Edible cake images are made using a specialized printing process that involves edible ink and edible paper.
Here's a breakdown of the process:
- Edible Paper: The "paper" used is usually a thin sheet made from rice, potato starch, or sugar. These sheets are designed to be flavorless or mildly sweet and safe to consume.
- Edible Ink: The ink used is food-grade and made from food coloring. These inks are specifically formulated for use in edible printers and come in various colors to reproduce images accurately.
- Edible Printer: A standard inkjet printer can be converted for edible printing by replacing the regular ink cartridges with edible ink cartridges. It is crucial to ONLY use a printer dedicated to edible inks to prevent contamination from regular, non-edible inks.
- Printing the Image: Just like printing on regular paper, the image is selected on a computer, and the edible printer prints the image directly onto the edible sheet. The printing process is virtually identical to standard inkjet printing.
- Applying to Cake: Once printed, the edible image is carefully peeled from its backing (if applicable) and placed onto the cake's frosting or icing. The moisture from the frosting helps the image adhere to the cake surface.
In summary, the process involves printing an image onto an edible sheet using edible ink with a dedicated edible printing-compatible printer. This is then applied to the cake like a decal.
