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Cake toppers
How to insert a cake topper and keep the frosting smooth
Put the topper on last, after the cake arrives at the venue. Stand a figure on a clear disc or a thin board and pipe frosting around its base. Hold a topper with a spike by its spike as you push it in.
Our own topper on a real cake. It stands on its flat base, with nothing in the cake.Check what kind of topper you have
How to insert a cake topper depends on its kind. Many acrylic toppers have a spike that goes into the cake. Other toppers are figures that stand on top.
Ours is a standing figure. It has a flat bottom and no stakes, so nothing goes into the cake. It is not food-safe, so it should not touch the frosting you serve.
What you need before you start
- A clear acrylic disc or a thin cake board
- Royal icing or melted chocolate to fix the figure in place
- A piping bag with frosting that matches the cake
- A clean, dry cloth to wipe a spike before and after
Step by step for a standing figure
1. Chill the cake
Keep the cake in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before you add the topper. Cold frosting is firmer, so the figure does not sink and the edge stays clean.
2. Mount the figure
Stand the figure in the middle of a disc or a thin cake board. Tip: ask your baker for a clear acrylic disc a little wider than the figure's base.
The figure on a thin white board, next to the cake.3. Set it on the cake
Do this after the cake is set up at the venue. Hold the disc by its edges, not the figure, and lower it flat onto the top tier.
The figure on a clear disc on top of the cake.4. Pipe around the base
Pipe a ring of small shells or dots around the disc. It hides the edge and makes the disc look like part of the cake.
A ring of piped buttercream around the base.
Flat bottom or stakes: what changes
A topper with a spike goes straight into the cake. Hold it by its spike, not by the top, as you push it in. If the fondant has set hard, poke a small hole first. Wipe the spike clean before and after.
A flat-bottom figure never goes into the cake. It stands on its disc the same way on buttercream or fondant. Ask your baker to keep the top tier flat where the figure will stand.
How much weight the cake can hold
Our own Origami figure, 4 inches (10 cm) tall, weighs about 2 oz (53 g). A soft frosting holds that easily on a disc.
The heaviest clay figure in our test of toppers from other makers weighed about 1¼ lb (559 g). It is almost twice as tall as ours.
A topper that heavy can press into soft frosting. It needs dowels in the cake under its board, with more right under the figure. Tell your baker the weight before the wedding, so they can build the tier for it.
Our figures stand on their own
Our own topper stands on its flat base, with no stakes.We print each couple figure from your photo with a flat bottom, so it stands on its own on a disc or a board.
Not sure which height fits your cake? Read how big a cake topper should be.
Questions
- Who puts the topper on the cake?
- Agree on it with your baker or venue early. Give them the topper in its box with a short note on where the photographer will stand, so the figure faces the camera.
- How do I keep the figure from sliding off the disc?
- Fix the base to the disc with a little royal icing or melted chocolate. Keep hot glue away from anything that touches the cake.
Some images on this blog may be AI edited or modified.