For the Desserts

A decorating comb pressed against the side of a cake on a turntable leaves ridges, lines or zigzags in the buttercream. This one has three serrated edges, each with a different pattern, and a fourth flat edge for smoothing the icing first.It is aluminum, made in the USA, with a hanging hole for storage.The Ateco 1446 Triangular Comb offers three more patterns in a smaller size. A turntable such as the Ateco 615 makes combing even. Learn More

A turntable lets you hold the spatula still and turn the cake, which is how decorators get smooth sides and even borders. The 610 is Ateco’s lightweight model, made in the USA from ABS plastic, and it suits home bakers, students and anyone who moves a turntable in and out of a cupboard.Built-In GuidelinesConcentric circles printed on the top help center the cake board. An off-center cake wobbles as it turns, which makes smoothing harder. A non-slip pad keeps the base in place on the counter, and the top lifts off the base for washing.The 610 is the lightest and lowest of the three. The metal stands are heavier, sit higher and are built for daily use in a bakery and for heavy, tiered cakes. Learn More

This knife is thinner and more flexible than a bread knife. A long bread knife works fine for splitting a cake in half, but if you need to split a genoise into three or four layers, these thin, inexpensive Ateco cake knives work much better.The fine serrations cut soft crumb without compressing it, and the 10-inch blade spans an 8- or 9-inch cake so each layer can be cut in a single, steady pass. Score a line around the side first, then turn the cake as you cut toward the center.For cakes 10 inches and larger, use the Ateco 1316 14-inch Cake Knife. Learn More

A tapered rolling pin gives you more control than a pin with handles, because your palms rest directly on the wood and feel the thickness of the dough. Norpro’s 18-inch French-style pin, also called a French dowel, is thickest in the middle and narrows toward each end, which makes it easy to pivot and roll a round pie crust without turning the dough.It is turned from a single piece of beechwood with no handles or joints to loosen or trap flour. At 18 inches long, it rolls a crust for a 10-inch pie plate in a few passes and is light enough to lift and flip a sheet of dough over a tart pan.Use it for pie and tart crusts, cookie dough and pasta sheets. Dust the pin and the counter lightly with flour and roll from the center outward, giving the dough a quarter turn now and then. Holiday bakers buy it along with the Norpro pastry blender, the bench scraper and the silicone pie crust shield. Learn More

This nearly five-pound rolling pin is heavy duty and suited to a commercial kitchen. Its weight does much of the work on difficult doughs, such as dry or chilled laminated dough, and if you are making a sizable batch of croissants or puff pastry, this is the roller to have.Size and WeightThe maple barrel is 18 inches long and 3.25 inches across, and the pin measures 27 inches overall. It turns on ball bearings, so the barrel rolls while the handles stay steady in your hands.For pie crusts and smaller batches at home, the Ateco 12275 is lighter and easier to store. Learn More

A French pin is thickest at the center and tapers toward each end. The taper lets you pivot the pin as you roll, turning a disc of dough into an even round for a pie or tart without lifting and rotating the dough itself.This one is maple, 20 inches long, tapering from 1.35 inches across at the center to 0.85 inch at the ends. With no handles, your hands rest directly on the pin and feel the dough’s thickness. It is made in Canada.For an even barrel, see the Ateco 19176 Straight Dowel. For heavy laminated doughs, a ball bearing pin such as the Ateco 18325 does more of the work. Learn More

A straight dowel has no handles, so your palms rest on the dough side of the pin and can feel its thickness as you roll. Many pastry cooks prefer that direct contact for pie dough, tart shells and cookies.This maple dowel is 19 inches long and 1.75 inches across, wide enough to roll a full sheet without the edges of the dough passing under your hands. It is made in Canada.For a pin that tapers toward the ends and pivots easily into rounds, see the Ateco 20175 French Rolling Pin. Learn More

Whole baked apples, apple rings and stuffed pears all start with a clean core, and this F. Dick corer takes it out in one push. The round cutting tube goes from stem to base and lifts the core and seeds away together.Center the corer over the stem, push straight down through the fruit, then twist and pull it back out with the core inside. The fruit stays whole for baking or slicing into rings for drying. It also cores pears and hollows zucchini for stuffing.Coring before baking lets the fruit hold butter and spices in the center, and cored apples cut into even rings for drying.Peel the fruit first with the F. Dick micro serrated swivel peeler. For decorative melon and fruit balls, see the F. Dick double ended melon baller. A paring knife such as the F. Dick Premier Plus 3.5-inch paring knife trims any remaining seeds. Learn More

A pastry wheel cuts long, straight lines through rolled dough without dragging it, which a knife tends to do. This one has a 2.5-inch stainless wheel for strips of lattice, squares of puff pastry, crackers and pizza.The polypropylene handle is contoured with a finger rest, and the whole tool can go through a commercial dishwasher.The same wheel size with a wood handle is the Ateco 1392. For scalloped edges, see the Ateco 1397 Fluted Wheel. Learn More