I hate writing on cakes...I typically just make Royal Icing and trace over the letters (print out from computer, put wax paper on top, tape it nad then use icing bag to trace) and let them dry...
The recipe I have calls for 4 cups of icing sugar....dont want to make that much for just my letters...and i dont need it really for anything else...shud i just scale the recipe down? I dont want to mess it up...the recipe i mean...

what do you all do?

Make the recipe on the back of the Meringue Powder can from Wilton. And half it.

I never write on cakes. I make a small plaque from a fancy cookie cutter and some gumpaste, then write on it with a food marker.

Theresa

Maybe you might want to invest in some letter presses? They are so you can press letters (a mesage) into the cake icing and trace over those. Then you can use the regular buttercream and won't have to make the royal icing at all.

I use a projector! Worth every dime

I make plaques too.. makes it easy to fix if you mess a letter up.. I just have a heap of plaques made in advance from gumpaste...

I hate it too - my writing is so bad it actually ruins my cakes. I tried the press letters and don't really like them. I avoid writing when I can (use candle letters for names etc) but I often paint on Fondant- I find I have much better control painting.

My aunt took a calligraphy course and said her writing improved 100%. When I have time, I'm going to practice calligraphy. She claims it's only a matter of practice.

I use a projector, too. Worth every penny! I make my saying on the computer, any font I want. Pop it into the projector, trace on cake with pin, and then go over with icing. Perfect writing...perfect spacing... EVERY time.

Jen

What kind of projectors do you have?

I have a KopyKake, the less expensive model. I've had mine for many a moon... over 30 years.

Ok, I'm showing my age

Jen

I have the mid-price model. It's the 300XK- I LOVE it. I dont even trace with a pin (though that's a really great idea!!)

ETA: Mine's a KopyKake as well.

I use clear piping gel on paper from fonts printed with mirror image from computer....press and then write over it....Learned this tip from CC and it really helps...check out photos

I think I cheat. I bought a chocolate mold with 2 inch high letters. I color the chocolate, fill it out, pop it out and stick it onto the cake. Easier than cutting out fondant letters--and it's neat!

I know when I started decorating cakes 20 odd years ago I used a piece of vinyl with a grade school writing sheet underneath it. I praticed writing e's and l's looped together over and over. Once I got the letters evenly spaced and liked how they looked I worked on harder letters. It seems kinda silly but it works.
When I worked for one of those big grocery chains I would teach new cake decorators how to write on cakes. I would suggest they do the same thing. Also, I suggested writing quickly, cause the slower you write the more you hand shakes. Practice practice practice! Do it on vinyl, scrape it off and do it again! The goal is to have level, evenly spaced and balanced words.
I do like the newer impression gadgets for writing they have out these days!

I despise writing on cakes! I have beautiful penmanship, but when it comes to cakes I look like a cross eyed 4 year old wrote on it! (No offense to any cross eyed four year olds!!) Whenever humanly possible I use edible images for words. I found that the letter presses don't work too well for me, but a projector is intriguing! I'd love to try one out some time before buying one. Wish there was a place to do that!

I make plaques as well.

PJ37: Using piping gel....doesn't that stay wet? It sounds like how it's done with RI, but I'm confused if it stays wet???

I never write on cakes anymore! I always make a fondant banner and use food color markers to write the message, or if I have room I use my whimsy letter cutters. They were worth every dime!

Michelle M77,
Yes, The clear gel is "wet", but there is not much of it on the cake. Then you write over it with buttercream or whatever...and your handwriting looks great! Both dry nicely and if there is any trace of the gel, it is just a sparkle (and clear). I notice you live in Akron, my daughter lives there too!

PJ37, does the piping gel every dry? I've heard people using it as a "glue" for edible images on cookies and wondered how that would work since I thought it stayed wet.

I'm in the 'burbs, but close enough. I had to Google for where Cortland is. Hee hee. Not to far surprisingly! I need to get out more often. Ha ha!

I'm so torn on writing on cakes. It's so much faster to free-hand it, but once you start, you're committed! Stopping only makes it worse; you have to just keep going. Last night I piped "Happy Birthday" but didn't like it. Luckily I was able to scoop it out, re-ice, and start again.

I have all the fonts that tappit makes. They work for many occasions, but sometimes they aren't the right size, so I still have to write

If it's butter cream, I cry a bit then try and mess it up. My penmanship is horrible.

If the cake is covered in fondant, I make a template ahead of time. I print out what I want to say, lay the paper over Styrofoam, use a pin to poke holes along the letters, then I cover the cake in fondant and press my template to the fresh fondant (the pokey side into the fondant)

A bunch of small dips are now embedded in your fondant, waiting for you to trace! I think I got that technique from Rebecca Sutterby.

MichelleM77,
Yes, the gel dries nicely on the cake. Cortland is about one hour away from Akron to the northeast.

I stink at writing on cakes and I do it all day (work in grocery store bakery). A lovely CC member made me a youtube video showing me how she writes (Unlimited you are the BEST). But what everyone else has been saying, practice, practice, practice.

I find it easier to write on the board rather than the cake so if its for me not the bakery I will use a bigger board. At work thats not an option but I have been writing in print (now I have been using upper and lower case) whereas I used to do just upper case (how I write on everything else in my life). I just dont have time to practice so I find ways to cheat. The pin in fondant works great for me as someone suggested. I also bought the impression letters- big mistake, they make a mess and you need enough room on the cake, not to mention there a pain in the a$$ to clean.

Good luck!