Most Ridiculous Cake Item
Decorating By CutiePieCakes-Ontario Updated 28 Aug 2009 , 1:07pm by PuffCake
Instead of a bag clip, I just use a little rubber band. I use the same kind of silicone ones that I use in my kids' hair...it costs about a dollar for a bag of 300 little rubber bands so you don't have to try to reuse them. I only use it if I'm storing the bag or taking it somewhere. I use those instead of twist-ties too in the kitchen.
[quote="mgwebb68"]The worst thing I every bought was the small Wilton leveler, threw it away on the first attempted us. Bought the big one and it works great for me.
mgwebb68,
I couldn't agree with you more! The small Wilton leveler is useless. The wire is so flimsy and thin, it can't cut straight. I love the large Wilton leveler too and you're the only person on CC I've heard of to like it. Most people hate it. It always works great for me. The blade is wide, sharp and serrated and the feet are large and flat. Nice and wide too for large cakes. Gives me a level cake every time! 
The worst thing I every bought was the small Wilton leveler, threw it away on the first attempted us. Bought the big one and it works great for me.
mgwebb68,
I couldn't agree with you more! The small Wilton leveler is useless. The wire is so flimsy and thin, it can't cut straight. I love the large Wilton leveler too and you're the only person on CC I've heard of to like it. Most people hate it. It always works great for me. The blade is wide, sharp and serrated and the feet are large and flat. Nice and wide too for large cakes. Gives me a level cake every time!
I threw my small Wilton leveler away recently...after the wire broke from 10 years of me using it 
And I bought another one right away. It's probably the cheapest, most useful tool that I have. I have the large leveler too but I only use it on big cakes.
When levelling some cakes, it seems I can never get a level surface created by that Wilton large cake leveller...but I really don't know what to do otherwise...so I manage.
I also use the plastic non-Wilton paint pallets for my flower formers, although I do still use the large curved plastic ones from Wilton for my larger flowers.
Can't say I have a cake tester, but my toothpicks are fine with me...lol
And yes, I always seem to shake my head at all the new Wilton Brownie stuff they're coming out with...
Oh...and the Wilton large fondant roller I have had for maybe five years is warped (slightly curved) so that's just fantastic! 
There was some talk of very small spatulas...I actually requested these for a gift one time b/c I use them ALL the time when I have to mix color into a small amount of icing!
Cake wise, I think the 'Why would you buy that thing?" is the plastic flower formers http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?id=3E30D6BC-475A-BAC0-52D7BCD556CBFD28&killnav=1 . Just cut a paper towel cardboard core in half and BOOM! You got flower formers!
Never thought of that. But that's a great idea!
When I first got started doing cakes, the lady who ran the cake supply store wouldn't even stock those formers. She'd tell all of her customers this neat little trick!
I actually love the formers ....mostly becasue of the smooth, nonstick surface that can be sanitized in the dishwasher. Plus...how often do you actually have a spare empty towel tube lying around? This one is ok for me...
what I really find ridiculous is the dusting sack for p.s. or cronstarch. They don't work for me....I jsut use a grated-cheese dispenser for cornstarch....works like a charm. 
Boy I am a poster child for this post.
The cake tester- Have it. was a gift from the MIL and I really like it. It is also good for unplugging things with small opennings.
Flower formers- Have them. I like them for drying leaves with a bend. Never thougth of using a paper towel roll but I did still a large square egg crate thing from my FIL's chicken farm. Great for drying flowers.
Small ball wisk- Have it- great for making gravy
Tip covers- Have them- hate that they dont stay on but good for keeping in the bottom of a glass to hold mulit bags of cookie icing at holiday time so the RI does not run all over the other tips. I also just use a damp paper towel in the bottom of a glass.
Wilton purple roller with swirls- Have it. Hate it. I can never get an even impression with it.
Wilton cutter with spacers you add- Have it. Hate it.
Wilton triangle cake comb- Have it- To tell the truth I have only used it maybe once and I forget it is in the cabinet.
Wilton rolling pin with rubber spacer bands- Have it. Loved it especially when I first started using fondant because it helped me get a consistant thickness untill I got more used to rolling Fondant.
Eggstractor- Have it- USLESSSSSS!
Tools I cannot live without- Pizza Cutter, Cake spacing guide (clear plastic mat I can use to space out cake decorations). Fondant smoothers, The clay isle of Hobby Lobby (much cheaper than the items in the cake isle).
CC forums- I learn so much from all of you.
I agree with the following: decorating bag clips, ribbon cutter (it doesn't even assemble correctly), and special brownie & cupcake tools (you really only need the Bismark tip there) are the worst.
I also hate the cake comb triangle. It gives me nightmares!
But I love my big cake leveler. Works great every time! 
I also use the guide rings on my fondant rolling pins ... but I'm just a beginner.
Bee-boos, that purple spiral roller is perfect for adding a pattern to fondant-covered cake boards or to roll over a piece of fondant and then cut circles for the tops of cupcakes.
I will say this about the Wilton triangle..I think the majority of people dont use it cause it takes some getting use to it.. I hate it it too at the beginning, but when I learned to use it properly it can work wonders.. Sounds like a good tutorial!..
Edna
My first fondant cake was my own wedding cake 2 years ago. I thought the lady in the shop was really helpful, but she told me I HAD to have a smoother, which is a thin rectangular piece of foam, covered in lycra. She told me to rub it over the fondant. I'm really not sure what it did that my hands didn't achieve and its nothing like the hard plastic ones.
I use it for shaping flowers, so at least it's not a complete loss!
Huh
?! I've never heard of or seen a fondant smoother like that. Mine are all hard plastic and shaped a bit like wall plaster smoothers (I have several makes, shapes & sizes!).
I know - it's ridiculous. Here is a pic. I think there was a REALLY big profit on this item and I was like a deer in headlights, so I bought it. It doesn't even sit flat so now I put my fondant flowers on it, I dont have a ball tool yet so I use a cotton tip to push the centres in and shape them. The plastic fondant smoothers will be my next purchase! 
I`m still looking for a really long bread knife (serrated) so use instead.
Here you go:
http://www.globalsugarart.com/product.php?id=20868
It looks like it is out of stock as of now, but I have it and LOVE it! I use it all the time. I had a knife salesman come one day and ask me to show him my sharpest knife. I pulled this one out and he nearly fainted.
I like my cake tester. Toothpicks are too short, and the cake tester you can keep for years. I also have never had a problem with my tip covers, I use them when I'm working with royal icing.
I do have a hard time with cake combs, though. That is one thing that sits useless in the drawer. I'll stay tuned for the upcoming tutorial.
On top of that, I can't imagine how, when or why I'd use them. 
Cake wise, I think the 'Why would you buy that thing?" is the plastic flower formers http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?id=3E30D6BC-475A-BAC0-52D7BCD556CBFD28&killnav=1 . Just cut a paper towel cardboard core in half and BOOM! You got flower formers!
Never thought of that. But that's a great idea!
When I first got started doing cakes, the lady who ran the cake supply store wouldn't even stock those formers. She'd tell all of her customers this neat little trick!
My 2 cents on this..I do use the paper towel roll and I even tell my students. But what I love about the plastic ones is that they come in different sizes..wich towel paper rolls dont..and in some things, that does make a difference...
Edna
You know what works GREAT? If you ask your produce manager at your local grocery store, they can probably give you the foam holders that fruit come in. Apples, plums, and other delicate fruit are shipped in them. Its a large tray that has cupped indents for the fruit to rest. It works wonderful for flowers. And they come in different sizes for different fruits. I have a ton of them. He's just going to throw it away, so why not ask?
A while ago I noticed in the Wilton aisle that they have pre-cut pieces of wax paper to use when making flowers on the nail. 5o or 75 squares for $3...Yikes!!
The most useless thing in my kitchen is my husband!
I`m still looking for a really long bread knife (serrated) so use instead.
Here you go:
http://www.globalsugarart.com/product.php?id=20868
It looks like it is out of stock as of now, but I have it and LOVE it! I use it all the time. I had a knife salesman come one day and ask me to show him my sharpest knife. I pulled this one out and he nearly fainted.
Thanks for the info and link.
I keep looking in any store with kitchen supplies I go by - only the 'regular' sized ones for cutting - can you believe it - bread!
I don't do a lot of cakes right now, but will definitely be getting one when I get a bigger kitchen!!
The most useless thing in my kitchen is my husband!
I hear ya!
Mine just bought a built-in dishwasher at a used items store. He put it in the basement so he could hook it up to make sure it worked properly. It does. HOWEVER, we don't have any hook-ups for a built-in in the kitchen, so he's left it plugged in downstairs - and he runs the dirty dishes down to be washed! Hey, if he wants to haul them up and down, who am I to argue.
I was just looking at that Icing Sculptor today! It sucks? Really?! WHYYY?? I want it, and I want it to work, but if someone can tell me why it is no good I'll save my pennies.
The most useless thing in my cake cupboard is my little wooden rolling pin that was included in a Wilton set. Fondant constantly sticks to it.
I was recently in Michael's, browsing the Wilton Aisle, and saw something I couldn't believe someone would invent, let alone buy.
It was a Cake Tester. All it basically is is a thin metal pin stuck into a rubber handle. You push the pin into the cake, and if it comes out clean, the cake is done.
Well, I grew up using a cake tester - the long metal pin with a round band on the end to put your finger through. My mom had it for YEARS and that's all we ever used to test cakes! LOL!
I don't think I've purchased anything yet that I'd call ridiculous. Maybe the Wilton plastic turntable because that's the one thing I've simply thrown out in the trash because it was a waste of money and I nearly lost a dozen cakes from the darned thing tilting when it was supposed to be locked!
Well, guess I did that wrong.LOL!! Was trying to add the above quote to comment on but havent quite figured out how to do that yet. I agree, Hate that turntable. It wobbles, is to tall,and wont spin freely and to think I paid that much for that thing. The inexpensive one works fine for me.
How about that plastic turntable that is flat...as soon as you put an 8 inch cake in it, it doesnt
move..I think that I bought that the first night of my Wilton class and as soon as I open it in the classroom and didn't work, I return it. And I wasn't even an expert on cakes at the time, it was my first day! JJJJJJUUUUUUNNNNNNKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Edna
I'm a sucker for a gadget I don't think theres much left in the Wilton aisle at my Michael's and Hobby Lobby that I have bought or pickup and thought about buying and thought next time. I could start my own store.
Some I use lot I don't, and yes I have the icing sculptor which I haven't even used.
I'm getting better but when will I learn lol.
I need a AWA (Addicted to Wilton's anonymous)
only useless thing i've ever bought was the smaller wilton turntable. i put a 2 layer 8 in round on it and as i turned it, it sounded like someone was killing a goose no matter how much i tried to oil it with veg oil as it said to do in the instructions. to me the ball bearings were no where near big enough to move the turn plate. my favorite thing to do is peruse through the wilton aisle then go find the exact same thing in hardware (and occasionally automotive lol). icing smoothers? plumbing/drywall putty knives. Wilton storage box for $15? tool box with removeable tray $5. and the disposable blue shop towels in auto work better than viva for smoothing...
This is an awesome post, I was literally laughing real hard all morning, I have most of these tools, when I first started making cakes I bought everything, WILTON not knowing any better, and some of them came in my kits, at the moment I don't even know where some of them are thanks to my childern, I am repainting my downstairs bedroom to turn that into my cake supply room, it's not being occupied by anyone else, so I will then find out what I still have and don't have,
I hate the big cake lever, mine went to the garbage months ago,
The little one works well on small and mediun size cakes, after I was thought how to use it by my friend.
I can't even find my small flat turntable, but I just bought the new one and it works great
A while ago I noticed in the Wilton aisle that they have pre-cut pieces of wax paper to use when making flowers on the nail. 5o or 75 squares for $3...Yikes!!
I laughed out loud in the store when I saw these...too funny! I bought the large wilton leveler, tried to use it the next day and promptly took it back. The metal bends in the middle, which left me with a lopsided cake. I went back to the cheap, serrated long blade knife (about $5) and haven't even thought about anything else. Also, I am so glad I am not alone on the fondant punch...bought that and tried to use it once. Too bad I threw out the packaging...that would have gone back too. I LOVE my free pampered chef cake tester. It works like a charm. The fondant ribbon cutter works like a charm the first swipe through, but after that forget it! One thing I would hate to lose out of my cake stuff is the large tip for icing the cake...love it!
I will say this about the Wilton triangle..I think the majority of people dont use it cause it takes some getting use to it.. I hate it it too at the beginning, but when I learned to use it properly it can work wonders.. Sounds like a good tutorial!..
Edna
I have used this only one time, but it made my cake so interesting...you just have to have enough frosting on the sides and the secret is to start and press while turning your turntable in a continuous momentum, stopping where you started. It does take practice, but I loved it! Edna, a tutorial would be really nice
I will say this about the Wilton triangle..I think the majority of people dont use it cause it takes some getting use to it.. I hate it it too at the beginning, but when I learned to use it properly it can work wonders.. Sounds like a good tutorial!..
Edna
I have used this only one time, but it made my cake so interesting...you just have to have enough frosting on the sides and the secret is to start and press while turning your turntable in a continuous momentum, stopping where you started. It does take practice, but I loved it! Edna, a tutorial would be really nice
I never thought about it until now..lol..I hope I dont forget!
Edna
I like the plastic Wilton formers. I like egg trays better for formers because they give it a cupped shape without being perfectly round, but I have the Wilton formers and use them often.
For me the useless thing would be that fondant punch that was included in the course 3 kit. I still have it in case I end up with a lightbulb moment and think of something to do with it....but nothing so far.
Ooh, I use empty egg cartons too. For me I feel more secure leaving them in there just in case the table gets bumped, etc. I have not seen the Wilton cake tester, but it sounds a lot like a metal Kebab skewer? Long with a loop on one end. That's what I use when the cake is too deep for a regular toothpick. Just in case someone wants a re-usable tester without buying the Wilton one for whatever they are charging.
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