Easy as A, B, C

Here’s how to personalize a cake while avoiding the lopsided letters that separate home-baked cakes from their pastry-case cousins.

1. Type your message, using the font of your choice in an appropriate size and inserting an extra space between each letter, then print it.
    
2. Spoon melted chocolate into a resealable plastic bag or a disposable pastry bag.
    
3. Place the printout on a baking sheet and cover it with waxed paper. Snip off the corner or tip of bag to create a narrow opening. Squeezing from the bag’s wide end, trace the letters in chocolate. (If you mess up, just shift the waxed paper and retrace the letter.) Place the waxed-paper sheet in the freezer until chocolate is firm, about 20 minutes.
    
4. Use a knife or small spatula to remove the chocolate letters from the waxed paper and arrange them on your cake. If you make a mistake, carefully lift and reposition.