Duff Goldman's Top Tips For Decorating Cake With Fruit

Beautiful decorations can make all the difference to a cake, transforming it from a simple homemade treat to an elegant masterpiece worthy of a pastry shop window. One of the easiest ways to elevate a cake is by decorating it with colorful fruits, which are much easier to handle than piping bags.

There are a few factors to consider when choosing which fruits to use. Duff Goldman, celebrity chef and founder of Charm City Cakes (which makes cakes available to order on Goldbelly), recommends opting for fresh over frozen and selecting smaller varieties like berries. 

This is because frozen fruit will eventually thaw, which can lead to leakage and cause the berries to slide right off your beautifully decorated cake. "Frozen fruit is great for a lot of things. But for decorating, if you put a frozen strawberry on a cake, as it thaws, it's just going to start leaking juice everywhere," Goldman told Tasting Table in an exclusive interview.

Goldman, who is known for his intricate decorating skills and innovative ideas, also likes using miniature versions of larger fruits to top off his cakes. Think bright green baby kiwis (also known as kiwi berries), blushing Seckel mini pears, and bite-sized mandarins. You could mix and match different varieties, or pop the fruits directly on the cake for a striking visual effect.

One of Goldman's favorite fruits to work with is miniature apples. "There's some really amazing little tiny apples that are in the grocery store right now. They come in this plastic three-pound box and they look like crab apples, but they're actually delicious," he said.

Another creative touch he recommends is candying citrus to adorn your cake — even candying an entire mandarin if it's small enough. Ultimately, Goldman's top tip is to select the freshest, best-looking produce available. It doesn't take much to make a cake stand out, and a few vibrant pieces of fruit should do just the trick.