Icing or
frosting is the creamy topping added to baked goods, such as cakes
and cupcakes for decorating purposes. The icing sheets are printed
with specially formulated cake ink
and are designed to lie on top of the frosting layer. They are
generally used as edible paper and mostly made from ingredients such
as corn and rice starch and sugar. These sheets allow printing of
photos and detailed images to be used for cake decoration. Gone are
those days when commercial bakeries offered frosting sheets for cakes
and cookies, now home bakers can print them at home from their
personal computer printers.
Icing sheets or frosting paper is not just an
ordinary paper in any respect. These are thin layers which have been
hard-pressed onto a flexible plastic backing. Indeed, these are
edible paper used creatively on top of the cakes and cupcakes.
Wonderfully printed edible images onto frosting sheets will look
impressive with lively color and crisper lines. When used on the top,
edible pages mixed up with the iced surface of the creamy treat
absorbing the color, flavor, taste and even the constancy of whatever
is underneath. These edible sheets can also be used with fondant, ice
cream, chocolate and even on poured icings.
If you
purchase in bulk then you must be careful in storing frosting sheets. They
should be stored tightly sealed in an air tight zip-loc bag to keep
them away from sunlight, air and dust and to avoid them from drying
out. Also do not need
to be refrigerated as they come with a shelf life of one year.
While working with these edible sheets make
sure to complete doing the printing job in advance and then store
them in a zip-loc bag. Do
not remove the plastic backing till it is all set to be used for the
next time. Remember, edible images can grow fainter if exposed to UV
lighting.
Making these
cakes with edible supplies can be a lot of fun and would be a real
surprise treat for your kids. You can make any occasion memorable by
using the skill and secrets of edible printing and then using it to
decorate your cakes. All you need to do is cut out the edible image
as per your design and then remove it from your
plastic backing; it is then ready to be used on your cake.
Disclaimer:
The information in this article does not represent any particular
company’s opinions or suggestions. Edible ink printing should
follow the instructions of the manufacturer from whom you buy your
edible ink supplies, and it should be noted that the mixing of edible
ink and regular inks should not be done.