Making from-scratch desserts is one thing, and serving them is another thing altogether! Finding that perfect plate, tray, or dish to complement your creation takes a sweet experience to another level. I gravitate toward pieces that have an organic, handmade feel; they help reinforce the idea that you’ve made something special worth celebrating.
My friend designer Jenni Kayne (jennikayne.com) has the most beautiful pieces on her website, like pie plates and rolling pins by Farmhouse Pottery, as well as modern cake domes and cake servers.
Heath Ceramics (heathceramics.com) is known for its earthy yet polished pottery. They also sell gorgeous cutlery, cutting boards, and more.
Other great resources for serving pieces are March (marchsf.com), Garde (gardeshop.com), Food52 (food52.com), and Aplat (aplatsf.com).
Quality bakeware is an investment well made; purchasing good pieces will ensure that the best ingredients are baked optimally. For KitchenAid mixers, baking cups and spoons, silicone spatulas, Pyrex mixing bowls, and even Cup4Cup gluten-free flour blend, I can always depend on Williams-Sonoma; in addition to their website (williamssonoma.com), they have stores in most major cities.
For the Chicago Metallic baking pans I can’t live without (and pretty much any other kitchen gadget you could ever need), I turn to Sur La Table (surlatable.com).
Crate and Barrel has a great selection of Le Creuset baking dishes and OXO brand liquid measuring cups and other baking tools.
Amazon (amazon.com) is an easy place to find my favorite cocoa, Callebaut, and hard-to-find ingredients like maple sugar. For the best flour, you can’t beat King Arthur (kingarthurflour.com).
Wilton (wilton.com) and Michaels (michaels.com) sell a large selection of cupcake liners, fondant (as well as fondant rollers and cutters), coloring gels, and the 12-cup pan called for in our cupcake recipes.
Cake rounds, as well as piping bags and tips, can be found online at gloriascakecandysuplys.com.
A great site for birthday candles (like the tall ones here) is Knot and Bow (knotandbow.com). They can also be found at Anthropologie stores (anthropologie.com).
CopperGifts.com is my source for cookie cutters in every shape and size, as well as all type of cookie decorating supplies.
For Sprinkles offset spatulas, cupcake trays, and disposable cupcake towers, come into a Sprinkles store or find them online at sprinkles.com.