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General Categories => Tools & Supplies => Topic started by: tintenfuchs on November 09, 2022, 09:15:01 AM

Title: Writing on unglazed gingerbread?
Post by: tintenfuchs on November 09, 2022, 09:15:01 AM
Hi friends!

I've got a client who wants names on 300 tiny gingerbread cookies on site. I'm talking TINY, the room for the writing on is 3x4cm (1.18x1.57 inches). The gingerbread will not be glazed and the writing should be in white.

Do you have any idea how I could manage that?
Chocolate and a brush? How do I keep it melted?
Sugar glazing?

I really want to make this happen but I'm not sure it's even possible.

Thanks for any help,
Natascha
Title: Re: Writing on unglazed gingerbread?
Post by: AnasaziWrites on November 09, 2022, 09:28:10 AM
Hi friends!

I've got a client who wants names on 300 tiny gingerbread cookies on site. I'm talking TINY, the room for the writing on is 3x4cm (1.18x1.57 inches). The gingerbread will not be glazed and the writing should be in white.

Do you have any idea how I could manage that?
Chocolate and a brush? How do I keep it melted?
Sugar glazing?

I really want to make this happen but I'm not sure it's even possible.

Thanks for any help,
Natascha
@tintenfuchs

One idea is to use a piping bag (like is used to decorate cakes) with white frosting and a fine nozzle.


Title: Re: Writing on unglazed gingerbread?
Post by: tintenfuchs on November 09, 2022, 10:28:03 AM
I also found that – however, I think it takes ages to dry. :-/
Title: Re: Writing on unglazed gingerbread?
Post by: AnasaziWrites on November 09, 2022, 10:38:21 AM
I also found that – however, I think it takes ages to dry. :-/
@tintenfuchs
How much time do you have to get them dry?
Are you making them and handing them out right away?

To speed the drying, add some powdered sugar or put them in a very low oven (warm oven at lowest setting and turn off, put frosted cookies in for about 15 minutes).
Or, you can refrigerate them for a few minutes, or put them close to a fan, if the air is not hot).

Title: Re: Writing on unglazed gingerbread?
Post by: K-2 on November 09, 2022, 04:21:57 PM
@tintenfuchs - So I used to work at a bakery as a cookie decorator...

@AnasaziWrites has it correct that you need to make sure you're using an edible material - so royal icing is the go-to.

Even with royal icing and a very small piping tip, the size you're looking at is VERY SMALL!  I'd actually try to use something that resembles a henna cone to get detail that small.  But also, are you good at piping? because piping that small is difficult.

If piping is not going to work for you - you can glaze the cookies and then write on them with edible markers or food coloring pens.  You could write with them on the unglazed cookies, but it won't look very sharp.

Why must these be done "on site"? - that's quite unusual!  Usually we handle all the decoration at the bakery, because it's a "clean kitchen" that is maintained to industry standards for hygiene and safety.

--best wishes with the project!  K
Title: Re: Writing on unglazed gingerbread?
Post by: Erica McPhee on November 09, 2022, 05:13:50 PM
Oh boy - that is small! You may want to look into White Icing Writing Tubes. They are little tubes of icing meant for writing.

Dr. Oetker's white decorating icing is meant for that type of thing, too.
Title: Re: Writing on unglazed gingerbread?
Post by: Cyril Jayant on November 09, 2022, 07:25:51 PM
It is difficult to do writing on such small scale on ginger bread. It could be dark/white chocolate writing but on glazed surfaces. The most practical  way on plain Gingerbread is classic "Royal icing".
That can be done on several "piping corns " made of parchment / baking/ Owen / silicon papers used in party kitchens. Those piping corns are used for writing BIRTHDAY /ANNIVERSARY/ MESSAGES ON CAKES OR ON PLATES. Some use  clear plastic  clear Acetate sheets   (They are basically used on Chocolate  transferring decorations works ) to make "writing corns" and they are like needle point to do fine writing. When writing with chocolate need to maintain the  precise temperature in the melted chocolate to have a smooth writing and  to  get fast crystallising of writing.
I am a party  Chef  and I have some experience in chocolate  and pastry writing!!!       ;D
Title: Re: Writing on unglazed gingerbread?
Post by: tintenfuchs on November 14, 2022, 08:22:53 AM
Thank you everyone. They have to be done on-site because the clients has an event and this is one of the "attractions".

I know the Dr. Oetker tubes but they hurt my hand after a while.

Royal Icing seems ok so far, however, it clogs the tips very quickly.

What a hassle :D
Title: Re: Writing on unglazed gingerbread?
Post by: Erica McPhee on November 14, 2022, 09:36:31 PM
When we do gingerbread cookies (or decorated Christmas cookies with royal icing), I keep the decorating bags tip down in a water glass with a wet paper towel in the bottom when I am not writing. This keeps it moist and helps prevent it from drying. I also keep a long sewing pin nearby so I can use it to break up any clogs.
Title: Re: Writing on unglazed gingerbread?
Post by: tintenfuchs on November 15, 2022, 04:31:15 AM
Thanks Erica, I think my nozzle was too small, it clogged up while writing.  ::)
I'll try a bigger one, I hope 1mm will work because there really isn't enough room for bigger writing on the effing cookies.
Title: Re: Writing on unglazed gingerbread?
Post by: Erica McPhee on November 15, 2022, 01:57:54 PM
Yikes! Good luck!
Title: Re: Writing on unglazed gingerbread?
Post by: jeanwilson on November 16, 2022, 08:01:35 AM
Several years ago - I was hired to write names on tiny 2"x1 1/2" cards to be inserted into silver picture frames -
during the cocktail hour at a wedding.
It was a Russian wedding and since I had addressed the envelopes, I knew that I would need people to write their names down for me. So I brought some notepads and pens - and they would add their names to the list.

Some of the people really enjoyed watching me write - other people were more interested in just writing their name down - and heading over to the bar. You might want to offer the option of people leaving their names with you by providing some notepads where they can write their names. This will also help with names with unusual spellings -- I find it much easier to fit some names - when I can see it on paper - rather than just visualize it.

I was writing with a pointed nib - so space was not an issue -- but seeing the names helped me to center them.
You might do some practice names - like Elizabeth and Christopher - to illustrate to the guests that there is a limit to how many letters you can squeeze onto a cookie - 9 or 10 - and give guests the option of having a monogramed cookie - where you write their initials - beautifully - with a flourish.

If you have samples of monogramed cookies - some people with shorter names may prefer that option as well.

I, too, have done a fair amount of piping with royal icing - and keeping the tips covered with wet paper towels will keep them from drying and clogging. You might want to have two sizes of tips on hand - and use the larger tip for names like Amy and Ben - and the smaller tip on longer names.

Here is my favorite tip -- ask the hostess for the guest list - so you know what names you will be doing --
If she insists that you only do first names - and she doesn't like the idea of monograms -- at least you can practice the long names that are on her list.

I find that showing people an actual example of what difficulties you are facing is better than just telling them. When people winced at the price I charged for envelopes done with nibs and ink - I would pull out an envelope, nibs and ink -- and say - "It is not the penmanship - it is the amount of time it takes me to do each one." People have no idea how much slower it is to write with nibs and ink - and usually - by the time I had written their name on the first line -- they would say, "Ok, ok. I get it" and they didn't even want to watch me finish the envelope.

Working live at events is so much fun. Guests gush over the work.
Hopefully you have a chance to take some photos of your cookies and let us see how they turn out.
Title: Re: Writing on unglazed gingerbread?
Post by: jeanwilson on November 16, 2022, 09:21:28 AM
A couple more thoughts -- if you have never worked an event - be prepared for people asking lots of questions.
It can be distracting to spell and center - while having a conversation - and if people are asking the same question over and over
you might want to have some yardstick on hand - so that you can make a table tent to answer the question before they ask.

For example - if they need to let the cookies dry for a half hour - you could write that -
Or if they will pick up the cookies right before they leave -- that would be useful information.
Or - are they allowed to eat the cookie immediately --
Or maybe the hostess expects them to eat the cookie --

It can be difficult to anticipate how the guests involve themselves in the activity.
I did a 2-day event at the Mall of America in the Twin Cities - where people could choose from a selection of styles which I would letter on bookmarks --
some styles took longer than others -- and one style was so time consuming and also so popular - I had to pull it
so that I could get more done, faster.

I also had to make a sign - and give it to a person who was in line - at the end of the line.
The sign said that the scribe would be taking a break -
and the person holding the sign was kind enough to explain tol people that he was the last one to be getting a bookmark - until the scribe returned from a break.
It was an unanticipated part of the process - but worked out nicely.

Depending on how long your event is -
you might want to figure out how you will take breaks.
Even sitting for two hours of non-stop activity can be hard on your body
and you might not realize it at the time --
It is helpful to stand up and stretch every 20-minutes - at the very least.
Title: Re: Writing on unglazed gingerbread?
Post by: Cyril Jayant on November 18, 2022, 11:14:47 AM
Amazing   ;D

I have something to share here. Some times some people are doing things amazingly in a simple way but of course it needs more developed skills to do it.
Here is one of my favourite  pastry chefs who decorate all the pastry plates before  they go into every table. He is French  and it is a bit unfortunate here he speaks only in French ( normally he speaks in English too ) Hope still we don't want to have language to understand the  artistic aspect. He use only melted chocolate / cocoa butter+ food colouring  in his recipe  of the chocolate paint. That pencil is a corne made out of parchment paper.
I think we can achieve the same results with Royal Icing provided  that the temperature is controlled to keep it smooth writing. There are electric Bain-marie to keep the chocolate  in one temperature 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Awoqnj__x_w

And then  using Cocoa butter colouring..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfBiW9T9BY0

One more how to write with chocolate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycAyHjmOV8M
Title: Re: Writing on unglazed gingerbread?
Post by: tintenfuchs on November 22, 2022, 03:21:27 AM
Thank you, everyone.

After a lot of experimenting I decided to go with royal icing and a piping bag with a small nozzle. I have to say the cookies look pretty cool. :)
Now all I need is for the icing to stay a good consistency throughout the event …

Thank you again for your expertise, especially about the wet towel so the tip won't clog. I have also added needles to my kit. :)
Title: Re: Writing on unglazed gingerbread?
Post by: Erica McPhee on November 22, 2022, 12:52:12 PM
Great! Would love to see photos!  :-*
Title: Re: Writing on unglazed gingerbread?
Post by: Zivio on November 22, 2022, 05:01:38 PM
@tintenfuchs Yes, of course we must now see pictures!
Title: Re: Writing on unglazed gingerbread?
Post by: tintenfuchs on November 26, 2022, 03:26:28 AM
There you go! I only managed to snap one picture because it was so busy. :-/ You can see that this was taken when the icing was already warm (see info below).
But I'm planning on using this newly acquired skill for my own Christmas cookies.

I also learned an important lesson: The icing will warm (obviously, but I hadn't thought of it) and flow more freely when it does. I had chosen a 1mm (0.04 inches) nozzle because I was afraid of clogging but in the end I wished I'd gone with the 0.5mm (0.02 inches) one.
Title: Re: Writing on unglazed gingerbread?
Post by: Erica McPhee on November 26, 2022, 07:47:16 AM
Wow - they came out great!  :-*