Our friend Dan is retiring at the end of this week, and I was asked to make a cake to celebrate this momentous occasion. The hostess asked that the cake read “good luck dan”. Now, if you’re familiar with the birthday cake portion of this site, you may have noticed that I never write on my cakes. It’s a phobia of mine. What if the type isn’t centered? What if I accidentally misspell “birthday”? What if I run out of room? Could I get away with using Betty Crocker Cake Decorating Letters? Probably not.
After searching around the internet to find a solution to my problem, I came upon several sites that recommended drawing the letters in the frosting with a toothpick as a template or piping melted chocolate from a tube of parchment paper. I decided to take the second route.
I found a simple, cursive font, wrote my message, printed it out and taped it to the table. I taped a piece of wax paper over the print out. I placed a half cup of chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 second increments, stirring after each bout, until it had melted. I snipped a small corner off a quart size freezer bag, inserted a Wilton #6 round tip, and used a little masking tape to ensure it stayed in place. Once I filled the bag with chocolate, it was like calligraphy class – practice, practice, practice! It took two rounds of wax paper to get it right – I let it set up, then transferred the wax paper to a baking sheet and placed it in the refrigerator. When it hardened, I loosened my letters with an offset spatula and placed them on my cake. It’s so easy to do, and I really like the 3D effect!
Dan – best wishes for a fabulous retirement, no more Mondays!
Thanks Tina it looked spectacular. I too liked the 3D effect. Oh, and the cake was delicious.
Thanks Dan!
Nicely done!!!
Thank you, sir!