DIY Cake Topper

Edible figures can be hand-sculpted and arranged on a cake.

Make your own custom cake toppers using an edible clay formed from fondant and gum paste. Fondant is a soft clay-like substance often used to cover cakes and create a smooth finish, while gum paste is much stiffer and used to make cake decorations such as flowers and figures. When the two ingredients are mixed together, the final product is similar in texture to modeling clay. Best of all, your homemade and edible clay is easily tinted with food coloring to perfectly match your frosted or fondant-covered cake.

Things You'll Need

• Gum paste
• Fondant
• Gel food coloring
• Rolling pin
• Cookie cutters
• Wax paper
• Lollipop sticks

Instructions

1. Combine equal parts gum paste and fondant together to form a stiff edible clay. Another option is to knead 1 tsp. of Gum-Tex into 4 oz. of fondant.

2. Tint the fondant and gum paste clay with a few small dots of gel or paste food coloring. Knead the food coloring into the clay until you are satisfied with the color.

3. Roll the clay 1/8-inch thick with a rolling pin and cut shapes for your cake topper with assorted cookie cutters or a sharp knife. You also can mold the clay into three-dimensional shapes.

4. Place the shapes on a piece of wax paper and let them dry until firm, which could take up to two days.

5. Place a 1.5-inch ball of fondant in a small bowl and stir in 1 tsp. of water. The fondant will become thin and sticky.

6. Attach lollipop sticks to the back of your dry shapes using the sticky fondant as glue. Let the fondant glue dry until hard.

7. Push the lollipop sticks into the top of your cake to assemble your cake topper.

Tips & Warnings

• Look for gum paste, fondant and Gum-Tex in the cake decorating aisle of a craft store or big box store.

References

• Wilton: Baby Cake Topper
• Wilton: Thinned Fondant Adhesive
• Wilton: Quilling Flowers