I've stumbled across this site a couple of weeks ago and have been browsing around since then. All I have to say is that I feel so unworthy to be here... you guys are so talented so willing to share your tips and hints. I have learned so much, and was especially glad to learn about the problems with the new Crisco...I had been having trouble with my icing, but never could figure out the problem

I do have a dilemma I hope you can help me with. I have a wedding cake to do in a couple of weeks where the bride wants their initials on the bottom layer of the cake. She has a certain font she wants them done in, and emailed me a picture of what she wants it to look like. It looks to be raised from the cake, but I can't figure out from the picture if it is icing or molded initials. Does anyone have suggestions or hints how to do initials on buttercream? Thanks for any help you can give me!!!

can you attach the picture? I'm wondering if it was a fondant plaque with the initials piped in royal icing? Or if you're going to be piping directly onto the buttercream and you use a crusting buttercream there is a technique you can use where you can take a stick pin and a peice of styrofoam with your printout of your monogram. You place the monogram onto the styrofoam and poke holes to sort of trace the letters. This leaves a raised pattern on the back side of your paper. Then you place this onto your cake and gently rub it to indent the pattern into your icing. This gives you a "template" to trace with your piped icing. Does that make sense? If you attach the picture I'm sure we all can help you a little bit better.

Here's the picture she emailed me. Can you tell from the picture what kind of monogram that is? Looks to me like it was done in a mold.

Thanks for the suggestion for the template...I will have to practice with that one!

This looks like it was carved out of gumpaste or modeling choc. might work...hmmm...I can't wait to see your final cake!!

I've not worked with gum paste or modeling chocolate...can you give me some tips about working with both of those? Thanks so much for your help!

Gumpaste is similar to fondant, except it hardens up much more and it is can be way more delicate. You could also do the initials in fondant. Just print out a font size that you like...and I would trace it onto parchment (because I am no queen at this myself) Then place parchment on rolled out fondant and gently carve with maybe an exacto knife or a sharp little knife. If you are doing fondant, do it a week in advance so that it dries. Gumpaste dries faster and you can buy it at michaels or pretty much any craft shop...I hope this helps a little and maybe someone else will come along w/ more tips for you!!

Thanks, bellejoey...that sounds easy enough...but how would I attach the initials to the buttercream?

I agree that its hard to tell from the picture what those are but you could do them in gumpaste. Expanding on bellejoey's advice I would cut the template out of somthing stiffer than parchment. I would use a file folder. I could see the parchment rolling up on its self. Good Luck I'm sure they will turn out really cool! To attach them and make them stand out like that I would just pipe some buttercream with a wide tube/tip like a #10 or #12.

You could also do it as royal icing runout; cutting them out of gumpaste as others suggested would probably work too

Thanks for all the help...I still have a couple of weeks to play with it, so hopefully I can get it perfected by then. Thanks again!!!
WarEagle