Piping Chocolate Letters for your Cakes
If you are new to buttercream piping or just find the process of writing on cakes a little nerve racking, we have you covered! Piping letters in chocolate candy coating makes the process SO much easier!
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Why is Chocolate Candy Coating the Easiest Medium for piping messages onto Cakes?
Writing letters with melted candy coating is a great alternative to piping letters in buttercream, especially for those that are new to decorating.
This technique allows you to slide a template beneath your wax paper which you can trace (if you'd like)-- or you can simply pipe the letters that you need as many times as you like.
Then, chill the candy coating letters to firm them up, and pick and choose the best ones for your message. Place them right on the cake- that's it!
Working with Candy Coating
With this method (as with many of our chocolate accents) we prefer to work with chocolate candy coating. This is also known as compound chocolate, almond bark, candy melts, etc.
Candy coating is so easy to work with and doesn't require tempering. You simply heat the chocolate in the microwave in small increments, pipe your accents or letters, etc., chill, and apply to the cake!
Make sure to always chill your candy coating creations in the freezer for 5 minutes or so to firm them up before handling. It is also a good idea to pipe more than one of whatever you are creating, just in case of breakage.
If Decorating a Buttercream-Frosted Cake
If decorating a buttercream-frosted cake, it's a good idea to chill the cake first-- maybe 15 minutes or so in the freezer (or longer in the refrigerator) to firm up the buttercream.
This way, you can arrange the chocolate letters onto the chilled, buttercream-frosted cake and adjust the placement if needed with no worries of messing up the smooth finish of the frosting.
More Writing on Cakes
After experimenting with chocolate letters on cakes, you may decide that you'd like to try writing in buttercream. We have a tutorial for that also! You can find it here: How to Write in Buttercream on Cakes
More Cake Decorating Basics
We have several more cake decorating video tutorials that are extremely helpful if you are new to cake decorating!
Make sure to check out our tutorials on How to Use Star Piping Tips, How to Use Petal & Ruffle Tips, and How to Use Round Piping Tips! These videos will give you the basics on creating borders and simple accents that will take your cakes to another level!
Also, if you haven't checked it out yet, make sure to see our video on How to Make a Cake from Start to Finish! There's a lot of great information there! Let us know if you have any questions!! xo
Wonderful idea! I am terrible at writing directly on cakes - so this is the perfect solution!
Is there a way to do really fat letters or a monogram with this technique and have them stand upright on the cake?
Hi Lisa---yes, you can. When I do this, I like to pipe an extra little chocolate "stem"/anchor at the bottom of each letter so that the bottom of the letter doesn't have to be buried into the icing. (Make extra letters just in case!) I also like to chill them just before putting them on the cake.
Great idea! Will try this on my next cake1
What kind or brand of chocolate do you use for making letters???
Hi--I usually use some sort of chocolate compound/candy coating to avoid tempering. At our local grocery store, this is what they sell: http://www.socialgrocery.com/products/Ambrosia/White-Bark-Coating (they have a chocolate version also) --
Sometimes I use this candy coating, and other times I'll use "chocolate buttons" like Wilton Candy Melts or Merckens brand.
Thank you very much!!! I was wondering how did you make it without tempering chocolate.
As above, if you make the letters with little stands to stand up right on the cupcakes.. will they be ok inserted into buttercream?
Hi Miriam~ I like to use candy coating (candy melts, chocolate buttons, etc.)--these don't require tempering.
@Josie-- Yes, they will! I've done this many times. I do like to pipe them a little thicker when I know that they will be inserted into icing...this prevents any softening that may happen over time. I also always make a few extras to be on the safe side ;0)
I enjoyed the video. It would help if it showed you placing the letters on a decorated cake. Thanks
Thanks Paulette- If we ever remake this tutorial, I'll keep that in mind. It really is as easy as just picking up the letters and putting them onto a cake. If you are worried about the placement/spacing being off, you can chill your buttercream frosted cake until the icing is just firm before applying the letters. That way, if anything is off center, you can easily slide the letters into position without disturbing the icing.
Always nervous working with chocolate, once you freeze the chocolate and then put on cake/cupcake can't it still melt?