Get the best cake decoration tips and tricks on how to put an edible image on a cake. Learn the basics of cake decorating with edible inks and become an expert in no time.
How to Apply Edible Image to Cake
Create edible cake images and place them on the top of your cake for a fun and delicious presentation. Interested in fun cake ideas? Take a look at our poop cupcakes and penguin cookies that will make your day.
It is completely up to you which cake/topping you would like to use. You can have any cake – fruit, ice cream cake, carrot cake, or any other recipe you wish.
The following is a great place to buy edible sugar sheets, which you can use for birthday parties, anniversaries, and other special occasions. The reviews are great and the quality is excellent
Icing of almost any kind can be decorated with an edible photo printed on it.
Icings
- Fondant: An icing or cake decoration made of sugar and water, flavoring, or coloring. It is used in candy making and icing cake decorations.
- Butter Cream: Butter and powdered sugar are blended to create a soft filling or topping for cakes.
- Royal Icing: It is composed of confectioners’ sugar and egg whites, and is usually used to decorate fruitcakes.
- Glace Icing: An icing made from powdered sugar and water.
- Sugar Paste: This sweet, edible sugar dough is typically made of sucrose and glucose. Occasionally, it is referred to as gum paste or sugar gum.
Icing Tip!
Before applying the edible image sheet, you will want to ice the cake first. Edible icing sheets are not created to replace icing.
Cakes can be iced with any color icing, but since the topper is made of very thin icing, it is not always suitable to use dark colors like chocolate. There will be less visibility of the edible inks.
A white fondant backing, sized and shaped about the same as the edible image, will give you the best results. Alternatively, you can apply the edible prints to the top of the cake right before serving it.
WHAT DO I DO IF I CAN’T REMOVE THE EDIBLE PHOTO FROM THE BACKING PLASTIC?
The room’s temperature and humidity may be causing the image to stick to the backing sheet. If you still have problems, freeze the icing sheet in a plastic bag for a few minutes and try again.
HOW TO STORE TOPPERS
Keep your edible cake toppers in a tight bag until you are ready to use them, away from direct sunlight, on a flat surface, away from high humidity, and in a cool, dry place. It is also recommended that you do this with your edible ink cartridges.
APPLICATION TIPS
- To begin with, make sure the icing on top of the cake is flat.
- When handling the topper, make sure you have completely dried your hands.
- Whenever cupcake toppers require cutting, make sure the topper is cut using a clean, dry, sharp pair of scissors before removing it from the plastic backing.
- Apply water to the icing with a pastry brush or mist it lightly with water. Using this method, the topper will begin to stick with the frosting and stick to the cake.
- When applying the edible image to the frosted cake, hold the topper gently and use either your palm or a small roller to smooth out the icing sheet from the center outward.
- With dry fingers, smooth out any bubbles or wrinkles in the photo.
- Within a few hours, you will be able to see a picture blended into the icing as if it had been printed on it. Depending on how dry your icing is, this will take a different amount of time and result in different results.
- In cases where the cake topping is very dry or if you want to serve it right away, you can pipe some icing around the image to conceal any visible edges. This may not result in the topping attaching to the coating as it is intended.
What should I do if the image is accidentally broken?
The case may arise that you tear the printed toppers, please do not worry. In a short time, it will merge back together after gently rubbing the rip with a dry finger.
Cupcake Edible Prints: How to Apply
Using fondant for cupcake toppers is the best method, as it is easiest to cut the image from the rollout and leave it overnight to dry. After the fondant has dried, apply a small amount of water and gently pat the image down, being careful not to wet the front.
WHERE TO BUY EDIBLE CAKE IMAGES
For those of you who don’t have edible ink cartridges, you can find places near you to purchase your own icing image or order edible frosting sheets online.
I am absolutely smitten with these easy-to-apply Personalized Cake Toppers you can get right here. A hilarious cake image will make my husband’s upcoming birthday celebration even more fun. YESSS!!!😎
If you are interested in purchasing edible images, we recommend this company. When it came to the quality of the image, it was pretty spot on. There was excellent color accuracy and crispness to the picture.
In terms of taste, it is very similar to dried fondant or sugarpaste. Peeling off the plastic and sticking it on the cake was very easy.
Initially, I was concerned that it would be more delicate, and air bubbles might be a concern, but if you line up the bottom of the image and apply it slowly, just as you would with contact paper, you should be fine.
It will stick to icing pretty much instantly, so don’t worry about repositioning it. Just be confident when you first place it.
Guests do not seem to be bothered by edible frosting sheets at all as they remove it from the cake when they do not want to eat it; and if they do not want to eat it, it is easy to peel off.
Fun Tip!
If an edible image isn’t centered on the page, the white border around the image was a bit wide and crooked, but trimming the edges with kitchen scissors (while the plastic is still on the back) was extremely easy way to clean up these edges.
How can I find edible images in my area?
There is even an ice cream cake that can be decorated with edible cake toppers at DQ. I believe that they call them dairy queen photo cakes.
They will create edible image prints of your pictures by printing them on thin flat sheets. You even get to choose the kind of cake you want with unique edible cake decorations.
It’s great that DQ offers have edible food colors for all kinds of special occasions and different types of cakes for celebrations. I enjoy eating the gel icing that says “Happy Birthday.”.
Conclusion
When applying the edible frosting sheets to the different frostings, it is very important to have dry hands when applying the frosting sheets. It’s a great way to keep it from getting ruined or it getting stuck to the backing paper.
The plastic white backing sheet can be difficult to come off sometimes but just remember to freeze it for a few minutes and it should help. It has also been suggested that you freeze the cake before you put the cake topper on, this may also help a little bit.
This is a wonderful way to make cakes look special without having to put in much extra effort on your part! If you want a few more fun ideas to make cakes look special check out this DIY rainbow cake topper, paper flower topper, and this tassel balloon topper.
