A very cool way to personalize anything by writing with melted chocolate—no pastry bag needed. (And no clean-up, either!)

Wielding a big pastry decorating bag with icing is not in most of our comfort zones. And writing with that pastry bag? Yeesh, tough. Not to mention the idea of making frosting that is just the right thickness and texture to hold it’s shape once you’ve scribed your message.

Enter one sturdy zipper top bag, some chocolate chips, and a bowl of super hot water. Just melt the chips in the waterproof bag, snip a teeny tiny corner off the bag, and scribble away. Watch the video to see how to give yourself an easy chocolate writing tool in just minutes.

And definitely feel free to practice on a cutting board or even a piece of paper before hand. Words, decorations, anything you want to create.

By the way, if you want a small kick, search around Pinterest for some cake inscription inspiration….you’ll find some ideas that are a far cry from “Happy Birthday, Daddy!”

Some of of my favorites,

“Sorry to make you walk around looking for me, what with your bad knees and all.”

“I think we should see other people.”

“Guess who’s gay.”

“The #25 in big font.”

“Happy birthday in French.”

“Holy shit, you’re old.”

“Happy 29th and 12 months!”

and perhaps the big winner….

“You make poor choices when you are drunk.”

I plan to update this list as brilliant new inspiration presents itself. I welcome your suggestions!

Do you need some cakes to decorate? Happy to help:

• Rich Vanilla Cake with Chocolate Espresso Buttercream
• Banana Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
• One Bowl Simple Vanilla Layer Cake
• Chocolate Banana Cake
• Chocolate Vanilla Cake