Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A

Hi, Would you use a cake mat or board for decorating?

I’m still new at cake decorating and looking to buy a  board, I noticed ‘cake hole’s’ question re boards, has anyone got experience with The Mat, would that be a better buy for me or should I stick with the board, basically what I’m looking for is guidance as to Would you use a cake mat or board for decorating?

Thanks

The Mat is specially formulated for use with food, not all plastic is food safe as they contain chemicals which can transfer into food.

I would personally stick to the board as it is used much more, you could buy a black non stick oven liner from Lakeland for rollling out icing or bacoglide do a non stick mat that is also excellent.

I have just order one so watch this space!  I agree with Bev and start with a board!  Mind you I still roll out fondant just on my work surface, no board, no mat.  It has worked for me for nearly 40 years :0)

J x

I bought the mat last year and have used it just the once. I found it very hard work rolling out the icing in between two sheets of plastic. It is however very useful for managing large amounts of rolled icing onto the cake. I don’t use it all now, my granite work surface is much easier for rolling out and extra long rolling pin means easier lifting of icing onto cake. I had to try it though! Good luck with it if you decide on buying one.

I bought the mat last year as well.  Tried it a couple of times and found it very difficult to roll out the fondant – hard work.  Also, I found that contrary to what they say about it keeping dust particles etc off the fondant , it actually made matters worse.  It’s now in the garage collecting dust!  I have the green board which I use most of the time, but still find that it also attracts particles.  So I went back to using my worktop for rolling out and have got to say that it is so much better – no more particles.  I wonder if it is anything to do with static?

Hi I’m also new to baking and I bought the mat straight away and Find it a whiz.  I did notice that the sugar snagged one or twice but i just wiped it down and re-trexed it and it’s been fine since. I also notice that if your sugar isn’t kneeded well you may get holes in it as it’s not smooth. Hope this helps. X

Thankyou all for your helpfull comments, not going to rush into a purchase yet!

I’ve used The Mat a few times now and have mixed feelings.  It is definitely harder work rolling the fondant out than compared to a work surface.

However, I do like that I can take as long as I like to roll it out and not worry about the paste drying out – someone phoned me right in the middle of rolling out past last time and I could walk away and leave it without the paste drying out.

I also like that if I misjudge where to place the paste it does give me a second chance to easily lift it off and reposition it again.

It is a fiddle to keep it clean.  When you peel off both sides and place aside whilst dealing with the cake it seems to attract every particle around.  No matter how carefully I clean it when I come to roll out the next batch I find that there are pretty much always a few stray particles inside the mat and on top of my sugar paste.

Overall conclusion – if you are new to cake decorating and struggling with getting your fondant on before it dries and cracks then The Mat is worth a go.  If you are confident with fondant then no, it isn’t worth the extra hassle it brings.

Hi i have the mat and would not be with out it..i found it saves on time and money..if you go to the range on the fabric department you can buy a similar non stick plastic fabric for £1 per half a metre, i paid £23 for my mat and i find it does the same thing, its worth buying to save money.

Thank you Linda &Debbie for some more valuable information, Linda – is it just ordinary plastic sheeting from any fabric department????

Thanks

Moira