My freehand writing skills are awful (at best) . I have seen so many pretty cakes on this site that look spectacular with writing on them. Some look like calligraphy. How can I get that look to put on buttercream frosting? I have several graduation cakes coming up and I am always afraid I will run out of room writing Congratulations!!! I appreciate any help with this.

Pat Clayton

Don't worry, I think everyone thinks that they write bad (I know I do), but most of the time that's not the case. Anyhow, you can do a couple of things to make your writing uniform, and pretty. Wilton makes plastic stamps that have letters and numbers so you can write out what you want to say, and stamp it on the cake. That leaves an indentation in the buttercream and you trace over it. They also have a set of pre-written salutations like Congratulations, Happy Birthday, etc.

When I have a lot to write, or I need a specific font, I will print out what I want to write in Word with the font I want to use place parchment paper on top, and trace with royal icing or chocolate, and then transfer onto the cake. Using this method you sometimes have to make extras just in case.

I print out my wording on paper using whatever font I want. I prick the lines with a large, sharp needle from the front so that there are little pokey things on the back. Then I lay it on the bcf and press each letter. This leaves a faint but distinct impression that is very easy to follow. This way I can also guage how large or small I need to make it so it will fit. Works like a charm.