Apparatus and method for forming a cake frosting layer

Description

1 / 14 “APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR FORMING A CAKE FROSTING LAYER”

[001] The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for forming a coating layer, for example, a decorative coating layer, for a cake base.

[002] The present invention also includes a method for covering a cake base using a coating layer formed by the method of the present invention.

[003] To produce a decorative cake, a cake base is prepared, usually made from a baked sponge cake, and then a decorative layer is applied over the base. The decorative layer can be formed from a spreadable material, such as cream, buttercream or chocolate cream, or it can be formed from a layer of frosting that is placed over the cake base and manually manipulated to come into contact with the cake base, with the excess frosting being removed.

[004] Cakes with a decorative layer of spreadable material lend themselves to mass production, as predetermined quantities of spreadable material can be automatically discharged onto pre-formed cake bases and subsequently automatically smoothed with minimal manual intervention by moving the cake base relative to a spatula or similar leveling device.

[005] However, the mass production of decorative cakes with a layer of icing or “fondant” (NT: a malleable paste of sugar, water, and other ingredients used to cover and fill sweets, cakes, and other confectionery products) still requires significant manual intervention. Large sheets of icing or “fondant” are placed on cake bases with similar shapes, but each sheet must be pressed manually to make contact with the base. Petition 870250088541, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, p. 6 / 36 2 / 14 of the cake should be cut into pieces before any excess frosting or fondant is removed manually.

[006] Furthermore, while the process is relatively simple with a simple cake base, such as a circular or rectangular one, it is significantly more complicated with more complex cake bases, for example, for a cake intended to resemble an animal. Additionally, the surface of the icing or fondant layer tends to be smooth, and any texture or pattern on the surface must be applied afterward, or additional decoration may be applied afterward to the smooth top layer of icing or fondant, further increasing the need for manual intervention.

[007] According to a first aspect of the present invention, an apparatus for forming a topping layer for a cake base comprises: A concave mold comprising internal walls that define a molding surface; An expandable, positionable mold-in-mold housing comprising a flexible, elastically deformable wall that defines an internal cavity; A plurality of discrete bodies retained within the inner cavity of the expandable enclosure; and A displacement element that projects into the interior of the expandable enclosure and is reversibly movable within the enclosure to displace discrete bodies and thus reversibly expand the flexible and elastically deformable wall of the expandable enclosure.

[008] The present invention allows a moldable sheet of covering or “fondant” to be quickly and repeatedly molded into a shape defined by the mold, which can then be used to cover a cake base. The invention is therefore suitable for mass production of Petition 870250088541, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, page 7 / 36 3 / 14 decorated cakes.

[009] Furthermore, the use of discrete bodies in the expandable shell, which are pushed outward as the displacement element moves further into the expandable shell, expands the shell wall, so that the moldable cover sheet is pressed firmly into contact with the molding surface of the mold across the entire molding surface. This allows the detailed features of the mold surface to be molded into the moldable cover sheet.

[010] Preferably, the apparatus comprises a mold holder which includes a fitting to receive and support the mold in a removable manner.

[011] A mold holder helps to position the mold securely and accurately, which contributes to an accurate and reliable reproduction of the molded cover sheet.

[012] Preferably, the outer surface of the concave mold and the walls of the mold support socket are molded and dimensioned in a complementary manner to each other.

[013] This ensures that the mold is supported on its entire outer surface and helps to transfer the surface characteristics of the mold to the molded cover sheet.

[014] Preferably, when the concave mold is received into the mold holder socket, the outer surface of the concave mold is in contact with the walls of the mold holder socket.

[015] Preferably, the concave mold is elastically deformable.

[016] An elastically deformable mold helps to remove the molded cover sheet from the mold with minimal damage to the cover.

[017] For example, the concave mold can be made of silicone rubber. Petition 870250088541, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, page 8 / 36 4 / 14

[018] There may be a plurality of substantially identical discrete bodies retained within the inner cavity of the expandable enclosure.

[019] Alternatively, there may be discrete bodies of different shapes and / or dimensions.

[020] The apparatus may comprise a plurality of discrete spherical bodies.

[021] Preferably, the expandable casing is elongated when it is not deformed.

[022] An elongated and expandable casing facilitates reception in the mold before the cover sheet is molded.

[023] The expandable structure can generally be truncated cone-shaped when undeformed and may include a rounded head.

[024] The apparatus may comprise a mobile vehicle on which the expandable enclosure is mounted.

[025] The expandable housing can be mounted on the underside of the mobile car.

[026] Preferably, the car is mobile to position the expandable casing in the mold.

[027] Preferably, the car is mobile in both directions along a vertical axis.

[028] The displacement element is preferably mounted on the moving carriage.

[029] The displacement element can pass into the internal cavity of the expandable housing through an opening in the moving carriage.

[030] The displacement element can be slidably mounted in the opening of the moving carriage.

[031] The displacement element can conveniently be cylindrical in general.

[032] The displacement element may comprise a Petition 870250088541, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, page 9 / 36 5 / 14 rounded head that projects into the inner cavity of the expandable housing.

[033] A rounded head helps to move discrete bodies smoothly and uniformly within the expandable enclosure when the displacement element moves further into the enclosure, and helps to produce a uniform expansion of the expandable enclosure.

[034] According to a second aspect of the present invention, a method of forming a coating layer for a cake using the apparatus of the present invention comprises: Place a layer of moldable covering material inside the concave mold; Position the expandable casing inside the moldable covering material; Moving the displacement element displaces the discrete bodies and thus expands the flexible and elastically deformable wall of the expandable container, thereby engaging the moldable cover material layer and pressing it into contact with the molding surface of the mold to form a molded cover material layer; Remove the displacement element to allow the flexible and elastically deformable wall of the expandable container to retract, disengaging from the molded layer of the cover material; and Remove the expandable casing from within the molded layer of the roofing material.

[035] The present invention also includes a method for covering a cake base, comprising forming a layer of covering for a cake according to the second aspect and positioning a cake base within the molded decorative layer of covering material. Petition 870250088541, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, p. 10 / 36 6 / 14

[036] The cake base can be positioned on the molded frosting layer while it is in the mold, and the mold can be removed later.

[037] The cake base and molded frosting can be chilled.

[038] By way of illustration only, a specific embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[039] Figure 1 is a side view of an embodiment of an apparatus for producing a molded decorative layer for a cake;

[040] Figure 2 is a vertical cross-section through the apparatus of Figure 1, shown in a first configuration;

[041] Figure 3 is a vertical cross-section through the apparatus of Figure 1, shown in a second configuration, before a molding step;

[042] Figure 4 is a vertical cross-section through the apparatus of Figure 1, shown in a third configuration, during a molding step;

[043] Figure 5 is a vertical cross-section through the apparatus of Figure 1, shown after the molding step, and illustrates the insertion of a pre-made cake base into a molded topping layer formed by the apparatus of Figure 1, to form a cake;

[044] Figure 6 illustrates the removal of a deformable mold from the cake formed after inserting the cake base into the molded frosting layer; and

[045] Figure 7 illustrates an optional cooling step after removing the cake from the mold.

[046] The apparatus 10 for producing a molded decorative layer for a cake comprises a removable, flexible and elastically deformable mold 12 formed from food-grade silicone rubber, a solid mold support 14 for mold support Petition 870250088541, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, page 11 / 36 7 / 14 The elastic and deformable mold 12 and a movable carriage or support 16 are attached, on the underside of which is fixed an elastic and deformable, reversibly expandable casing in the form of a bag or bladder 18, formed from food-grade silicone rubber. The outer surface of the resiliently deformable mold 12 is complementary molded with an upward-opening fitting 20 in the mold support 14.

[047] As will be explained, during use, the elastically deformable removable mold 12 is received in the fitting 20 of the mold holder 14, a sheet 22 (see Figures 2 and 3) of moldable cake frosting is positioned inside the removable mold 12 and the carriage or holder 16 is moved down to position the expandable bag or bladder 18 inside the deformable mold 12. The expandable bag or bladder 18 is then expanded to enclose the sheet 22 of moldable cake frosting and press it against the inner surface of the removable mold 12 in order to imprint the shape and pattern of the mold onto the sheet 22 of frosting. The molded sheet of frosting is then used to decorate the base of a cake, as will be explained.

[048] The removable mold 12, made of food-grade silicone rubber, is concave upwards when in use, with an open-up recess 24 that is molded to generally conform to the shape of a cake base to be decorated, with some clearance. The surrounding walls of the removable mold 12 have an inner surface 26 that defines a molding surface that may be given a profile and / or texture and / or pattern intended to be the negative image of the outer surface of the molded cake cover sheet. In this particular embodiment, the shape of the recess 24 of the removable mold 12 is presented as generally having the shape of an inverted bell, but the shape of the recess 24 and the profile and / or texture and / or pattern of its inner surface 26 will depend on the shape and appearance of the cake surface. Petition 870250088541, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, p. 12 / 36 8 / 14 for decorating. The outer surface of the removable mold 12 is generally smooth.

[049] The mold holder 14 is formed from a solid block which can be conveniently formed from a food-grade molded resin material. The open-up recess 20 in the mold holder 14 is molded to fit perfectly into the outer surface of the removable mold 12, so that the outer surface of the removable mold 12 is in close contact with the walls of the open recess 20 when the removable mold 12 is received into the recess 20 of the mold holder 14. The upper periphery of the removable mold 12 is provided with a continuous flat edge extending outwards 32 which, as will be explained, can be received into a complementary flat shoulder extending peripherally 34 of the mold holder 14 located on the upper peripheral edge of the open recess 20.

[050] The carriage or support 16 comprises a base plate 36 with a central circular hole 38, in which a displacement element in the form of a cylindrical piston or plunger with a domed head 40, which can be moved longitudinally, is mounted in a sliding manner. The base plate 36 is mounted on the lower ends of a plurality of parallel vertically extending structural elements 42, which are joined at their upper end by an upper transverse structural element 44.The piston or plunger 40 is movable through the orifice 38 in both directions along its longitudinal axis by means of a conventional actuator, such as a double-acting pneumatic cylinder 46 (shown schematically in Figure 1) mounted on the upper transverse element of the structure 44, and the carriage or support 16 is constrained to be movable up and down in a vertical direction by means of one or more conventional actuators, such as double-acting pneumatic cylinders 48 (also shown schematically in Figure 1) mounted on a fixed surface 50. Petition 870250088541, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, page 13 / 36 9 / 14

[051] The piston or plunger head 40 projects into the interior of the expandable bag or bladder 18 and is reversibly displaceable longitudinally into the interior of the bag or bladder 18, actuating the double-acting pneumatic cylinder 46 mounted on the carriage or support 16.

[052] The expandable bag or bladder 18 is formed by a food-grade silicone rubber wall approximately 2 mm thick and is fixed to the lower surface of the base plate 36 of the carriage or support 16 by a plurality of equally spaced screws 52 that pass through holes in a peripheral rim 46 facing inwards on the bag or bladder 18 and that are received in fittings 54 with complementary threads on the base plate 36, located outside the passage hole 38 in the base plate 36.

[053] As can be best seen in Figure 2, the bag or bladder 18 is elongated and is wider at its base than at its end, assuming the shape of a generally inverted frustocone with a rounded apex when not deformed. The bag 18 defines an internal cavity containing a plurality of identical spheres 56 approximately 5 mm in diameter. In this embodiment, the spheres are solid and are made of food-grade steel. As will be explained, by moving the piston or plunger 40 further into the interior of the bag or bladder 18, the spheres 56 inside the bag or bladder 18 are displaced, which causes the bag or bladder 18 to expand laterally and longitudinally, since the spheres 56 are retained within it.

[054] In use, the carriage or support 16 is moved upwards to a position (Figure 1) that allows the removable mold 12 to be inserted into the mold support and fitted into the fitting 20 (Figure 2). Then, a sheet 22 of moldable cake icing or “fondant” (hereinafter referred to as “icing”) is loosely positioned. Petition 870250088541, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, p. 14 / 36 10 / 14 inside recess 24 of removable mold 12 and is manipulated and maneuvered to assume a concave shape that generally conforms to the shape of the inner surface of removable mold 12 and allows it to be loosely positioned within the mold (Figure 2). Alternatively, the moldable cover sheet 22 can be placed in mold 12 before mold 12 is positioned in mold holder 14. In both cases, the moldable cover sheet 22 assumes the configuration shown in Figure 3.

[055] The carriage or support 16 is then moved downwards, as indicated in Figure 3, so that the bag or bladder 18 is received within the recessed sheet 22 of cake covering, which is loosely positioned within the mold 12. The downward movement of the carriage or support 16 is limited by the engagement of the lower surface of the base plate 36 with the mold 12 and / or the mold support 14, as indicated in Figure 4, which also helps to cut off the excess peripheral parts of the covering sheet 22.

[056] The piston or plunger 40 is then displaced downwards, further into the bag or bladder 18, as shown in Figure 4. The spheres 56 are retained within the bag or bladder 18, as the piston or plunger 40 passes narrowly through the orifice 38 in the base plate 36 and prevents the spheres 56 from escaping. Consequently, the downward displacement of the piston or plunger 40 results in the displacement of the spheres 56, which, in turn, causes the bag or bladder 18 to expand outwards, laterally and longitudinally. This, in turn, pushes the cake frosting sheet 22 outward, into contact with the inner surface 26 of the removable mold 12, and the cake frosting is pressed firmly between the outer surface of the expanded bag or bladder 18 and the inner surface 26 of the removable mold 12, as shown in Figure 4. As the bag or bladder 18 is expanded outward by the movement of the solid spheres 56, the frosting sheet 22 Petition 870250088541, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, page 15 / 36 11 / 14 for cakes is deformed and forced to fit firmly into the inner molding surface 26 of the removable mold 12 and its outer surface is molded into the negative of the shape and / or texture and / or pattern of the molding surface 26, forming a molded sheet 22' of cake covering.

[057] The piston or plunger 40 is then moved upwards, and the elasticity of the bag or bladder 18 causes it to retract, disengaging from the molded sheet 22' of cake covering, returning to its undeformed condition. The carriage or support 16 is then moved upwards to a position that allows access to the removable mold 12 (Figure 5).

[058] As shown by the dotted lines in Figure 5, as an optional step, a sprayer 58 can be positioned inside the mold to spray a liquid, such as water or sugar solution, to moisten the inner surface of the molded sheet 22' of cake frosting, to assist in assembling the finished cake, as will be explained.

[059] The spray head 58 (if used) is then removed from the mold and a pre-baked cake base 60 is inserted into the molded sheet 22' of covering inside the mold 12 to form an assembled cake 62. The cake base 60 can be of any type, for example, a baked sponge cake, fruitcake, etc., and has a shape complementary to the shape of the inner surface of the molded sheet 22' of covering. As shown in the figures, the cake base 60 is inverted before insertion, since the mold is upside down compared to the finished product. If the interior of the molded sheet 22' of covering has optionally been sprayed with a liquid from the nozzle 58, the inner surface becomes sticky, which helps to fix the cake base 60 in place.

[060] After inserting the cake base, a cardboard or base Petition 870250088541, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, page 16 / 36 12 / 14 plastic 64 with the same shape as the exposed parts of the assembled cake 62 is placed on the exposed surface of the cake 62, on which the assembled cake 62 will rest during use.

[061] The mold 12 containing the assembled cake is then removed from the mold support 14 and, as can be best seen in Figure 6, the removable mold 12 and the cake 62 inside it are inverted and the mold 12 is then removed, leaving the cake 62 resting on the base sheet 64. The mold 12 is formed from a flexible and elastically deformable material, which allows it to be easily deformed and removed from the cake without significantly deforming it, while maintaining the texture and pattern molded onto the outer surface of the covering sheet 22'. The use of a mold 12 formed from flexible and elastically deformable material also allows for the formation of protrusions on the molded covering sheet 22' and allows for surface patterns of fine details to be molded onto the outer surface of the molded covering sheet 22'.

[062] Preferably, cake 62 is then chilled to cool the cake in order to firm up the frosting and any soft filling components (e.g., buttercream or jam). This can be achieved, for example, by placing cake 62 in a blast chiller (shown schematically in 66, with cold air jets shown schematically in 68).

[063] Consequently, a decorated cake 62 comprising a cake base 60 and a molded sheet of frosting 22' is constructed. Subsequent decorating steps may be added, such as the application of edible dyes and the addition of other decorative elements (e.g., false eyes for a cake intended to resemble an animal), as desired.

[064] The operation to form the molded 22' cover sheet is very quick and repeatable and allows for rapid decoration of a large Petition 870250088541, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, p. 17 / 36 13 / 14 number of pre-prepared cake bases.

[065] The invention is not limited to the details of the embodiment described above.

[066] For example, the balls 56 located inside the bag or bladder 18 do not need to be identical, but there may be balls of more than one size. In fact, the spheres may be replaced by discrete non-spherical bodies. For example, the bag or bladder 18 may contain solid granular material, which may help to transfer a finely detailed pattern and / or texture from the molding surface 26 of the removable mold 12 to the cake icing sheet 22. The spheres may be made of a material other than food-grade steel.

[067] Furthermore, although the removable mold 12 has been described as being elastically deformable in the embodiment described above, it would be possible to use a substantially non-deformable mold, for example, if the molded cover sheet 22' did not include any protrusions and / or if the surface pattern of the molded cover sheet 22' was relatively smooth.

[068] Furthermore, it will normally be possible to separate the flexible mold 12 from the cake quite easily, since the covering sheet 22 will normally have a light layer of cornmeal applied when it is spread, which acts as a release agent. However, an additional release agent can be applied to the outside of the bag or bladder 18 before insertion into the covering sheet 22 and before the molding step (Figure 4), to aid in unmolding the cake, if desired. A suitable additional release agent would be a fresh layer of cornmeal, but other release agents can be used.

[069] The cake base 60 described above can also be replaced by other bases, for example, a looser cake base material that can be squeezed or extruded onto the molded sheet 22'. Petition 870250088541, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, page 18 / 36 14 / 14

[070] The embodiment described above refers to the formation of a decorative covering layer for a cake base. However, the invention is applicable to other products in which a moldable layer must be applied to a base, for example, a dog food cake consisting of a dog food dough covered with a molded layer of tallow or tallow dough.

[071] The shape of the bag or bladder 18 and / or the piston or plunger 40 may differ from those shown in the embodiment, depending on the shape of the molded sheet 22' of cover to be formed in the mold 12. For example, if the molded sheet 22' of cover is elongated, to cover an elongated cake base of similar shape, then the bag or bladder 18 and / or the piston or plunger 40 may also be elongated.

[072] Furthermore, the cooling step shown in Figure 7 may, if desired, occur with the cake 62 in situ in the mold 12, and the mold removal step shown in Figure 6 may occur after the cooling step, i.e., the steps shown in Figures 6 and 7 may be reversed with respect to each other. Petition 870250088541, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, page 19 / 36

Claims

1 / 4 CLAIMS 1. Apparatus for forming a topping layer for a cake base, characterized in that it comprises: a concave mold comprising internal walls that define a molding surface; an expandable casing capable of being positioned in the mold and comprising a flexible and elastically deformable wall that defines an internal cavity; a plurality of discrete bodies retained within the internal cavity of the expandable casing; and a displacement element that projects into the interior of the expandable casing and that is reversibly movable within the casing to displace the discrete bodies and thus reversibly expand the flexible and elastically deformable wall of the expandable casing.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a mold support comprising a fitting for receiving and supporting the mold in a removable manner.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that the outer surface of the concave mold and the walls of the mold support fitting are molded and dimensioned in a complementary manner to each other.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that, when the concave mold is received in the mold support housing, the outer surface of the concave mold comes into contact with the walls of the mold support housing.

5. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the concave mold is elastically deformable.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5, characterized by the fact that the concave mold comprises silicone rubber.

7. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a plurality of substantially identical discrete bodies retained within the inner cavity of the expandable casing.

8. Apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that it comprises discrete bodies of different shapes and / or dimensions.

9. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a plurality of discrete spherical bodies.

10. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the expandable casing is elongated when not deformed.

11. Apparatus according to claim 10, characterized in that the expandable casing is generally frustum-conical when undeformed.

12. Apparatus according to claim 11, characterized in that the expandable compartment comprises a rounded head.

13. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it further comprises a mobile carriage on which the expandable enclosure is mounted.

14. Apparatus according to claim 13, characterized in that the expandable compartment is mounted on the lower surface of the mobile car.

15. Apparatus according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that the carriage is movable to position the expandable casing in the mold.

16. Apparatus according to claim 15, Petition 870250088541, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, page 21 / 36 3 / 4 characterized in that the car is movable in both directions along a vertical axis.

17. Apparatus according to any one of claims 13 to 16, characterized in that the displacement element is mounted on the movable carriage.

18. Apparatus according to claim 17, characterized in that the displacement element penetrates the internal cavity of the expandable housing through an opening in the movable carriage.

19. Apparatus according to claim 18, characterized in that the displacement element is slidably mounted in the opening of the movable carriage.

20. Apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the displacement element is generally cylindrical.

21. Apparatus according to claim 20, characterized in that the displacement element has a rounded head that projects into the inner cavity of the expandable housing.

22. Method for forming a layer of frosting for a cake using the apparatus as defined in any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the method comprises: positioning a layer of moldable frosting material inside the concave mold; positioning the expandable casing inside the moldable frosting material; moving the displacement element to cause the separate bodies to move and thus expand the flexible and elastically deformable wall of the expandable container, thereby enclosing the layer of moldable frosting material and Petition 870250088541, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, p.22 / 36 4 / 4 pressing it into contact with the molding surface of the mold to form a molded layer of cover material; remove the displacement element to allow the flexible and elastically deformable wall of the expandable container to retract, disengaging with the molded layer of cover material; and remove the expandable casing from the molded layer of cover material.

23. Method for covering a cake base, characterized in that it comprises forming a covering layer for a cake, as defined in claim 22, and positioning a cake base within the molded layer of covering material.

24. Method for covering a cake base, according to claim 23, characterized in that the cake base is positioned on the molded covering layer while the molded covering layer is in the mold and in that the mold is subsequently removed.

25. Method for covering a cake base, according to claim 24, characterized in that the cake base and the molded topping are cooled. Petition 870250088541, dated 09 / 30 / 2025, p. 23 / 36

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