Cake decorators are dealing with an increasing number of personalized design requests from customers looking for one-of-a-kind cakes. With this trend in mind, there are several time-saving tools now at your disposal.
Silhouette recently announced a revamp of their desktop cutting system, the Silhouette Cameo. First introduced in October 2011, the Silhouette Cameo has allowed cake enthusiasts the freedom to design, cut, and create what they want. Like the Silhouette Cameos of the past, the new model offers the same quality and precision that the Silhouette cutting system has become known for along with some additional features.
- Dual-carriage for multi-tool use
- Higher 2 mm clearance
- Included Bluetooth (or Bluetooth compatibility)
- AutoBlade and the Deep-Cut Blade compatibility
- Sleek new look with touch screen located under the lid
- Barcode scanning feature for repeated cut jobs
Silhouette utilizes its own PixScan technology, which allows users the ability to cut precisely around a printed design using a scanner or camera, including smartphones and tablets. PixScan adds yet another powerful feature into the already robust Silhouette Studio software suite. PixScan is ideal for everything from digitizing fabric patterns to replicating a pattern at its original size.
Mike Terry, a Certified Master Sugar Artist and pastry chef instructor with Bakery Professionals, points out that new digital cutting technology is the newest frontier in cake decorating design. Terry explains the advantages of the Silhouette Cameo, which gives do-it-yourself enthusiasts the tool to design, cut, and create whatever they want.
First introduce five years ago, Silhouette introduced the Cameo 3 in August 2016.
"This has changed everything," he says. "The detail that can be done with this technology is unmatched by human hands, and with good speed. There are side designs and lace work that you couldn't do before."
Using a pair of Cameo machines, Terry says he went from doing 12 cakes a weekend for a country club account to more than 40 a weekend. As a bonus, he charges a design upcharge for any digital work (and customers gladly pay it), no matter how short of time is involved.
Another option is the Cricut Cake, which continues to be updated. Cricut Cake has been specifically designed to cut edible material, including gum paste, frosting sheets, and more. As such, it has been designed with parts that are made of food-safe material.
Several years ago, Provo Craft unveiled Cricut Imagine, the world’s first tool that precisely prints and cuts with the touch of a button without requiring a computer or software. Cricut Imagine offers an easy-to-use, electronic print-and-cut system that adds a whole new level of texture, detail and dimension to a wide variety of creative projects. Cricut Imagine is the first in the lineup to feature printing as well as cutting, and features inkjet technology by HP.
Cricut Explore Air Gold Edition is equipped with Bluetooth capabilities to work wirelessly with the Cricut Design Space cloud-based software, which allows users to connect to their devices and design while on the go, and send projects to their machine for cutting and project completion. The Cricut Library is also a helpful resource for infinite inspiration with over 60,000 images, project ideas and fonts.
