I am really bad at writing on cakes. I get by but my writing is sometimes so bad it just messes up my beautifully decorated cake. Any suggestions?

I know how you feel about writing on cakes, I came up with a great idea that I thought was something original, then I read about it on here somewhere, guess I wasn't as original as I thought, BUT it works so that's the main point.

I go to the trusty pc and find a font I like, print it out the size you would want to write on the cake. Tape the paper onto a flat surface ( I use my cutting board) and then tape waxed paper over top, rub just a tiny bit of crisco on (just enough to make it look glossy when tilted) and then take royal frosting and ''trace'' your words. Let dry and they peel right off, VOILA, beautiful writing!!

And the best part is being able to pick it up and move it if you don't like where you place it on the cake the first time. If you have a good crust on your cake you won't have any boo boos to fix!!

Happy cake baking!

Thanks. That's a good idea. The only problem with that is, I mainly use boiled frosting on my cakes.

You can also use melted chocolate or melted candy melts.

Have you thought about getting one of those letter press sets?

I was all set to buy one, but it was kinda pricey, so I never did... now I've been practicing and I'm not so nervous so my writing is getting better!

Melissa

I've been doing cakes for a few years now and still get nervous about writing on them ... to me, that's the hardest part

I have one of those writing kits and HATE it!! Several others have it and dislike it too-The letters get stuck in the plastic bar, the bar is too long for some cakes, have to use them on straight lines-can't curve the words around the cake, etc....the candymelts work great!

Using melted candy melts? Does this make the writing smoother?

I haven't tried this, but what about printing out a font, but backwards, and doing it like a bct? Maybe it would be too brittle for a small cursive, but it might work for block letters?

I like the candy melts because they can be eaten-royal icing is sooooo hard-although some people like them to crunch on *yuck* and to me they don't take as long to harden...if you goof up then you can just remelt them and use them again!

You're right on the mark with the writing kits nanni.... they're way too long for a lot of cakes .. somone needs to come up with one that is bendable, smaller and looks good... hmmmmm, I may have just thought of an invention!

Entertayneme, if you invent it, it surely would make a lot of money for you! We would all buy it, that's for sure! I have heard all the remarks about the Wilton set and don't think I'd take one if they were giving them away!

In my purchase of cake decorating books I've gotten a few that are older and they show the "run out" method of making letters and words from royal and other icings, and it looks to me a lot like BCT, but you wouldn't have to do them reverse.

I think you could just put them on waxed paper (like dishguyswife described) and freeze them. You'd have to be fast to put them on your cake, but I think it could be done! Janice

I have the letter press set and love it. When it is to long to use on the cake, I just use the letters without the bar. You can curve and anything else.

I think I'll stick with my candymelts, that way if I need to make the writing larger for bigger cakes I can-the letter kit just does not seem to work for me-but we each have our own quirks and we know what works best for us-that's why there is so much out there to choose from when we are needing something!

Hmmmm, I've never had any problems with anybody complaining about the cruch factor of the royal icing writing, I think it soaks up enough grease from the bc that by the time it's cut it's pretty well softened. I didn't like the taste of the royal icing until I figured out that if you use extract for some of the water it really tastes yummy. DH and DS fight over royal icing ''scraps''. It's hard to make any flowers with the two of them around!!

Two questions:

I was just going to ask how the royal icing gets hard if its touching the greased surface?

I know that when using royal for pretty much anything, your containers and tips have to be completely grease free or it won't set up.

Would it peel off of parchment paper easier than waxed paper?

Another question, I want to do a monogram in royal icing and then luster dust it when dry. The problem is, I need to freeze the cake because I"m leaving for the wedding before she needs the cake.

When the cake thaws, will the moisture from the cake melt the monogram??

Thanks for your advice guys but I am a bit of a novice - how do you melt candy?

I put the candymelts in a little bowl and put in the microwave-some put them in a candybottle (looks like catsup/mustard bottle), some use the candy bags (clear triangular bags you cut the tip off of)-I like the bowl because I can control it a bit better-I only go 15 sec at a time and stir the melts as they melt.. .....As far as the monogram on a frozen cake...I can't help you with that-I don't freeze mine so don't know how it will be affected.

I have the letter press and absolutly hate it. I have tried it with just the letters without the bar, and still just don't like it.

I have heard that you can transfer an image to a cake with piping gel. Not real sure how that works, but could you also use that for writing?

I have the same problem. I am fairly new at decorating cakes but cannot write on a cake to save my life. I have been using a very small star tip and just printing it out on the cake. It looks ok. I hope to be able to do writing real soon.
Judy