My stand mixer! I used to do everything by hand...now I can't do without it - makes life so much easier!
Also, my offset spatulas (big and small), my bench scraper, and my tips!
DISPOSABLE icing bags...for all greasy butter creams. Not worth my time to wash them.
PS. And sign up for all Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Joanns coupons for great discounts on stuff they carry.
Can't live without: Airbrush, high quality turntable (Love both Ateco and Fat Daddio), Agbay, spackle knives, Bubble Tea straws, disposable decorating bags, Large silicone mat, Sil-Pin rolling pins, self-healing cutting board, Disco dust, ready made pearl airbrush spray, KA 6 qt mixer
Waste of money: Edible Image printer, bridal shows (haha), cutters or tools I buy "in case I might need it" (wait til you do to buy!), Wilton leveler, cake icer tip, large Wilton handle-less roller, most shaped cake pans, and a few various and assorted experimental purchases that didn't work.
Everything everyone else said, and a good LARGE bread knife. I think the one I have is 15-16", and is great for evening out layers because it more than crosses most cakes.
Also - good pastry tips (I recommend Wilton, NOT Ateco), and some nice cake pans (more than one per size)!
KitchenAid, Agbay, Turntable, and Level and bench scraper. Oh and definitely take johnson6ofus advice about the coupons. They come in so handy!
My next big purchase will be an airbrush machine.
Can't live without my KA mixer, Americolor gel pastes (I don't buy Wilton anymore at all...), offset spatulas, and a good set of artist brushes (I love painting on fondant..). I also have a handheld steamer that I use to give fondant a shine.
Skip all Wilton cake levelers (like Leah said) and shaped pans (like Kita said). I have a closet full of those that I never use. Also try to stick to Magic Line cake pans if you can. IMO - they are the best out there.
Scraper Beater Blade for Kitchenaid mixer! Not sure how I survived shutting the mixer down, scrapping over and over!
I also love my spare mixer bowl - I love having it chill in the fridge while I mix batter. Presto - pull out clean and ready to go for egg whites or whatever.
Favorites: CakeCentral.com! KA 6.0 Pro mixer, Ateco fondant mat, 18" aluminum rolling pin, Cricut Cake with SCAL software, 18" serrated cake knife for leveling, my cheap plastic level from Home Depot, cake lifter, bench scraper, border fondant molds (beads, ropes, etc.) and my collection of cake plates.
Could live without: most of my cutters (but love the square, circle, diamond sets), Wilton levelers, Wilton mats, in fact, most of the Wilton specialty items - and especially specialty pans.
My Kitchenaid mixer. I broke 3 hand-held mixers in 6 months before dh insisted I get my Mother's Day gift a month early. I was so afraid to use it I waited one week before I finally tried it and haven't stopped using it since.
Other items I can think of now include my rolling pin, silicone mat, silicone scraper, disposable icing bags, tips, color gels for fondant and icing, fondant cutters, bread knife, and parchment paper. Also forgot to add basic round and square pans in different sizes.
Ooo I thought of something else I can't live without!
A good 6" trowel from Home Depot - it is the BEST THING for smoothing out buttercream sides on cakes, so much easier than a bench scraper.
Just curious...how is the trowel easier?
camijok, it has a longer handle so it's much easier to hold. When I was in school, our chef instructor had us smooth the sides with a bench scraper and with a trowel, and the trowel was just so much more comfortable and easier to control. I also feel like you can get a better angle to the side of the cake with it.
KA mixer, offset spatulas, disposable piping bags (or zip top bags in a pinch), The Mat, glass mixing bowl (for microwaving/double boiler use), a good sifter, multiple measuring cup/spoon sets (to avoid washing to reuse in the middle of a recipe), digital scale, adjust-a-cup measure for things like peanut butter, americolor gel colors (sooo much better than wilton), lorann extract and oil flavorings. I'm sure I'm missing tons of things - it's hard when you're a kitchen/baking gadget freak!
Definitely couldn't live without cakecentral - always learning something new every day here! Thanks for that!!
Scraper Beater Blade for Kitchenaid mixer. (I really want/need an extra bowl) and the one other thing that really makes my life easier is a very wide and deep metal spatula that helps lift the layers after torting.
word of warning though...even though these are things we can't live without, bakers are all suckers for every gadget, quirky tool and toy that comes our way. I keep buying storage bins to keep all the odd bodkins that I pick up in the oddest places (like tiny rubber molds sold at craft stores for clay, and miniature fishing poles that I know will be perfect on a fishing theme cake, ....the list goes on)
word of warning though...even though these are things we can't live without, bakers are all suckers for every gadget, quirky tool and toy that comes our way. I keep buying storage bins to keep all the odd bodkins that I pick up in the oddest places (like tiny rubber molds sold at craft stores for clay, and miniature fishing poles that I know will be perfect on a fishing theme cake, ....the list goes on)
southerncross, I have NO idea what you are talking about. I mean, I definitely don't have an entire closet in my hallway stocked full of baking doodads. Nope.
Only half a closet 
... I keep buying storage bins to keep all the odd bodkins that I pick up in the oddest places)
LOL - I call it my "you never know" box. My DH calls it garbage. To each his own. Just last week I had the opportunity to use bee's for a baby shower cake...SEE I knew I would use this!
Yes - I agree, stay away from 50% bins at the craft store...well just a peek.
word of warning though...even though these are things we can't live without, bakers are all suckers for every gadget, quirky tool and toy that comes our way. I keep buying storage bins to keep all the odd bodkins that I pick up in the oddest places (like tiny rubber molds sold at craft stores for clay, and miniature fishing poles that I know will be perfect on a fishing theme cake, ....the list goes on)
I would not have any idea what you are talking about 
My husband is always saying that I am the world's easiest person to shop for because, if it's a kitchen gadget I've GOT to have it...lol. He just got me an airbrush system for my birthday! I haven't gotten to play with it yet, but I have a feeling it's going to be tried out before the weekend is here 
As far as things I can't live without....don't have much yet, but so far my Kitchenaid, angled spatulas, Americolor gel colors, turntable.
Wastes of money would be the Wilton caddies and Wilton gel colors
Mine is a plastic collar thing that wraps around the top of the KA mixing bowl. It has a pour spout so I can easily add ingredients like powdered sugar or flour while the mixer is running and not get it all over the place. I hate having to pour stuff in from the side...half of it always ends up on the counter.
I also love my offset spatulas, my bench scraper, and my clay extruder. Not to mention all my other toys I've yet to have the opportunity to play with yet!
My kitchen aid mixer that has been used sooo much for over 10 yrs!! It makes my baking complete!! Oh and I can't live without baking!! LOL!! I can't imagine ever stopping or losing my passion into it!
Mine is a plastic collar thing that wraps around the top of the KA mixing bowl. It has a pour spout so I can easily add ingredients like powdered sugar or flour while the mixer is running and not get it all over the place. I hate having to pour stuff in from the side...half of it always ends up on the counter.
I also love my offset spatulas, my bench scraper, and my clay extruder. Not to mention all my other toys I've yet to have the opportunity to play with yet!
Oi, I was pouring ps in from the side last weekend with the mixer on...it hit the mixer and exploded like a huge atomic sugar cloud of chaos. *le sigh* I should have known. I have the plastic collar!
Mine is a plastic collar thing that wraps around the top of the KA mixing bowl. It has a pour spout so I can easily add ingredients like powdered sugar or flour while the mixer is running and not get it all over the place. I hate having to pour stuff in from the side...half of it always ends up on the counter.
I also love my offset spatulas, my bench scraper, and my clay extruder. Not to mention all my other toys I've yet to have the opportunity to play with yet!
Oi, I was pouring ps in from the side last weekend with the mixer on...it hit the mixer and exploded like a huge atomic sugar cloud of chaos. *le sigh* I should have known. I have the plastic collar!
Yup! I'm thinking I want to add one of these to my wish list.
Couldn't live with out: Most of the stuff everyone else said. I love sav-a-wraps. They come in boxes of 500, sheets of soft wax type paper. They are great for sitting layers on to thaw. They are also good for separating layers before you put in the freezer.
I would be lost with out my artist brushes. I use them for painting, and for wetting fondant to stick to fondant. They are also good for placing tiny centers in the middle of flowers or eyeballs. They are great for picking a crumb out of your buttercream also.
I love my paper towels for smoothing too.
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