Duff Goldman's Simple Tip For More Legible Cake Writing

You can bake a cake to make a tasty dessert, celebrate a special occasion, and as a delicious way to express your creativity. One of the best ways to show your personality through your cake is how you decorate it, such as cake writing. If you'd like to scribble a message on the next cake you bake to make it extra special, then renowned cake baker Duff Goldman has a tip to make the writing on your cake as legible as possible. 

Goldman rose to prominence on his hit Food Network TV show "Ace of Cakes," where he demonstrated his inventive cake baking and cake decorating techniques at his Baltimore bakery, Charm City Cakes. Goldman has become famous for his unique cakes, such as his all-meat wedding cake with a gravy fountain. 

So, what's Goldman's tip for caking writing? Maintain pressure as you write, and write as fast as possible. If you keep constant pressure on your cake as you write and complete it quickly, it will result in clean letters and a smooth, readable message. Whether your cake says "Happy Birthday" or "Happy Anniversary," anyone who sees your creation before that first slice is taken will know what's written on it. So, how exactly do you begin to write on a cake?

You can write a legible message on a cake in four steps that will ultimately end with you applying Duff Goldman's tip. The items you will need to write on your cake include a piping bag and tip, icing, parchment paper, a marker, a toothpick, and the most vital tool, your frosted cake! First, cover your tip with the piping bag and load it with icing until it's half full. Next, write your message with the marker on a sheet of parchment paper the size of your cake. 

Lay the parchment paper on your cake delicately and pierce the message onto the frosting with your toothpick. Now it's time for the fun part. Trace the message you've created on the frosting with your piping bag and tip, and follow Goldman's advice: Write with consistent pressure as fast as you can! If you'd like to hone your skills before you try this, use mustard to practice your cake-writing skills first. There are also other tips that you can use to write a clear message on your cake.

Writing a legible message on a cake can be unnerving because if you mess it up, your message, or even your cake, may be ruined. But here are some more tips to ensure that your cake message comes out neat and readable. When you're writing on your cake, use your free hand to support the forearm of your writing hand so you can keep your writing hand balanced. This will also free up your writing hand to use more flexibly to write neat letters. You should also use a piping nozzle appropriate to the size of cake you're writing on: Use smaller nozzles for tighter areas and bigger nozzles for larger areas.

If you're new to cake writing, Duff Goldman suggests you start writing your cake messages in print before trying to do them in cursive. Writing cake messages in cursive is harder and requires more skill. Letters that are written in print are also more likely to be legible. If you're concerned about making a mistake while writing on your cake, then your best bet is to write on a cold cake with solidified frosting. If you're unhappy with the writing, you can easily brush it off the cake because the chilled frosting will maintain its evenness and firmness. Now you've learned one of the most effective ways to decorate a cake like a pro.