2023-10-29
HOW TO MAKE WAFER LACE
An easy and quick way to create elegant and striking cake decor
Lace can be made in any color you like, according to your preference.
In this article, we will tell you how to easily and quickly create beautiful edible lace. It's an airy, weightless, and very elegant decoration that even beginners can master.
Article Contents:
You will need:
- Wafer paper
- Water
- Blender
- Silicone spatula or brush
- Food coloring
- Pan with a thick bottom and non-stick coating
The ratio of wafer paper to water is 1 to 10. That is, for 10 grams of paper, you will need 100 grams of water. You'll have 5-6 pieces of lace. The exact quantity will depend on the diameter of the bottom of your pan; ours is 20 cm (8").
We often use wafer paper in cake decoration for various elements like flowers, pompoms, and butterflies. There are usually plenty of scraps left, and we primarily use them to create lace. Usually we purchase Kopyform thin (0.35 mm thickness) wafer paper.
Article Contents:
- Lace Recipe.
- Instructions.
- How to Color the Lace.
- Flexibility of the Lace.
- Attaching the Lace to Cake Frosting.
You will need:
- Wafer paper
- Water
- Blender
- Silicone spatula or brush
- Food coloring
- Pan with a thick bottom and non-stick coating
The ratio of wafer paper to water is 1 to 10. That is, for 10 grams of paper, you will need 100 grams of water. You'll have 5-6 pieces of lace. The exact quantity will depend on the diameter of the bottom of your pan; ours is 20 cm (8").
We often use wafer paper in cake decoration for various elements like flowers, pompoms, and butterflies. There are usually plenty of scraps left, and we primarily use them to create lace. Usually we purchase Kopyform thin (0.35 mm thickness) wafer paper.
- We transfer the scraps into a tall glass, pour room temperature water, and let them soak for 5-10 minutes.
- Then we blend the mixture until it reaches a uniform consistency. At this stage, you can add any water-soluble food coloring. The blended mixture becomes slightly viscous, resembling paste or glue.
- Moving on to the next, most interesting stage. We'll need a pan with a thick bottom and a non-stick coating. First, we heat it over high heat, then reduce to medium. We pour approximately two tablespoons of the mixture and spread it evenly across the pan using a silicone brush or spatula. Try making one lace design with the spatula and another with the silicone brush. Compare the convenience and pattern.
- Initially, the mixture may slide around, but as the water evaporates, it will start to adhere, forming the lace pattern. Here, you need to be more careful. We strive to evenly distribute the mixture across the diameter of the pan with gentle, barely touching movements. It's slightly easier to do with a brush, as it's softer and more flexible.
- We wait for the lace to dry slightly and begin to detach from the surface on its own. We gently lift it with a clean spatula and transfer it onto parchment paper or a silicone mat. This process takes approximately 20-30 seconds. Try not to leave it for too long, or the lace may turn yellow.
It might not work perfectly the first time. Don't get discouraged; you just need to practice a bit and find the optimal temperature for your stove.
If the mixture hasn't spread evenly and there are some lumps left in places, don't worry. You can flip the lace over and lightly press the lumps down for a couple of seconds or simply let the lace dry at room temperature. In this case, avoid stacking the lace on top of each other to prevent them from sticking together.
If the mixture hasn't spread evenly and there are some lumps left in places, don't worry. You can flip the lace over and lightly press the lumps down for a couple of seconds or simply let the lace dry at room temperature. In this case, avoid stacking the lace on top of each other to prevent them from sticking together.
To create colored lace, simply add food coloring. If you want to make several colors from one batch of mixture, blend it first, then pour it into separate containers, add the coloring, and mix with a spatula. We use gel-based water-soluble food coloring, but if you have liquid or powdered coloring, they will work just as well! Gel-based coloring tends to make the mixture thicker and more prone to clumping during cooking. This is usually not an issue with liquid or powdered coloring. We compensate for this by adding a little more water and relying on our experience. However, we still recommend learning to make lace from uncolored mixture.
By the way, adding white gel coloring turned our lace into something resembling rubber. Since the lace itself is white, we don't see a reason to add white coloring. For us, it was just an experiment.
We always color black lace using dry coloring as it's more concentrated. To ensure it mixes well, we blend it first. Black lace is one of our most requested colors; it's currently a trend.
By the way, adding white gel coloring turned our lace into something resembling rubber. Since the lace itself is white, we don't see a reason to add white coloring. For us, it was just an experiment.
We always color black lace using dry coloring as it's more concentrated. To ensure it mixes well, we blend it first. Black lace is one of our most requested colors; it's currently a trend.
The flexibility of the lace depends on the humidity in the air. In the summer, they are naturally flexible and bend easily. However, in the winter, they can be quite fragile. This is easily remedied. Take a water sprayer and lightly mist the lace. Set it aside and leave it for 15-20 seconds. During this time, the lace will moisten, become soft, and remain so for about 5-10 minutes. This time is sufficient to shape it as you like. You can store lace for a long time in an airtight container.
Remember that lace, like any decoration made of wafer paper, is sensitive to moisture. Therefore, we advise decorating cakes a few hours before delivery.
How do you attach lace to cake frosting?
Lessons on all basic cake frosting can be purchased on our website.
We hope this article was useful and interesting to you!
Remember that lace, like any decoration made of wafer paper, is sensitive to moisture. Therefore, we advise decorating cakes a few hours before delivery.
How do you attach lace to cake frosting?
- We do not recommend attaching lace to cream cheese frosting as there's a high probability it will become soggy.
- For ganache or Swiss meringue buttercream, we attach lace using corn syrup or melted chocolate. We prefer syrup because it is totally invisible. We only use chocolate if there's a large amount of lace.
- As for chocolate velvet, we attach lace using a liquid mixture of chocolate velvet of the same color as the cake.
Lessons on all basic cake frosting can be purchased on our website.
We hope this article was useful and interesting to you!
For a better understanding, please watch our video about wafer paper lace on our YouTube channel.