HOME COOKING WITH Wilton Enterprises

Many beginning cake decorators get their start using Wilton products and the Wilton method of cake decorating.  The Wilton supplies are sold nationally in craft and other specialty stores, by mail order, and now online.

There are also a great number of experts and culinary professionals who specialize in cakes, desserts and sugar art who remember starting out with Wilton.

Wilton began in 1929 as a small, family-owned cake decorating school in Chicago, Illinois.  The founder was sugar artist Dewey McKinley Wilton, who began teaching the "Wilton Method" of decorating cakes from his home.

In 1973, Wilton introduced a magazine called Celebrate!, created especially for cake decorators.

Wilton has been the leader in cake decorating supplies and products for over 50 years.  Today, Wilton Enterprises is one of four divisions that make up Wilton Industries.  Two of their other divisions are Copco (kitchenware) and Rowoco (kitchen gadgets and bakeware).

The Wilton School of Cake Decorating and Confectionery Art, located in a 2,200 sq. ft. facility in Darien, IL, offers more than 90 courses and workshops.  They offer a Masters Course, advanced courses in Fondant Art, Sugar Artistry, Gum Paste, Chocolate Inspirations, and Marzipan, 3-Day Workshops, 1-Day Workshops and 3-Hour Workshops.

You can also learn the Wilton method of cake decorating in short classes offered at craft and specialty stores.

You can visit the official Wilton website to learn more about their cake decorating school, their retail store, and to get creative new ideas.

Shop for Wilton Cake Decorating Supplies

articles and more

The 1974 Wilton Yearbook Cakes and Pans - See a list of the cake decorating projects and pans used in this issue.

1978 Wilton Yearbook Cakes and Pans - See a list of the cake decorating projects and pans used in this issue.

Wilton Holiday! (1988) Cakes and Pans - A list of the Christmas holiday cake decorating projects and pans used in this issue.

The 2001 Wilton Yearbook Cakes and Pans - See a list of all the decorating projects for cakes and cookies in this issue.

Wilton Publications of the Past and Present - Cover photos and descriptions of current and out-of-print Wilton cake decorating books and magazines.

Wilton Celebrate III Pattern Book Index - A list of the cake decorating patterns found in the Celebrate III Pattern Book.

Wilton Celebrate IV Pattern Book Index - A list of the cake decorating patterns found in the Celebrate IV Pattern Book.

Wilton Celebrate V Pattern Book Index - A list of the cake decorating patterns found in the Celebrate V Pattern Book.

wilton cake decorating books and publications

Wilton's Wonderland of Cake Decorating.  1968

Pictorial Encyclopedia of Modern Cake Decorating.  1969

Wilton Book of Classic Desserts.  1970

The Wilton Book of Wedding Cakes.  1971

The Wilton Way of Cake Decorating, Volume One.  1974

The Wilton Way, Volume One.  Pattern Book.  1974

The Fantasy of Molds by Wilton.  1974.

The 1974 Wilton Yearbook of Cake Decorating.  1974

Celebrate! Pattern Book, 1974

Sugar Plum Pattern Book

Color Flow Pattern Book

Celebrate! Omnibus.  1976

Celebrate! Charter Pattern Book

The Fantasy of Molds

Basic Cake Decorating - The Wilton Way.  1975

Celebrate! II.  1975

Celebrate! II Pattern Book.  1975

The Wilton Way to Decorate for Christmas.  1976

Celebrate! III.  1976

Celebrate! III Pattern Book.  1976

The Wilton Way of Cake Decorating, Volume Two.  1977

The Wilton Way Pattern Book (for Volume Two).  1977

Celebrate! IV.  1977

Celebrate! IV Pattern Book.  1977

Wilton Yearbook 1978. 1977

1978 Yearbook Patterns

Celebrate! VI

Celebrate! VI Pattern Book

The Wilton Way of Cake Decorating, Volume Three

The Wilton Way Volume Three Pattern Book

Celebrate! Christmas with Wilton, 1982

Celebrate! With Party Spectaculars from A to Z: The Annual for Cake and Food Decorators by Wilton.  1983

Wilton: The Uses of the Most Popular Decorating Tips.  1986

A Treasury of Wilton Wedding Cakes - Updated Edition.  1991

The Wilton Way to Decorate for Christmas.  1993

Wilton Mini Treats.  1996

The Wilton Method of Cake Decorating: Course III - Fondant and Tiered Cakes.  1997

Pattern Book for the 1999 Wilton Yearbook.  1998

The 2000 Yearbook - Cake Decorating.  1999

Pattern Book for the 2000 Yearbook.  1999

2001 Wilton Yearbook - Cake Decorating!  2000

Celebrate! with Fondant.  2005

Celebrate! was a bi-monthly magazine created by Wilton in 1973 especially for cake decorators.  In 1974, a 1-year subscription cost $5.00, a 2-year subscription cost $7.95.  The  January/February 1973 issue was the first issue published.

A blue-grained plastic slipcase with gold letters that would hold 12 issues was also available.

The individual issues of the first two years of Celebrate! were issued bound into a convenient hardcover volume called Celebrate! Omnibus.

The magazine contained cake decorating ideas, techniques, tips on decorating fancy foods, recipe and cake contests to enter, articles, and more.  The subject matter was suitable for both beginner and experienced cake decorators.

Also available in 1974 was a 30-minute full-color film produced by Norman Wilton.  The film featured step-by-step demonstrations and showed all the things that could be done with just icing and a decorating tube.  In this film, he also sets up and decorates a multi-tiered wedding cake.