Piping a name or message on a cake is a fun way to personalize a celebratory dessert—but it can be an intimidating prospect, even for seasoned bakers. Nothing mars a perfect ice cream cake or sugar cookie like a misspelled name, a smudged word, or crooked lines, and it’s not exactly easy to erase mistakes made in frosting.
Cooking Skills
An Easy Way to Write on Cake
Spelled “birthday” wrong? Messed up your cursive letters? With this method, you have infinite do-overs.
By Published Sept. 21, 2022.
Luckily, there’s a workaround for the piping-cautious: using melted chocolate instead. Chocolate can be piped onto parchment paper and then transferred to the cake once it’s hardened—which means you have as many tries as you need to get your piping just right.
What’s more, you don’t need any special equipment: not even a piping bag. Ready to decorate your cake the no-stress way? Read on for our easy method.
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How to Write on Cake
1. With printer, print desired message on sheet of paper. Simple, blocky fonts are easiest to transfer without breakage.
2. Place printed message in baking sheet and cover with parchment paper.
3. Melt 1 ounce chocolate (any type) in microwave. To tint chocolate, stir food coloring into melted white chocolate.
4. Add melted chocolate to parchment cone, filling just one-third full to avoid risk of chocolate oozing from top.
5. Practice writing on edge of parchment to get a feel for how fast chocolate comes out of cone; cut wider opening if necessary.
6. Trace over letters with melted chocolate and transfer baking sheet to refrigerator.
7. When chocolate sets, use offset spatula to transfer letters to cake.
How to Make a Homemade Parchment Piping Cone
The stiff opening of a parchment cone works better for delicate lettering than a pastry bag or zipper-lock bag. Here’s how to make one.
1. Fold 12-inch square of parchment paper in half on diagonal. Using knife, cut in half on fold into 2 triangles.
2. With long side of triangle facing you, fold bottom right‑hand point up and under, giving it a half twist until it meets triangle’s top point.
3. Holding those points together, wrap left-hand point around outside of cone until all 3 points are perfectly aligned. Tape or staple points together.
4. Use scissors to snip very small hole in point of cone.
Can’t get enough of cake and cookie decorating? Check out more tips here.
