create amazing designs that look like they took hours to create in mere minutes. (And add a bit more sweetness to your creations as well.)

1. Bake something delicious
Many types of cakes and desserts are suitable for stenciling, but for best results you want one with a dark color and relatively smooth surface. Our Gingerbread Cake is a great choice, so bake one up according to the recipe, but hold off on making the whipped cream this time—we’re putting Domino® Powdered Sugar to work instead. Once the cake has baked, let it cool completely. You can use this time to make your stencils.

2. Pull out the parchment paper
If you bake, you likely have parchment paper in your kitchen already. It is great for keeping your favorite baked goods from sticking to your cookie sheets and baking pans, and it makes cleanup a breeze. But savvy bakers know that it can be incredibly useful as a design tool as well.

Using scissors, cut the parchment paper in any shape you choose. You can use a single sheet folded several times (similar to making paper snowflakes for holiday decorations or paper dolls in elementary school) to create intricate patterns, cut strips to give a latticed look or even overlap circles for geometric designs. There is no limit to how creative you can get, but if this is your first time—start simple.

• Lay the parchment paper stencil atop your fully cooled cake to cover the areas you do not want powdered sugar to appear.
• Using a sifter, liberally dust the entire cake with Domino® Powdered Sugar, including the areas covered by the stencil.
• Carefully remove the stencil from the cake, being cautious not to spill the sugar that has collected atop it until you are no longer above the cake itself.
• Look in awe at the beauty you have created.

3. Step it up even further
Once you have mastered the basics, you can use multiple layers of stencils to create even more elaborate patterns, add cocoa powder for an additional bit of shading or pipe some Classic Buttercream Frosting around the edges for an even more finished look.

Either way, your guests are sure to be impressed with your artistry. (And they never need to know your secrets.)

4. Add a fresh snowfall
Even without stencils, Domino® Powdered Sugar can easily be used to create the look of freshly fallen snow on your cookies, cupcakes and holiday creations. The key is to carefully sift your sugar to remove any clumps, then to dust from at least 6 inches above your baked goods. This lets the sugar fall naturally, just as snow would—but without all the pesky shoveling afterward.