- For the writing, I use melted chocolate combined with vegetable oil to thin the chocolate enough for writing.
- For the piping, I use a parchment paper piping cone, which allows for the most control.
- The plaque is made of modeling chocolate although marzipan, fondant, or gumpaste would also work.
- The cake is wrapped in leopard print patterned modeling chocolate. Scroll down to see a bigger photo of this cake.
VIDEO – Chocolate Cake Writing How To
Chocolate Cake Writing FAQs
What kind of chocolate can you use? Any chocolate will work (white or dark) but high quality dark unsweetened or with a high cacao content (greater than 65%) chocolate works best.
What kind of oil can you use? Any plant-based oil can be mixed with chocolate: sunflower oil, walnut oil, canola oil, or olive oil to name a few. Nut oils combine well with chocolate but be careful of using nut oils due to allergies.
How much oil do you use? That depends on the type of chocolate. Every brand and type of chocolate is different. High quality chocolate is thinner in its melted state therefore requires less oil or no oil at all. White chocolate, sweetened chocolate, milk chocolate, low quality/imitation chocolate that uses hydrogenated fats instead of real cocoa butter (Merkens or “candy melts” for instance) are all thicker in a melted state therefore require more vegetable oil to get a writable consistency.
Why pipe the letters and words out of order, from the inside out? Piping the basic skeleton of the words first helps you concentrate on the spacing, so that you don’t run out of room.
Why write on an edible plaque? Besides looking nice, it’s an easy way to make sure you get the cake writing done right, spelled correctly and symmetrically laid out before placing it on the cake. If you mess up, you can always wipe it off, flip it over, and try again, or just make another plaque.
Related Cake Writing and Piping Tutorials
Chocolate Cake Writing Tutorial
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Smooth Buttercream Cake Frosting
I have a old family recipe for a filling and frosting for a torte made with sour cream and whipped cream. It is very soft but will set up in the refrigerator. It will be used on the grooms cake for a summer outdoor wedding and reception. I wonder if this can be frozen with good results?
Sour cream has a tendency to crack when it’s been frozen. Whipped cream would need to be stabilized. This doesn’t sound to me like the ideal finish for a cake that gets frozen.
Good day Kristen,
I would like to know on how to keep chocolate runny while piping without compromising the chocolate. As I am piping, the remainder of the chocolate in the bowl starts setting. I live in a relatively warm climate in South Africa so temperature is not the problem here. Help please. I have your current book, but could not find anything in there.
Regards,
Karien
I like to leave the bowl of chocolate someplace warm like on top of the stove or inside an oven that’s been turned off. You can also expose it to heat again if it starts getting hard. You can also put your piping cone into the microwave or toaster oven (on warm) if the chocolate inside of it starts to set up.
Thank you, I will try it out.
Excellent work! I used to work for Hershey’s Chocolate company decorating the 2lb. Chocolate bars. Chocolate as a medium is a whole other world when it comes to decorating. Temperature is everything!