When you think of cake decorating tools, what do you imagine? Spatulas, piping bags, icing smoother, maybe a turntable — but what about bubble wrap? It sounds silly, but after watching this video from Cakes Step By Step, we’re adding it to our list of cake decoration must-haves!

Sometimes, when you want to get a truly unique look for your desserts, you have to think outside the box and utilize some random household objects! Or in this case, you have to look INSIDE the box…get it, bubble wrap? Sorry, can’t help myself.

In this case, the desired look was a textured effect, with stylized grooves around the entire width of the cake. Thinking of bubble wrap to get the job done was absolutely brilliant and the cake comes out looking spectacular.

The trick to this cake, beside the secret weapon of the bubble wrap, of course, is melting the pastry chocolate properly. Melting the chocolate the wrong way will only take away from the taste and consistency of the chocolate itself.

For the smoothest, best tasting chocolate, first break the chocolate down – trying to melt it all in one piece will not end up well for your cake topping. Then melt the chunks in intervals; start with one minutes, then 45 seconds, and then finally 30 seconds, making sure to stir the chocolate between each interval. This method helps improve the smoothness of the chocolate and prevents it from burning, as it would if you just put the bowl in the microwave for two minutes and let it do it’s thing.

All in all, as gorgeous as this cake comes out, it’s truly not that difficult to accomplish! You don’t have to sacrifice an entire afternoon to this decorating and you certainly don’t have to be a pastry chef to pull it off! Total time to do the entire topping is approximately 30 minutes and, as you’ll see in the directions below, it’s truly just a matter of melting and spread the chocolate. No fancy decorating tricks and no expensive equipment needed!

What do you think of this bubble wrap cake design? Will you give this design a try at home? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Bubble Wrap Cake

Ingredients

• Pastry chocolates
• Bubble wrap

Instructions

1. Break up your pastry chocolate and put it in a microwave-safe bowl.
2. Melt the chocolate in intervals, stirring in between each interval. Start with one minute, then do 45 seconds, then 30 seconds.
3. Measure out and cut a length of clean bubble wrap to the width and height of your cake.
4. Lay the bubble wrap with the bubbles up. Take your melted chocolate and put it on the bubble wrap, using a spatula to spread it across the entire width of the wrap.
5. Let the chocolate sit on the bubble wrap for 10 minutes before putting it on the cake. To put the chocolate on the cake, put the chocolate side again the cake and wrap it all the way around. Use a small piece of tape to keep the bubble wrap together if necessary.
6. Let the cake chill for 10 minutes before taking off the bubble wrap. Enjoy!