I saw on a cake challenge that Mike McCarry "embossed" a cake. Basically made a stamp out of some clear mat and royal icing. I am wondering if anyone has ever sured this technique? Please let me know!
I haven't done one that way but I have embossed with papertowels. All you do is wait until the buttercream crusts and then put a papertowel (with a design on it) on top of the icing and lightly rub over it with your hand. Here's an example:
http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=334113
I was actually asking about the same thing, however making your own designs. Like piping a design on something and letting it dry then rubbing it on the cake to make the impression there.
Thanks though!
That's a great idea. I never thought of that. What about making a flat rectangle out of fondant. Let it dry completely. Then pipe your design on it with royal icing. Let it dry. Then emboss the cake????
Then you could wipe off the royal icing and have a clean slate for another design.
(I was trying to think of something you could use to pipe royal icing on that it would stick to.)
Do you have a pic of a cake by Mike McCarry using this technique?
Was he embossing a buttercream or a fondant cake?
Fondant, but I have heard of using buttercream too!
How about using stencil sheets (you can get at wal-mart or a craft store) and making your design with hot glue (you can trace through the stencil paper) then use to emboss cake. then you can peel the glue off of the stencil sheet and use again or keep if it is something you use a lot.
I was wondering about this too. He did it on the cartoon challenge to make the hyroglyphics (sp?) on the jar that the scooby snacks were in.
yeah they made it from royal icing on a clear sheet you can see through!
how ironic that this question is being asked - I am at this moment reading about how to do this in a cake decorating book...
1. Using a plain writing tube, pipe your design onto a sheet of Perspex with royal icing. (looking at the picture - they are using a small parchment bag onto plexiglass or mylar)
2. Wait until the royal icing has dried, then flip over the Perspex and press iti nto the greshly covered cake or board.
3. Gently life the Pespex, then pipe over the embossed design with royal icing.
I've also heard of using a new rubber stamp to press into the side of the cake.
Well ~ I got to thinking about my crazy idea and realized it would work better if it were flexible. 
How well does they royal icing stick to plastic/plexiglass? I was afraid that it would pop off when the plastic was bent.
plexi glass is stiffer than you think, however I was wondering the same thing!
Does it have any trouble shooting for that Deana?
hmm- the book is cake decorating basics by rachel brown...
the design she is demonstrating is a holly leaf and scroll and she placed it on top of the cake - so flexibility isn't required.
I researched perspex - it's sold in the UK and they list it as an acrylic sheet. The advantage of using it over a piece of fondant is that it's clear and you can easily see placement.
If you use something flexible, won't the RI crack when you try to move it?
i googled perspex and it is the same a plexi glass. Sold at a local hardware store. I would try keeping the moving to a minimum if the Plexi glass bends A LOT!
i use this if i need to write anything on a cake, i am not too good at writing so i write on a piece of paper what i need to and then i place the perspex ontop of the paper and pipe with royal icing ontop of it, it's great but you have to remember to do this backwards so that when you press it onto the cake it is the right way round..lol but it is very effective and works everytime for me. then once you have embossed the cake with the royal icing then i pipe over it with royal icing directly on the cake, do you get what i mean??..lol
mike's assistant had the fondant rolled out FLAT and trimmed to approximate size (height and length) needed on the work table (looked at least 1/4 inch thick if not a wee bit more)
then she did the imprint.
they left it at that -- didn't trace over -- they wanted the "carved into stone" look
then they wrapped the fondant around the cake -- much like doing a chocolate wrap -- they did NOT drape it over
after wrapping, the assistant trimmed the top edge level w/ the cake and then added a circle of fondant to the top.
I've noticed Mike often does his fondant in pieces instead of draping and smoothing.
The stencil sheets are flexible so you can do the sides of a round cake, also you can cut them to different sizes if you need to and are relatively inexpensive although they can be reused.
Doug you always know the answer! Thanks!
vjcreations......What stensil sheets are you talking about?
I tried the parchment & royal icing today for some lettering. It worked very well. I printed my wording in reverse from my computer. Then I laid a strip of parchment paper on top. The I piped the letters with royal icing. I let it dry just enough to be hard but not totally dry. Then I pressed it onto my crusted buttercream and piped over it with buttercream. I'll post my pic later. It's a replica of my neice's toy "cake" purse.
Later, after the royal icing was very dry I bent the parchment paper, and sure enough, the letters fell off. So I guess this would work if you worked quickly.
Doug and everyone else ~ do you have a link to one of Mike's cakes? I'd like to see what they look like. I did an internet search and couldn't find one.
mike's assistant had the fondant rolled out FLAT and trimmed to approximate size (height and length) needed on the work table (looked at least 1/4 inch thick if not a wee bit more)
then she did the imprint.
they left it at that -- didn't trace over -- they wanted the "carved into stone" look
then they wrapped the fondant around the cake -- much like doing a chocolate wrap -- they did NOT drape it over
after wrapping, the assistant trimmed the top edge level w/ the cake and then added a circle of fondant to the top.
I've noticed Mike often does his fondant in pieces instead of draping and smoothing.
I heart Doug!*
*Note: in a sister (non-Tenessee Williams play) sort of way.
I've been following this post for a while and was wondering why you couldn't use one of those clear sheets that you print on for an overhead projector. They are very inexpensive at an office supply store but are flexible.
Also, today while at Hobby Lobby I brousing through the scrapbooking isle and noticed some clear backed stamps which would be perfect for imprinting onto fondant or gumpaste. The designs ranged from words like (Love, Baby, Peace etc.) to scrolls, christmas and holiday themes to anything else you can think of and they were priced at from $1.99 to $17.99.
I have also used those suncatchers before to put designs on plaques - they are great ! I have also used a clear plastic photo holder ( double-sided ) & just slip paper with design inbetween front & back - hope this makes sense !! instead of taping it on the back, then tracing over design with RI etc
Just wanted to chime in here. I have tried several different things to emboss designs or lettering, etc. on to the cake. The royal icing didn't work, but I never tried it until it had dried. The thing that worked the best for me was the take pieces of the "foamies" stamps and pipe on chocolate and then "stamp" the cake with it. This is how I did the swirls on this cake:
http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=640343
Of course this doesn't work for lettering, but last time I was in Michaels I came across actual "foamie stamps like these:
http://www.michaels.com/art/online/displayProductPage?productNum=cp0161
they had all kinds of designs, characters, flowers, etc. not just lettering. They are clear so you can see where they stick in and best yet, they are much cheaper than regular stamps!
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