Edible Pictures on Cakes

Putting edible pictures on cakes is a great, low cost way to make any cake completely original ~ and the possibilities are endless.

Whether you want to put embarrassing baby photos onto a 21st cake, a wedding photo onto an anniversary cake or a picture of your child's favourite character onto a birthday cake, cakes with photos on are truely unique.

Using edible photos also saves having to remove a cake topper from a cake before cutting, a process which in itself can cause damage to a cake.

Edible icing sheets can be used for both ordinary cakes and cupcakes as they come in a range of sizes and styles, for example photo cupcake toppers can be bought in sheets of 12, or you can have a single A4 icing sheet for an edible photo cake topper for a larger cake.

Edible photos are created by using edible inks to print an image to specialist icing sheets ~ much the same as if you were printing any photo onto a sheet of paper.

The icing sheet is then removed from its backing and the edible photo is applied to the cake - either to a fondant or buttercream topping.

Edible photos for cakes are widely available on the Internet, and when looking for a reputable supplier there are a few things to watch out for.

1. Proper icing sheets are preferable to rice paper ~ rice paper has its uses ~ as a cake maker I find it an invaluable cake decorating tool ~ but when it comes to printing photos on it the quality just isn't there as rice paper sheets are not able to absorb the ink as well as icing sheets. You will also quite often find yourself having to cut out your own toppers (especially cupcake toppers) whereas the icing sheet edible cake toppers are pre cut and ready to be peeled of the backing sheet.

2. Edible inks can never be used in a printer that has used 'proper' inks. Anyone who produces edible cake toppers in the form of photos should be using a seperate stand alone printer, loaded with edible inks, that is only ever used for that purpose.

Icing sheets are also very easy to cut to size, so there's nothing to stop you from having a selection of photos printed onto one sheet, then cutting them out and arranging them how you please.

One of the best things about these edible icing sheets is that they can be bought blank. Add to that some edible ink colouring pens and why not get your kids to colour in the topper for their next birthday cake ~ it's a way of having fun and making sure no-one will ever have the same design as you.

Alternatively you don't have to have a photo printed onto the icing sheet ~ get creative on your pc and come up with a design of your own ~ so long as it falls within the size parameters of the icing sheets it can be printed.

The bottom line is, that however you do it, using a photo for your edible cake topper is a unique and cost effective way to achieve a professional finish to your cakes.

Many large stores and independent cake decorators have the facility to print edible photos and put them onto a cake. This is highly advantageous if your baking and cake decorating skills are not that great, or if you are just really short of time.

When choosing you photo try and pick something that is clear and not too dark. Printing onto icing paper does not give quite as sharp a look as printing onto normal paper to a picture that is blurry to begin with will not come out well. Contrasting areas of dark and light colours in a photo are good as they can be easily seen when placed on the cake.

Putting edible pictures on cakes is a way of making a celebration very personal, without having to break the bank to do it. A photo creates a talking point and will ensure the cake is one everyone will remember for a very long time.