When it comes to icing and decorating, intricate designs and finishing touches are often done by hand. That’s because some bakers just prefer handling certain superpremium, delicate ingredients manually to add that special appearance.

However, for most mid-sized and higher volume bakeries, automation can take much of the repetitive and sometimes mindless workload out of the equation.

“Cupcakes usually have a large buttercream icing in some shape and may be finished with a variety of toppings to suit a celebration or to appease a certain type of customer,” said Sonia Bal, director of global marketing, Unifiller Systems. “Unifiller offers various-sized machines and systems to handle cupcake decoration or injection, individually or in packs of 6, 8, 12 or more.”

Petit fours are becoming increasingly popular as are other tiny treats.

“With petit fours, it’s very important to have a clean seamless ‘enrobe,’ which is then often finished with some delicate decoration,” she pointed out. “Mini cakes can often have a flavored spread or a drizzle. In that case, it’s important for the product to look not only beautiful but also consistent. Drizzling patterns can be easily programmed into robotics while icing can be easily portioned to a precise width or length. This will ensure that the brand’s product and SKUs are consistently of the quality that the bakery has promised to the customer and/or to match the branding and imaging displayed on the packaging.”

Sometimes a few simple twists on a conventional product will create a spark of innovation on a product line. Peter van Zessen, executive product manager, AMF Bakery Systems, suggested that today’s depositors can produce premium baked goods while reducing labor and increasing economies of scale.

“These units can accommodate duo batters like vanilla and chocolate combined with various fillings and toppings on a single, fully integrated production line to meet ever-changing consumer demands with maximum flexibility and efficiency,” he said. 

Ty Sarajian, president, Axis Automation, noted bakers can employ a variety of advanced tools and components to enhance the functionality and artistry of their products. Custom dies and masking devices, for instance, are essential for creating a homemade or artisan look.

“By using modern 3D scanning and printing technology, we can quickly experiment with different style nozzles, tooling and die patterns to help bakeries achieve unique and customizable appearances for their finished products,” he pointed out. “This technology allows for rapid prototyping and adjustments, enabling bakers to refine their designs efficiently.”

He added that precision nozzles are crucial for depositing fillings, icings and glazes.

“These nozzles ensure even distribution and can be customized to create intricate designs and patterns,” Sarajian said. “Digital controls complement these nozzles by allowing precise adjustments to flow rates, patterns and depositing amounts, ensuring consistent quality and detail in every product.”

Depositors can easily handle gourmet inclusions without smashing them or breaking them down. Bal said Unifiller’s systems have a patented safety valve and larger passages and openings for handling gourmet inclusions without breaking them down during the process. The depositors also manage the bleeding of blueberries and other fruit in batters.

“For smaller closed pastries, it’s important that we don’t overfill the product because it can cause the seal to open and the filling to leak,” she noted. “In this case, precise portioning of the filling is just as important as maintaining the integrity of the filling. We can also split a hopper for dual batters or include instruments for marbling a batter once the depositor has portioned the batter.”

Many bakeries rely on a broad toolbox of systems for making pastries with sweet or savory fillings that command a slightly higher price point. Van Zessen said liquid inclusions are most often injected into final products by an AMF Tromp Depositor using top or side injection needles. On the flipside, depositors also handle more voluminous inclusions like turnovers and other pastries with fruit fillings or empanada-type products filled with meat, cheese, vegetables and gravies.

“AMF Tromp incorporates components like in-height adjustable rollers, pneumatic lift mechanisms, quick-change depositing heads, nozzles or dies, mobile storage hoppers and an intuitive touchscreen interface for simple operation,” he said. 

GEA Bakery offers the new Bake Depositor Model MO that features an automated dosing and injection cylinder exclusion system, replacing the previous manual process for excluding cylinders.

Paolo Berlaffa, application manager, cakes and pies, GEA Bakery, said the latest upgrade reduces the number of pneumatic valves and cylinders needed for individual dosing and injection control, leading to lower compressed air and energy consumption. As a result, the system is lighter and easier to clean and maintain. Moreover, servo-driven motors have increased the speed and accuracy of the depositor.

“The HMIs monitor the efficiency of the motors and related torques that allow operators to visually detect the malfunction of some parts of the depositor, and consequently, rely on preventive maintenance so as to keep the line efficiency always at the maximum, resulting in an increase of the total cost of ownership for the baker,” he explained.

He added the integration of robotics has emerged as a highly valued technological advancement.

“By combining robotic technology with GEA’s continuous depositors, bakeries can now achieve remarkable flexibility in creating intricate decorations on smaller products, such as icing, granular toppings and detailed designs,” Berlaffa said.

Jamie Bobyk, marketing manager, Apex Motion Control, pointed out that the advances in robotics using vision-based systems help ensure consistent decorating over sweet baked goods that tend to have uneven baked surfaces, such as round cakes, sheet cakes and mini cakes. For example, he said, the new Baker-Bot Quad, multi-bot decorating system will generate complex drizzle patterns or write a message on a cake using a touchscreen, giving that value-added appeal.

“The Baker-Bot Quad also uses vision to sense the size, shape and any inconsistencies in baked products, then automatically adjusts to every nuance of the product and works within the established parameters set by the user,” he noted.

For high-volume bakeries, Bobyk added the Deco-Bot can accommodate multiple products across the conveyor with single-head and multi-head nozzles that enrobe, draw or apply icing to the tops of mini cakes, cookies, pies and Danish.

“If you’re looking for multiple levels of decorating with icing and drizzle, the Baker-Bot Quad can base ice the tops and sides of cakes,” he said. “It can then apply top and bottom borders, followed by decorative toppings such as rosettes then, finally, write a message or drizzle caramel or chocolate on the same system without changing nozzles, which are also known as end effectors.”

Sarajian mentioned the reduced cost and complexity of robotics have made cobots increasingly popular for performing complex decorating tasks.

“These collaborative robots can handle delicate and intricate designs, further enhancing the capability to produce high-quality, visually appealing products,” he observed. “However, the successful introduction of cobots also requires proper handling, delivery and depositing of icings, fondants and other ingredients. The combination of cobots, user-friendly programs and depositing equipment must work together seamlessly to perform effectively.”

This article is an excerpt from the September issue of Baking & Snack. To read the entire feature on Depositing/Icing/Glazing, click here.