Cutting out printed edible paper and cake toppers

Birthdays, weddings and christenings are lovely occasions when you’d like to treat the hosts to a little something. And what better way to do that than with a gift that comes from the heart? A homemade cake is always a good idea here. To give it a personal and unique touch, customised cake toppers are the ideal solution. These are printed with a photo of your choice and then placed on top of the cake. It’s not difficult at all. Here you’ll find out the easiest way to cut photo toppers to fit the cake tin and transform your cake into a little masterpiece.

You may not be able to print cake toppers yourself at home, as you’ll need a special food-grade printer to do so. The cartridges in these printers are filled with food colouring rather than ink. This ensures that the cake is completely safe to eat later on. However, there are now countless online shops that professionally print edible cake toppers. Selected patisseries also offer this service. You can often choose between cake toppers made from fondant or edible paper.

You will usually receive your photo cake topper with a border, as many online shops are unable to print borderless designs. You will therefore need to trim the cake topper to its final size before you can place it on your cake. Even if you own a food printer yourself, the design must first be cut out before you can use it to decorate your cake.

To save yourself the hassle and time-consuming task of cutting it out with kitchen scissors, the Secabo FC50 flatbed cutting plotter is a great alternative. With this device, you’re guaranteed to be able to cut the cake topper into a perfectly circular shape. This is virtually impossible to achieve by hand. The FC50 is a compact tabletop device which, with a working area slightly larger than A3, is ideal for hobbyists and keen amateur bakers. Unlike the well-known roll-fed plotters, flatbed cutting plotters offer the key advantage of being able to cut not only single-layer paper media but also slightly thicker materials with ease. This means that even edible paper can be easily cut into the desired shape. The Draw Cut Pro cutting software included in the package allows you to insert the cutting marks, which are later read by the plotter. This enables you to cut out the cake topper quickly and accurately.

Before you start plotting, you should thoroughly clean the cutting blade and cutting mat. Where necessary, it is advisable to use a new cutting mat. Make sure to use a slightly sticky cutting mat. The cutting settings you choose may vary depending on the material used and the sharpness of the blade. Where possible, therefore, carry out a test cut before you start plotting the actual design. Once you’ve found the right settings, the FC50 practically does the job by itself. Just sit back, relax and look forward to holding a cake topper featuring your chosen design in your hands in no time at all!

Now all you have to do is place the finished cake topper onto the cake. Depending on the material, different tools are suitable for this. If the cake topper is made of edible paper, it is particularly important that the surface of the cake is perfectly flat. When pressing down the inflexible edible paper, the topper can easily tear if the surface of the cake is uneven. As edible paper melts when it comes into contact with water, you should use special baking release sprays whenever possible when securing it. Spray a wafer-thin film of this onto the cake to ensure the edible paper topper adheres perfectly. For fondant toppers, edible sugar glue is also suitable; brush a thin layer onto the surface of the cake. You can then gently press the cake toppers into place. If you’re using soft marzipan to cover the cake, you can press the topper into place without any additional aids. The moisture in the marzipan alone provides the necessary adhesion.

We hope you enjoy baking and decorating your very own personalised cake!