search instagram twitter facebook pinterest chevron-right chevron-left email menu cross
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to menu-404 navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Let's Eat Cake

Let's Eat Cake is the lifestyle site for Millennial women. We’re your source for lifestyle, entertainment, fashion, beauty, jokes, puns, food news, coffee trends, and baking recipes.

  • Starbucks
  • Drink Recipes
  • Holidays
  • Nail Ideas
  • Weddings
  • Recipes
  • Jokes + Puns
  • About Us
  • Newsletter
  • Advertise
  • Privacy
  • Terms
© 2025 Let's Eat Cake
  • Starbucks
  • Drink Recipes
  • Nail Ideas
  • Holidays
    • Valentine’s Day
    • St Patrick’s Day
    • Christmas
    • Halloween
    • Holiday Recipes
  • Weddings
  • Recipes
    • Breakfast + Brunch Recipes
    • Cakes
    • Cookies
    • Desserts
    • Snacks
    • TikTok Recipes
  • Jokes + Puns
Home » What to Buy

14 Must-Have Baking Tools

By Rebecca Swanner | May 27, 2020 | Updated on June 15, 2023 | Leave a Comment
This post may contain affiliate links that we collect a share of sales from. Click here for more details.
221 shares
Baking Tools
Baking Tools
Baking Tools
Baking Tools
Baking Tools

If you want to learn how to bake, you probably wonder what essential baking tools you need. These are the baking tools I think every baker should own, in order from most to least essential.

Baking Tools

Do you really need a rolling pin? What about one of those fancy silicone baking mats? Will your pie crust be a baking disaster if you don’t own a pastry brush to do a proper egg wash? (Spoiler alert: No, no, and pie crust is always delicious.)

Baking in a well-appointed kitchen filled with all sorts of baking accessories and appliances and a chocolate mold in the shape of the Eiffel Tower could make things easier, but you don’t need all that stuff to get started. In fact, when I first started baking, I barely had any equipment, because I believe in taking a minimalist approach and mastering the basics.

Just kidding. I was unemployed and broke.

Every baking recipe will call for something specific. A bread recipe might need a loaf pan. Cupcakes and muffins will need cupcake liners and a muffin tin. Cakes call for all sorts of cake baking tools.

After all, baking is a science, and lab experiments call for the proper equipment.

Luckily, you can find a workaround for most specialty baking tools — but there are a few essential baking tools that nearly every recipe requires. These are them.

14 Essential Baking Tools

1. Oven Mitt

What I Recommend: Rosanna Pansino Oven Mitt
Safety first! All of the other baking tools on this list are going to make it easier for you to bake, especially if you’re just starting out. But, unless you’re only making raw treats, you’ll need a safe way to remove those cookies or cupcakes or pies from the oven. That’s where an oven mitt comes in. I have this 8-bit-heart-print mitt, along with the matching cookie cutter (which, obviously, is also a need).

Baking Tools - oven mitt

2. Oven Thermometer

What I Recommend: Taylor Oven Thermometer
If your cookies always come out under cooked (or overcooked) you might be tempted to give up baking and maybe take up needlepoint as a hobby instead. Before you do that, get thee an in-oven thermometer. There’s a very good chance your oven temperature doesn’t match what it says on the dial or digital readout — it could be off by 25° or more. This inexpensive gadget can save you a lot of frustration.
Baking Tools - Oven Thermometer

 

3. Measuring Cups and Measuring Spoons

What I Recommend: Farberware Measuring Cups and Spoons Set
Now that you can bake things at the right temperature and safely remove them from the oven, it’s time to get the tools you need to make the things! First and foremost, you’ll need at least one set each of measuring cups and spoons, because recipes never seem to call for “a fistful of flour.” Buying two sets will save you washing time. Hiring an assistant pastry chef is an even easier option.

For measuring cups, look for a metal or plastic set with handles. Bonus points if each measurement size is a different color. Same goes for the measuring spoons, and make sure the set includes ½ and ¼ teaspoon measures. Skip the dainty hand-painted ceramic measuring spoons — they last about three minutes. We all make this mistake (they’re so cute), but you don’t have to. 

You don’t actually need a liquid cup measure. But if your retail therapy game is strong right now, here’s the one I use. You can use the dry cup measure, unless it’s by weight — in which case, use a kitchen scale (#12 on this list.)
Baking Tools - measuring cups
 

4. Mixing Bowls

What I Recommend: Anchor 10-Bowl Set
From here on out, everything on this list of baking tools is optional. But hear me out: You’re going to want a set of heavy-duty mixing bowls. Plastic mixing bowls are fine if you’re on a very tight budget, but glass ones will move around less and make it easier for you to mix, whisk, and combine baking ingredients.

Yes, you can technically use any serving bowl for mixing ingredients. You can also technically swim in jeans, but it’s not going to be fun. Rummaging around your kitchen for the right size bowls for wet ingredients and dry ingredients is going to be a pain — and do you really want to run a hand mixer inside your favorite mango wood salad bowl?
Baking Tools - mixing bowls

 

5. Silicone Spatulas

What I Recommend: Tovolo Silicone Spatula with Wooden Handle
My silicone spatula is my favorite kitchen tool. It mixes batter! It scrapes every drop of batter into the pan! It stirs melting chocolate! It transports melted chocolate to my mouth! What about a wooden spoon? Won’t those work? They’re great if you’re making pate a choux! Otherwise, they will soak up the moisture in your batter. And, no one likes dry cake. Not even Marie Antoinette.
Baking Tools - Silicone Spatula

 

6. Baking Sheet Pans

What I Recommend: USA Half Sheet Baking Pan
Baking pans, sheet pans, cookie sheets — they’re all the same thing. For some recipes, you do want completely flat baking sheets, but if you’re starting out, a rimmed cookie sheet will do just fine. You’ll use them for baking cookies, galettes, sheet pan cakes, chocolate prep, and more. You might even use them to cook savory dishes. And you’ll definitely use them to accidentally splash water all over the kitchen when you’re washing them. Get a few of these at the 12 x 17-inch size.
Baking Tools - Baking Sheet

 

7. Cooling Rack

What I Recommend: Bellemain Cooling Rack
After you take your cake pan or baking sheet or brownie pan out of the oven, where are you going to put it? Leaving the pan on the stovetop while it cools may sound like the obvious answer, but the pan is hot, which means your baked goods will keep cooking. A cooling rack gives them a place to cool off faster, so you can get to the best part: eating them.Baking Tools - Cooling Rack

 

8. Whisk

What I Recommend: Winco Stainless Steel 10” Wire Whip Whisk
I’m all about small metal whisks. Maybe it’s because I’m 5’2” and when I use a big whisk, the whisk-to-person ratio just feels wrong. Small whisks fit comfortably in your hand, are easy to maneuver, and fluff up dry ingredients and eggs like nothing else. But if you want a bigger whisk, we won’t stop you! It’s not the size of the whisk, it’s the motion of the…whisk. 
Baking Tools - Whisk

 

9. Stand Mixer or Hand Mixer

What I Recommend: KitchenAid Tilt Head Stand Mixer or the KitchenAid 5-Speed Hand Mixer
Some baking recipes can be made without a mixer. But, for many, the extra speed and power of a mixer is essential. I’m very partial to my 4.5-quart KitchenAid Stand Mixer and prefer the tilt head model. It mixes ingredients beautifully, and I can easily change out the paddle attachment for the whisk attachment or dough hook.

However, stand mixers are expensive. If you’re not ready to drop a few hundred (and sacrifice the counter space), get a hand mixer instead. My recipes are made with a stand mixer in mind, but my hand mixer has worked in a pinch.
Baking Tools - Stand Mixer

 

10. A Good Knife

What I recommend: Zwilling J.A. Henckels 8” Chefs Knife
Good knives are sharp, sturdy knives. I prefer large chefs knives to cut almost everything from butter to strawberries to dark chocolate brownies. Wash and dry them immediately after each use so they don’t rust.
Baking Tools - Chef's Knife

 

11. Citrus Juicer

What I recommend: Sur La Table’s Glass Citrus Juicer
When I was first baking, I didn’t use my juicer often — until summer came around. Suddenly I was using my juicer all the time to add fresh lemon or lime juice to desserts and drinks. (If you plan on zesting a lot of citrus, also get a zester – not a box grater. We want you to keep your knuckles.)
Baking Tools - Juicer

 

12. Kitchen Scale

What I Recommend: Ozeri Kitchen and Food Scale
I’ve referenced this kitchen scale in countless recipes because I use it so often. If you’re following a baking recipe on the Internet or from a cookbook, most of the time, the measurements will be by volume. However, for some recipes — like this galette recipe — you will need to be precise and measure by weight. Also works great if you’re obsessed with stamps.
Baking Tools - Kitchen Scale

 

13. Parchment Paper

What I Recommend: 120 Pre-Cut Parchment Paper Sheets
Parchment paper prevents your cookies, cakes, and Swiss rolls from sticking to the pan. But rolls of parchment paper are the actual worst — they’re expensive, they curl up when you’re trying to use them, and you have to measure them to fit. Save yourself the hassle and buy pre-cut parchment paper that fits your cookie sheets (or cake pans).

 

14. Spatula

What I recommend: KitchenAid Turner
Turning spatulas are the best kitchen tool for removing cookies from baking pans. They’re also the best for throwing in the kitchen drawer at an awkward angle so the drawer won’t open the next time you need your spatula.
Baking Tools - Spatula

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Rebecca Swanner
Rebecca Swanner
Founder + Editor-in-Chief at Let's Eat Cake
Pleased to meet you. I'm the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Let's Eat Cake: The world's first smart, funny lifestyle site for women.

I've written or worked for a wide range of lifestyle sites and magazines, including Billboard, Nylon, Parade, Men's Journal, Us Weekly, Stuff, Blender, Beachbody, Alternative Press, Electronic Gaming Monthly, and more. See more on my LinkedIn.

On the baking side of things, I've run my own baking company and competed on Cupcake Wars, so hit me up with your baking questions! I respond fastest on Instagram where you can find me @letseatcakeblog

Want to know more? Here's my full bio.
Rebecca Swanner
Latest posts by Rebecca Swanner (see all)
  • Glamorous Wedding Dresses for a Wedding So Fancy the Paparazzi Might Show Up - October 23, 2024
  • There’s a S’mores Frappuccino Copycat on Dunkin’s Summer Menu - June 5, 2024
  • Starbucks Introduces Two Hot Honey Drinks To Their Menu - March 26, 2024
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. This post may contain affiliate links from Amazon and other sites that we collect a share of sales from.
221 shares

Read This Next

15 Cake Puns You Didn’t Know You Kneaded

15 Cake Puns You Didn’t Know You Kneaded

Your Handy Dry and Liquid Measurements Conversion Chart

Your Handy Dry and Liquid Measurements Conversion Chart

How Many Sticks of Butter Equal ½ a Cup? (And Other Butter Measurements)

How Many Sticks of Butter Equal ½ a Cup? (And Other Butter Measurements)

How to Make Cake Flour

How to Make Cake Flour

Reader Interactions

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

Primary Sidebar

Trending Now

Footer

  • About Us
  • Press
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA
  • Contact
  • News
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Instagram
  • TikTok
  • Twitter
  • Subscribe
© 2016–2025 Let's Eat Cake
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
221 shares
221 shares