Last Updated on January 16, 2024
Are you one of the lucky ones who has a baker for a friend? In that case, it’s time to thank them for all those cakes and apple pies with a thoughtful gift. If you don’t want to give them another set of cupcake holders, this is your lucky day. In this guide, we’ll cover all the best gifts for bakers, from baking staples to specialty ingredients suitable for both new and veteran bakers.
Personalized Recipe Box
Every baker needs some sort of system to keep their beloved recipes neatly organized. They probably have tons of paper slips with recipes jotted down by themselves after countless experiments in the kitchen.
If that sounds right, and your favorite baker likes rustic-looking ornaments, check out this handmade custom recipe box. The carefully added details are sure to win them over!
Springform Pan
A springform pan is one of the most used items in a baker’s kitchen. Even experienced bakers appreciate getting an extra one in a different sizeas it enables them to customize their baked goods, from cute and small cakes to hearty and large pies.
Baking Sheets
Looking to impress a cake baker with a passion for sheet cakes, scoop cookies, or cake pops? A classic way to go is a set of sheet pans. Flat pans in a variety of sizes and shapes make all the difference in a baker’s kitchen.
The difference between a good set of pans and meh ones is even heating properties. Get a set with a non-stick coating to eliminate the need for parchment paper and oil sprays to make your pastry chef’s job even easier.
Round Cake Pans
For a beautiful-looking, fluffy, and evenly cooked layer cake, you need different sizes of round pans. They’re also indispensable for cheesecakes, tarts, and quiches. Round pans are versatile, durable, and a great addition to any baker’s collection.
Piping Bags
A handsome-looking treat somehow tastes better than a regular one. Pastry bags are designed to elevate your cakes and muffins with those swirly-twirly decorations.
Opt for a reusable silicone one with a nozzle for various tips to allow your baker friend to experiment with different techniques and create professional-looking designs.
Offset Spatula
An offset spatula’s thin, flat blade makes it a breeze to ganache smoothly across a cake’s surface.
It’s also a multitask tool that’ll help them remove baked goods from the pan, spread cookie batter evenly, create swirls and patterns on cakes and cupcakes, or even stack paper-thin crepes — also try saucing homemade pizza with it.
A French Rolling Pin
By myrtlewood54
A no-nonsense baking tool made of a simple wood dowel without any internal ball bearings or handles.
Unlike traditional American rolling pins, French pins allow bakers to apply pressure with an open palm, providing better control and a sense of evenness. It’s the next step on becoming a pastry master.
Bundt Pan
Not only do bundt pans offer unique shapes that can take a cake from ordinary to extraordinary, but they also have practical benefits, such as evenly distributing heat and creating a beautiful, crisp crust.
From elegant floral motifs to whimsical animal shapes, there’s a bundt pan for every occasion, whether it’s a birthday, holiday, or just because.
Loaf Pan
A loaf pan is like a trusty sidekick to any home baker. It’s always there to lend a helping hand when it comes to whipping up some scrumptious quick bread, ensuring your chef never has to worry about uneven baking or sticky messes again. It’s also the perfect tool for crafting creative meatloaf masterpieces.
Pie Dish
What’s a pie without a perfect crust? And what’s a perfect pie crust without the perfect pie plate? Make flaky pies with perfectly cooked crust and filling, and serve them on the same plate with grace.
Cookie Scoop
By Colin Steele
A cookie scoop is a must-have tool in a cookie aficionado’s kitchen. This handy gadget gives you just the same amount of cookie dough just by scooping and dropping, letting you line your baking sheet with a uniform batch in a breeze.
It’s also helpful in portioning out muffin or cupcake batter evenly and creating uniform meatballs.
Oven Mitts
Add a pop of personality to their kitchen! Your beloved baker might already have a pair, but you can always get them the top-quality oven mitt that’ll shine even when it’s hanging on the oven knob.
Silicone Spoonula
No baking tool is versatile enough to stir, scrape, and scoop more than a silicone spoonula. It’s as if a spatula and a spoon had a lovechild who got the best traits of both.
Perfect for mixing batter, scraping every last bit of cookie dough out of the bowl, and even flipping pancakes. With this tool, the days of scratching your non-stick pans or melting your plastic spatula are long gone.
Cake Cutting Wire
If you want to make a baking enthusiast smile, give them specialty tools that’ll make otherwise tedious jobs a breeze.
Take this Mrs. Anderson’s cutting wire; it’s a simple wire strung between two handles that slices even cake layers or cuts through any baked creations with ease. Lopsided cake, be gone!
Cake and Candy Decorating Set
Making delicious treats is one thing, but making them look so adorable that people can’t bear to eat them is another. A cake and candy decorating set is a great gift for the serious baker who loves to decorate their creations.
The palettes are great for shaping, the brushes are perfect for mixing and applying color, and the special tweezers are great for placing chocolate chips or dried fruit pieces in strategic places. It will take the decorating skills of your professional baker to the next level.
Kitchen Torch
A kitchen torch isn’t a must-have kitchen equipment, but it’s still a great tool your baker will appreciate. They can torch meringues on the spot, make creme brulee, heat a knife to cut pies and cakes into perfect slices, or smooth the icing on any cake.
Cake Turntable
If your beloved baker likes to decorate cakes and doesn’t have a cake turntable already, you’re about to do them a huge favor. A cake turntable spins the cake right round (baby right round), so you can decorate it easily without moving around or pushing the cake.
The stability ensures spotless icing, so getting a metal one, such as this Ohuhu cake decoration supply set, instead of a plastic turntable, is a better investment.
Bench Scraper
A pro baker probably already has a few bench scrapers in their drawers, but they’re a spot-on gift for a newbie. They help with portioning and shaping wet dough that tends to stick to floured surfaces.
They are also great for applying unstable icing like buttercream, as you can hold it parallel to the cake and get the whole side in one go — if you have a turntable. And for bakers who also cook, these can be used to gather diced vegetables and herbs quickly.
Dusting Wand
A dusting wand not only allows your pastry chef to pretend they’re a character from Fairly Odd Parents but also helps them add a final magical touch to their creations. When it comes to topping elegant creations with powdered sugar, cacao, or coffee, if you’re feeling Italian, a dusting wand like this OXO Good Grip Baker’s Dusting Wand can make it much easier and mess-free than a bigger mesh.
Stand Mixer
You may have seen chefs on TV profess their love for their stand mixers. Well, that’s because stand mixers are incredibly useful and let you make dough without kneading it yourself and hands-free icing or cream butter in minutes.
KitchenAid stand mixers are generally regarded as the best of the best for the past 50 years. They are reliable and practical and have additional attachments you can purchase to turn your stand mixer into other tools like a pasta machine or a meat grinder.
It’s true that they are a bit pricey, but they’re a good long-term investment that is sure to make all bread and cake bakers over the moon. If a KitchenAid is over your budget, consider getting together with a few people or looking into competitors with lighter price tags.
Mortar and Pestle
Do you like cakes decorated with pistachio crumbs? Does the word homemade peanut butter make you drool a little? If the answer is yes, you should consider getting a granite mortar and pestle such as KROK to encourage your family baker to incorporate more of these things into their baking.
A granite mortar and pestle can open up new horizons for a baker. Using freshly grounding hard spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, cloves, or cardamom, can help them make even more delicious pastries. With a mortar and pestle within reach, cookies and cakes will never be the same again.
Cookie Cutters
Speaking of cookies, check out the R&M set of 4 pastry or cookie stampers. With an easy-to-use plunger handle, your friend can create intricately patterned snowflake cookies in no time.
The dough releases easily from the cutters, and the shapes hold well during baking. Perfect holiday cookies!
Cooling Rack
A cooling rack allows air to circulate freely around baked creations, saving them from the evils of condensation — who needs soggy cookies, right?
It ensures that all the baking creations cool evenly, which is crucial for the perfect texture and quality, from cookies and cakes to bread and pastries. Keep in mind that a tight grid is usually the best for candy and cookie bakers to keep thin treats from breaking or falling through.
Measuring Cups
By Kanawinkie
Precision is the key to making excellent pastries and cakes, so most bakers already have a shrine of measuring cups and kitchen scales in their kitchen. But if you’re looking for a gift for a newbie baker, or you know that they want to improve their measuring tools, a set of these is a super practical gift.
Kitchen Scale
Cups can be misleading as measuring weight is always more precise than measuring volume. This makes a kitchen scale one of the best gifts for bakers. C If your beloved baker doesn’t own one yet, it’s time they get one, for sure.
Cake Stand
If your loved one is into cake decorating, they would love any opportunity to show off their creations, as in the world of baking, presentation is just as important as taste.
A cake stand is a key tableware for serving pastries and cakes, just like placing artwork on a pedestal, and it’s a perfect gift for a cake master.
Mixing Bowls
If your baker friend still mixes their ingredients in saucepans or fruit bowls, do them a favor by getting them a practical set of mixing bowls. The market abounds with all sorts of sets – glass or see-through ones, sets with lids, or sets with measurement prints on them.
They can mix cake batter in them or even use them as a double boiler to temper chocolate with. Or just get them an aesthetically pleasing set they cannot help but show off on their countertop.
Collapsible Cake and Cupcake Carrier
Only a few people can say no to beautifully decorated cupcakes, especially if they are served in their best shape. To make sure your beloved baker carries their cupcakes everywhere with them, get them a collapsible cupcake carrier like the Prepworks carrier.
Not a problem for a tiny kitchen either, it doesn’t take up much space when it’s stored and definitely protects the fragile cupcakes from any harm on the go.
Pie Stencils
We already said that a great presentation can be as important as the taste itself. Give your favorite baker the gift of creativity with a set of pie stencils, such as this American Heirloom pie stencil set, and watch them create stunning pieces of art out of their pastries. You won’t regret the outcomes.
Digital Oven Thermometer
Digital thermometers aren’t just for cooking a whole turkey. In fact, professional bakers always use one, whether they’re bread bakers or cake masters.
For example, bread yeast has an optimum temperature to inoculate perfectly. Plus, different racks in the oven might cook things differently. Sure, trial and error may get you there, but why not make your life easier with a digital thermometer from the get-go?
A Set of Ramekins
This highly underrated tableware lets you make portion-sized dishes in the oven: individual servings of creme brulees, souffle, crumbles, puddings, and so much more. Just let your imagination run wild, and don’t stop yourself at desserts. A set of ramekins also unlocks recipes like French onion soup, vegetable quiches, and even portion-sized omelets.
Custom Apron
Do you happen to know a fashion-savvy baker? A custom-made apron is both a practical and stylish gift for your favorite baker. You can print anything on fabric these days, so why not get an apron with their name on it? If you’re looking for something more extravagant, you can even commission an artist to print their custom artwork on the apron.
Microplane
By Elena Chesta
Fine tufts of citrus and chocolate are essential touches for delicious pastries, which you can only achieve with a microplane. Not only does it work wonders for adding delicate touches to desserts, but it’s also perfect for grating tough, whole spices like nutmeg and cinnamon. A microplane is truly a versatile tool that no pastry chef should be without!
Danish Dough Whisk
By What I saw…
A Danish dough whisk with a looped wire end looks quirky, but it can blend anything from thick bread dough to buttercream perfectly. It’s much easier to use and clean compared to regular balloon-shaped whisks since it doesn’t collect clumps of dough in the middle.
A Container Set
It’s essential to have a safe place to store ingredients to keep them organized and protect them from contaminants. A container set, just like the Progressive Prepworks ProKeeper, helps keep pantries and refrigerators organized and lets you easily see what you have on hand and quickly grab what you need.
Silicone Baking Mats For Dutch Oven
These Patelai silicone baking mats are a perfect addition to any baking enthusiast’s collection. Its long handles let you take out the bread from the piping hot dutch oven without burning your hands and ruining your bread. They are ideal for making cookies, caramels, and golden-brown bread in a dutch oven.
Pure Madagascar Vanilla Extract
The secret to achieving delicious and flavorful baked goods lies in using high-quality ingredients, particularly when it comes to vanilla extract. A high-quality Madagascar vanilla is an excellent consumable gift for bakers. Its delicious flavor elevates the taste of other ingredients with its floral, creamy, and sweet notes.
Mexican Cocoa
Inspired by traditional Mexican hot chocolate, this cocoa powder contains a blend of Mexican chocolate spices, cinnamon, and vanilla powder for added sweetness. Use it to create your favorite chocolate chip cookies, or mix it with milk for a delicious cup of hot Mexican cocoa. It makes for a perfect gift for bakers, foodies, or anyone who loves a little spice in their desserts.
Chocolate Moulds
Encourage your serious baker to make their own specialty chocolates at home with a set of molds. Making chocolate at home is great because you have complete creative control over the flavors and ingredients which is exactly what makes specialty chocolate an experience beyond ordinary treats.
A Great Recipe Book
If you’re looking for a gift for a home baker, a good recipe book can be a game-changer! It’s like giving them the tools to create something truly magical in the kitchen. With a great recipe book, they’ll have all the guidance they need to make delicious treats they never thought possible.
Here are some solid bakery books that explain methods with solid recipes:
- Baking Illustrated by Cook’s Illustrated Magazine Editors
- Momofuku Milk Bar by Christina Tosi
- Ratio by Michael Ruhlman
A Sourdough Starter Kit
Sourdough baking has gained popularity in recent years with the pandemic, and for a good reason. It’s not only a fun and therapeutic way to spend time, but it also yields delicious bread with a unique, tangy flavor that’s easier to digest than regular bread.
Give your personal bread baker the means to make a new yeast baby that’ll give them delicious, healthy bread for a lifetime.
Bakers Gonna Bake!
Hopefully, our guide will help you pick a great gift for your favorite baker and thank them for the delicious desserts they make. Plus, it’s always a win-win situation if they decide to put the token of your appreciation to good use and make more muffins the next time you see them!
If you couldn’t find anything that fits your beloved chef, check out our guides on Best Gifts for Those Who Love Outdoor Cooking, Top 11 Housewarming Gifts For Friends and Family, Top 25 Gifts for the Home Cook, and Christmas Gifts for Your Favorite Chef whether it’s the holiday season or not.
