These easy and edible DIY cake toppers instantly elevate any homemade birthday cake or cupcakes! Made with melted white chocolate and sprinkles, they're a fun and festive way to decorate a cake.
These DIY cake toppers are about to take your homemade cakes and cupcakes to the next level!
They're as easy to make as they are adorable. Simply melt white chocolate wafers, pipe them onto a template, add a skewer and some sprinkles, and voilà - you've made an edible cake topper!
Use this easy how-to guide to create any design you like, from numbers to letters to simple shapes like stars and hearts.
The fact that they're edible - and actually tasty! - is an added bonus!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
Easy - These simple cake toppers are so easy to make using just one or two ingredients and a few items that you probably already have on hand. Plus they take just 15 minutes of hands-on time to make.
Edible - Who doesn't love a cake topper that you can eat?! And since I use vanilla-flavored melting wafers, they actually taste good!
Fun - Sprinkles just make everything more fun! Your family and friends are sure to smile when you serve them a cake or cupcakes with these fun and adorable diy cake toppers.
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
See recipe card at the bottom of this post for full ingredient list and measurements.
Melting Wafers - Melting wafers make up the structure of the cake topper. I used Ghirardelli white melting wafers, but Wilton candy melts are another great choice and come in multiple colors. As I explain in my white chocolate melting guide, I do not recommend using white chocolate chips, because it's difficult to melt them to a perfectly smooth texture.
Sprinkles - Sprinkles are optional (but extra fun!) for decorating the cake toppers.
Food Coloring (optional) - You can add few drops of gel food coloring to white melting wafers to change the color.
Special Equipment
In addition to essential baking equipment (like a mixing bowl and spatula), I recommend some special tools for making this recipe.
- Piece of paper, to use as a template for your design.
- Waxed paper, for piping design onto.
- Food-safe wooden skewer, for sticking the topper into the cake. Make sure you choose a skewer that is long enough to attach to the topper and stick down into the cake. Skewers can also be carefully cut down if they're too long.
- Piping bag, for piping melted wafers.
Step-By-Step Recipe Instructions
See recipe card at the bottom of this post for detailed recipe instructions.
Step 1: Draw or print your cake topper design onto a piece of paper to use as a template.
Step 2: Prep your materials. Cut a square of waxed paper for each character in your design and gather enough skewers and sprinkles.
Step 3: Microwave wafers on 50% power in 30 second increments, stopping to stir frequently, until fully melted but still just-slightly thick.
Step 4: Transfer the melted wafers to a piping bag and snip the end off the bag to create a very small hole for piping.
Step 5: Place a square of waxed paper over the design and pipe the melted wafers onto the waxed paper, using the design as a template.
Step 6: Place a skewer onto the piped design and pipe a bit of melted wafer over it to attach and cover the skewer.
Step 7: Sprinkle the sprinkles over the still wet design. Gently press them in if necessary.
Step 8: Repeat for the remaining characters in your design.
Step 9: Let the toppers sit flat at room temperature until completely cooled and solid. Then carefully lift the toppers off the waxed paper and stick the skewer(s) down into your cake or cupcakes.
Allison's Top Tips
Getting the consistency of the melting wafers just right is the key to success when making these edible cake toppers. The melted wafers should still be just-slightly thick and not runny for easy piping. If the melted wafers are too runny, wait a few minutes for them to cool and thicken just slightly. If they're too thick, squeeze them back into the bowl and re-heat (slow and low) in the microwave to smooth them back out.
Work quickly so that candy doesn't firm up before sprinkles are added. Pipe one character at a time, add the skewer and sprinkles, then move on to next character.
Using one piece of waxed paper per character makes it easy to lift and move the toppers.
Storage Instructions
Store cake toppers flat in a protective container in the fridge or at room temperature for up to a week.
Cake Recipes to Decorate with Toppers
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Recipe
Easy DIY Edible Cake Toppers
Special Equipment
- Piece of paper
- Waxed paper
- Food-safe wooden skewers
Ingredients
- Melting wafers (I recommend Ghirardelli melting wafers or Wilton candy melts)
- Sprinkles (optional)
Instructions
- Draw or print your cake topper design onto a piece of paper to use as a template. Make sure the design is the size you want your cake toppers to be.
- Prep your materials. Cut a square of waxed paper for each character in your design and gather enough skewers and sprinkles.
- Add melting wafers to a heat-safe bowl and microwave on 50% power in 30 second increments, stopping to stir frequently, until fully melted but still just-slightly thick.
- Transfer the melted wafers to a piping bag and snip the end off the bag to create a very small hole for piping.
- Place a square of waxed paper over the first character you wish to make. Pipe the melted wafers onto the waxed paper, using the paper underneath with your design as a template. I find it easiest to first create an outline and then fill it in.
- Place a skewer onto the piped design, with at least half an inch of the skewer covering the topper for sturdiness. Pipe a bit of melted wafer over the portion of the skewer that covers the topper to attach and cover the skewer.
- Sprinkle the sprinkles over the still wet design. Gently press them into the design if necessary.
- Repeat for the remaining characters in your design.
- Let all toppers sit flat at room temperature until completely cooled and solid.
- Once cooled and firm, carefully lift the toppers off the waxed paper and stick the skewer(s) down into your cake or cupcakes so that only the topper sits on top of the cake or cupcake.
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