{"id":1046,"date":"2013-08-29T21:13:38","date_gmt":"2013-08-29T22:13:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cake-geek.com\/?p=1046"},"modified":"2021-03-27T13:46:39","modified_gmt":"2021-03-27T13:46:39","slug":"writing-in-icing-piped-lettering","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cake-geek.com\/index.php\/writing-in-icing-piped-lettering\/","title":{"rendered":"Writing in Icing: Piped Lettering"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"writing<\/a><\/p>\n

Writing in icing or piped lettering is one of the most daunting challenges for many of us cake enthusiasts. And we probably put off learning and practicing it for as long as we get away with it, turning time and time again to our trusty letter cutters.\u00a0 Yet we all secretly yearn to pipe fine elegant lettering, instead of\u00a0relying on\u00a0the clunky lettering produced with cutters, which is great for novelty cakes, but less so for more sophisticated cake designs.<\/p>\n

The reason we keep putting it off is that it is a skill that simply doesn’t come naturally to us because it feels so different to holding a pen.\u00a0 After a few failed attempts, we brush it to the side and put it on our “to learn” list.\u00a0 It’s usually only when we have an anniversary cake to pipe that we realise cutters just won’t “cut it”, so to speak.<\/p>\n

But once it’s developed, it’s a skill that saves so much time and makes you feel so much more confident in your cake decorating skills.\u00a0 To help you, we have compiled a list of video tutorials we found,\u00a0with lots of\u00a0tips and suggestions\u00a0to guide you on your way.<\/p>\n

(In case you want a shortcut, check out our Cake Calligraphy Tutorial by Faye Cahill<\/a> here!)<\/p>\n

From our own experience, we discovered the following really helped\u00a0build our piping skills:<\/p>\n

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  1. Make sure your icing is pretty thin\/of wet consistency so that it flows easily from the piping nozzle. You need to have it wetter than you would when piping pearls, for instance.<\/li>\n
  2. Only fill your bag with as much icing as you need, so that your bag feels almost like a pen. A big bag of icing will be much more difficult to control.<\/li>\n
  3. Write in handwriting script, i.e, joined writing (cursive)\u00a0instead of printed lettering.\u00a0 While single printed letters may look easier,\u00a0printed script\u00a0is much more unforgiving if you make a tiny mistake.<\/li>\n
  4. Move your whole arm when piping and not just your hand.\u00a0 Your piping will be much more fluid this way.<\/li>\n
  5. When you are comfortable piping in your own handwriting style, practice a fancier script in handwriting first, then practice piping it.<\/li>\n
  6. Pipe your message on your cake first before adding flowers or other decorations. This gives you more scope for “cover-up” later if needs be or if you run out of space a little.<\/li>\n
  7. Once you are confident with piping lettering, it will be like handwriting a letter it will come so naturally.\u00a0 In the meantime, you can pipe your lettering onto a plaque, which you can then add to your cake.\u00a0 This way, if you make a blunder, it’s just the plaque that’s ruined, not your entire cake.<\/li>\n
  8. When you do decide to “go live” on a real cake, practice piping the message on parchment paper first.\u00a0 For your first cakes with piped lettering, choose pastel coloured\u00a0writing against light coloured fondant\/sugarpaste, instead of stronger colours, so it’s easier to fix a mistake. Good luck!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \"Writing<\/a><\/p>\n

    Writing in Icing Tutorials<\/strong><\/p>\n