Hello all-

Very new here and glad I found this site!

I had a question for anyone who's used that edible rice paper. In one of my books, I've seen it used where you draw your template (say, a teddy bear) on it with food safe markers, trim it a bit, and put it right on the top of your cake where you ice over it. They insist the rice paper will dissolve by the time you are ready to cut and serve the cake.

Sounds nifty.

My question is, if the rice paper dissolves like that, what about making little cut out butterflies, slightly folded, that you've sponge or spray painted a bit, and stick on the sides of a cake? Won't they melt off where they're touching the frosting or icing, especially buttercream?

Any tips or advice would be appreciated.

Cheers-
Kato

Welcome Kato!

I've used rice/wafer paper as a template and it did soften but didn't completely dissolve. It depends on your recipe though. Frostings with a high water content will dissolve rice/wafer paper.

The butterflies (bodies) are usually made with royal icing also which is what touches the cake. Both rice/wafer paper and royal icing can soften if they come into contact with buttercream but they won't usually completely dissolve.

I made this cake using wafer paper as the sheet music. I used a dab of buttercream to hold the one on the side. It did soften a bit but never fell. You could always use piping gel to attach them though.

Thank you for your quick reply, and wow that cake is just amazing; I love the carpet design, the fringe, the whole thing...Incredible!

I think I will try messing with the rice or wafer paper as a template and see which frosting recipe helps it dissolve better. Sounds like having it just soften could make a real mess when it comes time to cut the cake...still, experimentation will be enlightening.

Looking forward to trying the frozen buttercream transfer method, too.

Thanks again!