I am hoping that someone can help me. I am doing my first cake with an edible image. I am wondering when to put the image on the cake. I have heard it will bleed (?) if put on too soon. The cake is to be delivered Friday. I baked it today and was going to frost it and decorate the sides. Should I wait to put the image on till Thursday night? Friday morning? Or will it be okay to do it tonight? Help!!

If there's a high moisture content in your BC, the image may run. Also, the image may run if the cake collects moisture in the fridge. I've found, for me, that if you let the cake sit at room temperature before applying the image, you lessen your chances of the image running.

If you're going to apply an image to crusting BC, you have to apply it before the BC gets hard or else it won't stick. And you don't want to use piping gel or water or anything funky like that for obvious reasons.

Also, one thing I've found that helps me get the images on the cake without them tearing is to freeze it for a few minutes (until the edges start to lift). Then, flip it over, peel off the backing and viola!

Thanks for the tips. I am going to crumbcoat the cake tonight and finish icing it tomorrow night and apply the image while the icing is still soft.