Keep Your Cakes Smudge-Free By Using This Simple Fix To Prop Up Cling Wrap

It has happened to all of us. You've finally mastered making frosting petals with a spoon or created one of the cutest sheet cake decorations ever, only to have your hard work ruined by errant cling wrap falling into the frosting. While some are lucky enough to have cake cloches or sturdy plastic carrying cases with lids, those who make cakes infrequently don't really have a reason to keep these things on hand, leaving cling wrap as their only available option for keeping their cake fresh for longer.

Some may argue that the refrigerator is a better option, but sticking your cake in the fridge is a great way to dry it out. Wrapping it and leaving it on the counter preserves its texture and keeps it perfectly fresh. While sticking toothpicks into your cake is a common solution, the pointed ends often tear through the thin plastic, allowing oxygen and bacteria to sneak in. However, some home bakers have innovated this technique by replacing toothpicks with cotton swabs.

The idea is to either purchase single-ended cotton swabs or cut one end from several double-ended swabs and slide the cut end into your cake so the soft cotton end is sticking straight up. From there, it's a simple matter of draping the cling wrap over your cake and securing it to lock in freshness. Ideally, there should be about 1 to 1.5 inches of space between the cling wrap and the frosting to account for slight shifts in the plastic.

The cotton swab hack works well because the cotton swabs are far less likely to tear your cling wrap than toothpicks, which could poke holes that not only sacrifice freshness but also cause the plastic to slide down the toothpicks and ruin your frosting anyway. However, the cotton swabs still leave little holes in your frosting, so you'll need to plan creatively to fix them before presenting your cake to guests.

One fix involves bringing a tiny piping bag of extra frosting with you to essentially "spackle" the little holes shut, smoothing them gently closed with a spatula. Another clever method for hiding them involves simply covering them with pretty metallic dragee pearls and premade gumpaste or fondant flowers. You could even embrace one of the many unique cake decorating ideas floating around the internet and use candy to decorate your cake, simply setting aside extra to cover the holes.

If you don't have access to cotton swabs, you can still recreate this hack using toothpicks and mini marshmallows. Pop the marshmallows on the ends of the toothpicks and use them as previously described. If you're covering a flat sheet cake, you can simply place full-size marshmallows on the flat surface to hold the cling wrap aloft — no toothpicks needed. Bonus points if you manage to work them into your cake's decor by using colored marshmallows to create a geometric design or by snipping them into pretty flower shapes with kitchen scissors.