Step by Step Guide to Baking and Decorating a Wedding Cake

While I don't recommend that beginners do piped designs on a wedding cake, it is relatively easy to add a monogram. To begin, use a toothpick to trace your monogram onto the cake, such as seen in the picture below.

Take a small amount of icing in a separate bowl, and add food coloring until it becomes the desired color. Get a disposable pastry bag, or a disposable ziptop bag and cut off 1" of the tip. Insert the base end of the coupler inside the bag, a round tip on the outside, and screw on the ring part of the coupler. Using a plastic spatula, put in about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the colored icing.

Practice on a plate piping an even line, and following a pattern. Then simply follow the traced monogram on the wedding cake. Try to have a steady hand, and have confidence in your abilities. If for some reason you don't like the results, you can use an offset spatula to scrape off the colored icing, and then re-ice with the white icing. For more hints on using a pastry bag, click here. A second option would be to make some royal icing, and pipe the monogram onto parchment paper, several times in case of breakage. Let it dry and carefully lift off of the paper. Spread a little more regular cream cheese icing on the area that you want the monogram, and press the royal icing gently into it.