How to Make Cake Decorations with Wafer Images

This is probably one of the most popular ways to decorate your cakes or cupcakes. It doesn’t require you to have artistic skills, yet provides vast room for imagination and allows you to implement any of your ideas. Overall, making decorations from wafer images is quite simple, but you need to keep in mind some features of working with them to avoid any surprises 😉.

Images are printed on wafer paper with edible inks using special printers. They don't have any taste or aroma. The paper itself is hygroscopic and quite thin. Therefore, simply cutting out and attaching the image to a cake won't work, as it will get wet and deform. So, for the task we need:

• An image printed on wafer paper
• Sugar paste (fondant)
• Neutral transparent gel (decorative gel)
• Starch
• A sharp knife

1. Knead a piece of sugar paste well and roll it out thinly, dusting with starch so that the fondant doesn't stick. Carefully cut out the image along the contour with sharp scissors (it's important they are sharp to prevent the edges from breaking). Coat the back side of the image with a neutral gel, attach it to the rolled-out fondant, and place a kitchen board on top. This is necessary to let the image "relax" and become even, as it initially bends from moisture. Keep the images like this for about 10 minutes.

2. Use a sharp knife (a utility knife works well) to cut out the image along the contour. Your next steps will depend on where you plan to attach it. If the image is to be attached to the side and the cake is covered with chocolate ganache, fondant, or velvet (i.e., something on which fondant will not melt), it's sufficient to dab a little chocolate or neutral gel on the back and attach the decoration to the cake's side. If the cake is covered with cream cheese and butter, you need to completely cover the back of your decoration with chocolate or chocolate glaze to prevent the image from melting. If the decoration is to be placed on top of the cake, attach a popsicle stick directly onto the fresh, unset glaze and coat it with additional glaze on top. This will help keep the decoration sturdy and prevent it from deforming.

Note: When rolling out sugar paste, aim for a thickness of about 1-2 mm (approximately 0.04-0.08 inches) for optimal results.

And look at the beauty that has resulted 🥰