Cake decorating is one of the sugar arts that uses icing or frosting and other edible decorative elements to make plain cakes more visually interesting. Alternatively, cakes can be molded and sculpted to resemble three-dimensional persons, places and things.

Cake decorating originated in 17th century Europe. During the 1840s, the advent of temperature-controlled ovens and the production of baking powder made baking cakes much easier. As temperature control technology improved, an increased emphasis on presentation and ornamentation developed Cakes began to take on decorative shapes, were adorned with additional icing formed into patterns and flowers, and food coloring was used to accent frosting or layers of cake.