Hello and welcome to Custom Icing!
You've received your order and now you're planning to decorate your cake, cupcakes, cookies or sweet treats.
Please be sure to read and follow this guide we have prepared for you.

There are many ways to use our Custom Icing edible images so please contact us if you find you have any questions at all. 
We are here to help and have almost 2 decades of experience we can draw from to assist you. 
Happy decorating! 

- The Custom Icing Crew

Once you have received your order, store it sealed in the plastic and put it in the cardboard envelope and into the pantry. 

Sugar does not like moisture/humidity so keep your Custom Icing away from steam/humidity/condensation etc. 
Keep air tight in a cool dark and dry place. 

You can store your edible images for 3+ months in the pantry if you need to.  We recommend using your edible images within 2 weeks of receiving them for best results. 

Our Custom Edible Printed Wafers can be stored for 2+ years if need be. Keep in a cool dark and dry place. Air tight.

Keep flat & store air tight (sealed in the plastic packaging) in a cool & dark cupboard, away from moisture, humidity and light. 

Custom Icing edible images can be stored for 3+ months if need be. 
It is possible to store for longer, however we only recommend up to 3 months due to the wide variables in environmental factors in different locations around Australia, and the world.

Custom Icing edible images do not contain any ingredients that spoil, so they do not have a best before date or a use by date.  

Custom Edible Printed Wafer has an even longer storage time, up to 2 years is our recommendation.
Store it air tight, away from moisture and humidity.
Be sure to keep out of direct light as wafer can easily fade in a short amount of time if left unprotected from light. 

Under normal conditions (under 53% humidity) your Custom Icing edible image will be easy to gently peel away from the coated paper backing. If the humidity in your location is higher, you must follow all the instructions for use to avoid damaging your Custom Icing.

1) Gently lift a corner of the Custom Icing by hand or using the tip of a knife.

2) Gently and slowly peel the Custom Icing off the backing sheet in a motion down along the flat surface, not up and away from the backing.
Don't pull it or lift it toward the roof as you could stretch or tear your Custom Icing edible image.

3) If your Custom Icing edible image is not coming away from the backing sheet easily, then it has absorbed moisture from humidity in the air.
If it looks and feels like it is going to crumble or break and not able to withstand the peeling action, this means your Custom Icing has certainly absorbed a lot of moisture and you must follow these instructions to rectify it.
Don't worry! We have 2 excellent methods to resolve this issue, tried and tested over 17+ years.
[See next section > "Humidity absorption solutions".]

NOTICE: If you do not follow the instructions for use it is obvious and you will damage your Custom Icing or you won't be able to use it.
Failure to follow product instructions for use (misuse) does not entitle you to a refund, in line with Australian Consumer Law.

For best results, apply your Custom Icing edible image onto buttercream frosting or fondant.

To retain the nice bright colours of your edible print, use white or a very light coloured frosting.
If you will be applying onto chocolate frosting, apply some white fondant or buttercream where you will be placing the Custom Icing edible image.

Onto buttercream, apply the Custom Icing edible image before a crust forms on the buttercream.
Alternatively, ensure the surface of the buttercream is sticky to touch so the Custom Icing edible image can adhere to it.
This can be achieved with a hot knife or spatula over the surface of the buttercream.

You can apply your Custom Icing edible image onto your buttercream covered cake up to 24 hours before serving
or up to 48 hours onto a fondant covered cake.
Please note that it is always best to keep storage of the decorated cake to a minimum for best results, due to the many variables that can occur when storing baked goods.

Application onto whipped cream, cream cheese or nut based vegan frostings is not recommended.
They contain excess moisture, fat and/or oil which can damage your Custom Icing edible image.
If you are applying onto one of these cake frostings, add a thin layer of fondant under where you will be placing the Custom Icing edible image to protect it.
Alternatively, apply very close to the time of serving the cake (within 1 hour) to avoid possible damage to your Custom Icing edible image.

IMPORTANT:
Always keep your Custom Icing edible image decorated cake dry and be sure to manage the variables that baked goods require for successful storage, including but not limited to humidity, condensation, temperature and light.

Refrigeration
If you refrigerate your decorated cake, ensure it remains dry. Condensation will damage the edible image.
We do not recommend overnight storage in the fridge due to so many variables involved.

If your Custom Icing edible image has absorbed moisture from the air (humidity) then you may be finding it difficult to remove from the backing sheet.
Don't worry! Stay calm, take your time to follow the instructions below exactly, and you will be back on track with your cake decorating in a few minutes.

STABILISE IN THE FREEZER

1) Lay the Custom Icing edible image flat in the freezer for 5 minutes.
Important: Do not allow the icing to get wet at all.

2) Remove it from the freezer and immediately repeat the instructions to remove the Custom Icing from the backing sheet.

3) You may need to repeat this process a few times for larger size Custom Icing edible images.

4) If you are not having success with freezer stabilisation and the Custom Icing edible image is still difficult to remove from the backing sheet, this means it has absorbed a lot of moisture and must be dried out.

DRY OUT IN THE OVEN

1) Set your oven to 80°.
Hotter will not help as we want dry warmth, we don't want to bake it as it could damage the Custom Icing edible image.

2) Put the Custom Icing edible image (image facing up) on a cookie tray.

3) Set a timer and put the Custom Icing edible image into the warm oven for 60 seconds.

4) Remove from the oven and allow it to cool for a few seconds before repeating the steps to gently peel the Custom Icing edible image from the backing sheet.

5) As there is no way to measure how much moisture the sugar has absorbed, you may need to repeat 60 seconds in the oven a few times until the sugar is dry enough to easily release from the backing sheet.

This is a tried and tested method we have developed over 17+ years. As long as these instructions are followed correctly, you will recover your Custom Icing edible image from the impact of the high humidity.

Need help with following these instructions? Contact us!
If it is after hours, please email and we will respond as soon as humanly possible (usually within an hour).
[See last section "Email | Live Chat | Phone"]

NOTICE: Failure to read and follow product instructions for use (misuse) does not entitle you to a refund in line with Australian Consumer Law.

Use a blade knife and only cut through the icing, not the backing sheet. This will make it easier work with.
Using scissors is not recommended as it can damage the Custom Icing or Edible Wafer.

Yes, our Custom Icing edible images can be applied onto ice cream cakes.

Slightly melt the top of the ice cream cake.
Apply the Custom Icing edible image.
Return the decorated ice cream cake to the freezer to firm up the ice cream before serving.

Long term storage (more than a few hours) of the decorated ice cream cake is not advised due to so many variables that could impact or damage the Custom Icing edible image.

Custom Icing edible images can be applied onto fondant and allowed to dry and harden to make discs or other shapes for topping cupcakes or adding other standing upright design elements onto cakes.

The surface of the fondant needs to be slightly sticky for the Custom Icing edible image to adhere to it.
Use a tiny amount of water, applied with a clean food safe brush to create a sticky surface on the fondant ready to apply the Custom Icing edible image.

The bigger the edible image you would like to make a solid piece, the thicker you will need the fondant to be. The average thickness is 3-4mm for cupcake toppers or at least 5mm for items/images over 8cm in size.

When applying to fondant to make "standing" design pieces for your cake, adding skewers or toothpicks at this time is heplful for the item to be inserted into the cake to help it stand up.

If applying onto fondant on cookies, ensure that the cookie and Custom Icing edible image topped fondant is completely dry before sealing into bags.
Failing to do this is likely to cause condensation and ruin your Custom Icing edible images.