• Cake
  • Frosting
  • YouTube
  • My Favorite Tools
  • Nav Social Icons

  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Recipes
    • Cake
    • Cupcakes
    • Frosting
    • Ice Cream
    • Vegan
  • Cake Basics
  • Tutorials
  • Blog
  • About
  • Mobile Menu Widgets

    Connect

    Search

Sugar & Sparrow logo in script font

Sugar & Sparrow

Lifestyle and Cake from Portland Oregon

  • Cake Basics
  • Recipes
    • Cake
    • Frosting
    • Cupcakes
    • Ice Cream
    • Vegan
  • Tutorials
  • Book
  • Blog
  • About

DIY Gumpaste Letter Cupcake Toppers

May 18, 2018 · In: Featured, Tutorials

The other day I got a request to make a customized letter topper for a cupcake in one of my orders. I’ll admit, I’d actually never made a monogram cupcake topper before but I’m always up for a challenge (a great and terrible quality to have, depending on the situation). Fortunately, this ended up being an incredibly easy DIY and totally customizable for whatever vibe you’re going for, from the font to the finish!

DIY monogram cupcake toppers by Sugar and Sparrow

You Will Need:

  • Gumpaste (I use this. Most craft stores with a cake decorating aisle will have it.)
  • Small rolling pin and smooth surface to roll gumpaste out
  • Crisco
  • Printed letter templates
  • Exacto knife
  • Wax paper
  • Flat toothpicks or floral wire
  • Finishing touches like sprinkles, edible glitter, Edible Art Paint, etc (optional)

Step 1: Print Out A Letter Template

In order to get the look you really want, spend some time looking through different fonts on your computer. I chose a few different fonts for this tutorial just to show you that anything is possible with a little gumpaste and an exacto knife.

DIy gumpaste letter templates

Print the letter(s) out onto paper once you’ve got a font you like and it’s sized perfectly, then carefully cut the letter out to use as a template.

Step 2: Make The Gumpaste Monogram

Roll out the gumpaste to the thickness of about ⅛ of an inch using a little crisco to keep it from sticking to your surface. Place your template over the top of the gumpaste and carefully cut around it with an exacto knife.

gumpaste letter cupcake topper tutorial

Stick toothpicks or floral wire into the bottom of the monogram and let it dry for about 15 minutes before carefully transferring it to a piece of wax paper to continue drying. The monogram should be completely dry in 24-48 hours. Flip it over halfway through the drying process so that both sides get equal drying time.

Step 3: Customize The Finish

The monograms look great in plain white, or you can color the gumpaste with food color gels before rolling it out in step 2. I’ve also found some other awesome ways to customize the finish after the drying process though:

Sprinkled Monogram Topper

Because what’s more celebratory than sprinkles?

sprinkled monogram cupcake topper by sugar and sparrow

For this cupcake topper, I mixed water and gumpaste together to make a “glue” (1 Tbsp water + a small ¼ inch piece of gumpaste. Let rest for 30 minutes until gumpaste is dissolved and you have yourself a glue!), brushed it over the monogram, and stuck sprinkles all over it.

Metallic Monogram Topper

For the metallic gold look, I used Edible Art Paint in Glamorous Gold. They make a ton of different colors, both metallic and non, and I love this stuff so much for painting fondant, gumpaste, and even buttercream!

metallic letter cupcake topper DIY

After the gumpaste monogram was completely dry, I used a small paintbrush to paint a few coats of this Edible Art Paint and get the metallic gold look.

Glitter Monogram Topper

To get this glitter finish, I brushed on some of my gumpaste “glue,” then pressed edible silver glitter over the surface of the monogram.

glitter letter topper by sugar and sparrow tutorial

The best thing about these gumpaste letters is they dry super hard in a short amount of time, so you don’t have to worry about them falling apart on you. You could use this technique to spell out an entire word for a cake topper, or keep it simple with one letter. It’s a really quick and easy way to customize a cake or cupcakes without having to scour the internet for the perfect topper!

By: Whitney · In: Featured, Tutorials · Tagged: cake topper, cupcake topper, diy, edible art paint, fondant, glitter monogram topper, gumpaste, metallic monogram topper, monogram, sprinkles, tutorial

you’ll also love

sprinkle cake balls topper tutorial by sugar and sparrowSprinkle Cake Truffles
gold drip cake tutorialGold Ganache Drip Cake Tutorial
edible gold crown cake topper tutorialEdible Gold Crown Cake Topper Tutorial

Join the List

Stay up to date & receive the latest posts in your inbox.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Eva says

    May 18, 2018 at 10:28 am

    Thank you for posting a tutorial o.n this, I’ve been seeing these gorgeous toppers lately and thought they were perhaps made of hardened fondant , also didn’t know that it would be easy to find edible paint! Thanks again❤️

    Reply
    • Whitney says

      May 18, 2018 at 10:31 am

      Yeah! Edible Art Paint was a wondrous discovery for me! And you can totally make these with fondant as an alternative to gumpaste, but I prefer gumpaste just because it dries quicker and sturdier. Definitely have had mishaps with fondant toppers breaking so now I swear by gumpaste haha 🙂

      Reply
  2. Sarah says

    May 18, 2018 at 8:03 pm

    This is awesome! Thanks so much for the step by step tutorial 🙂

    Reply
    • Whitney says

      May 19, 2018 at 10:01 am

      Of course, Sarah! Always happy to share!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Next Post >

Favorite Matcha Cake Recipe

Primary Sidebar

Welcome to Sugar & Sparrow

Welcome to Sugar & Sparrow

Helping you whip up pretty desserts with confidence and creativity. And hopefully sharing a few laughs with you along the way!

Learn More

Connect

let’s bake!

Get my very best recipes, baking tips, and decorating tutorials sent to your inbox

Featured Posts

geode cupcake toppers by sugar and sparrow

Mini Geode Cupcake Toppers Tutorial

vanilla buttercream recipe by sugar and sparrow

Basic Vanilla Buttercream Recipe

honeycomb tutorial

DIY Candy Melt Honeycomb For A Bee Cake

Search

Archives

Follow Along

@sugarandsparrowco

This no-churn dulce de leche ice cream made with e This no-churn dulce de leche ice cream made with easy homemade dulce de leche + candied pecans 😍🫠 totally hits the spot and is so easy to whip up (no ice cream maker needed!) ⁣
⁣
NO-CHURN DULCE DE LECHE ICE CREAM⁣
YIELD: 6 Cups (12 servings) ⁣
⁣
INGREDIENTS: ⁣
2 Cups (480ml) heavy whipping cream, cold⁣
1 tsp pure vanilla extract⁣
13-14 Oz dulce de leche, room temperature⁣
1 Cup (115g) candied pecans (optional, but recommended!)⁣
⁣
INSTRUCTIONS⁣
1. Place a large metal bowl into the refrigerator and a loaf pan into the freezer to chill for at least 15-20 minutes.⁣
2. Add the heavy whipping cream and vanilla into the large chilled metal bowl. Beat with a hand mixer (or a stand mixer with the whisk attachment) on high speed until stiff peaks form, about 3 min.⁣
3. Reserve a few Tbsp of the dulce de leche and fold the rest into the whipping cream until it’s almost combined (keep some ribbons of dulce de leche for best results). Reserve a few Tbsp of the candied pecans and gently fold the rest into the ice cream mixture.⁣
4. Remove the loaf pan from the freezer and add the dulce de leche ice cream mixture into it. Use a rubber spatula to smooth it down and press it into the edges of the pan. Top with the reserved dulce de leche and use a toothpick to swirl it around, then add the reserved candied pecans. Cover with aluminum foil and freeze for at least 6 hours, after which it should be semi-solid and ready to enjoy!⁣
⁣
Full recipe (including how to make the candied pecans and homemade dulce de leche!) is linked in my bio OR find it at sugarandsparrow.com/no-churn-dulce-de-leche-ice-cream/⁣
⁣
#dulcedeleche #nochurnicecream #icecream #icecreamlover #pecans #icecreamtime #nobake #homemade #fromscratch #dessert
STRIPED STRAWBERRY MATCHA CAKE 🍵🍓If you love STRIPED STRAWBERRY MATCHA CAKE 🍵🍓If you love matcha tea, this striped strawberry matcha cake is for YOU: layers of matcha infused cake with dreamy strawberry buttercream, striped with vanilla buttercream, topped with pretty buttercream piping + fresh strawberry slices. These flavors were totally made for each other 🙌🏼 ⁣
⁣
You’ll find this recipe and decorating tutorial exclusively in my book “Anyone Can Cake” (pg. 160) which you can get at anyonecancake.com. ⁣
⁣⁣
#matchacake #matcha #cakedecorating #anyonecancake #cakesofinstagram #strawberrycake #strawberry #homebaked #matchatea #teacake #cake #stripedcake
S’mores Ice Cream Layer Cake 🔥🙌🏼 it alr S’mores Ice Cream Layer Cake 🔥🙌🏼 it already feels like summer in Portland and now all I can think about are ice cream cakes 😍this one is so easy to throw together (no churn + no bake!) and you can find the full recipe linked in my bio (https://sugarandsparrow.com/smores-ice-cream-cake/)⁣
⁣
Assembly details: ⁣
1. Press a no-bake graham cracker crust into the bottom of a springform pan and surround it with an acetate collar⁣⁣
2. Add a layer of hot fudge sauce (homemade or store bought) on top of the graham cracker crust, then add layers of no-churn chocolate ice cream, crushed graham crackers, and no-churn toasted marshmallow ice cream⁣⁣
3. Freeze for 6+ hours (up to two months!), then remove the acetate and finish decorating however you’d like or dig right in! ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
So perfect for making ahead and sure to satisfy any s’mores + ice cream lover ♥️⁣
⁣⁣
#smorescake #smores #cakedecorating #cakeideas #cakesofinstagram #icecreamcake #nochurnicecream #icecreamtime #sugarandsparrow #easydesserts #homebaked #nobake #cakes #chocolate #icecream
WOVEN TAPESTRY CAKE 🧶 basically the buttercream WOVEN TAPESTRY CAKE 🧶 basically the buttercream version of a woven tapestry wall hanging. This piping was honestly so therapeutic and the textures turned out so stunning 😍 this cake would be perfect for a baby shower, for celebrating a crafty friend, or simply for piping practice! I’m working on a blog tutorial for this design but until its up, here are the details: ⁣
⁣
🧶piping tips: @wiltoncakes 233, 5, 3, and 10 (basically a shag tip + a variety of round tip sizes) ⁣
🎨 colors: @americolor dusty rose, peach, tulip red, egg yellow, and wedgewood ⁣
⁣
#texturedcake #woventapestry #cake #cakedecorating #cakeideas #babyshowercake #buttercreampiping #pipingskills #buttercreamcake #shagcake #buttercream #satisfyingfood #cakesofinstagram #cakelover
STRAWBERRY LAYER CAKE 🍓🍰 strawberry season i STRAWBERRY LAYER CAKE 🍓🍰 strawberry season is coming up and if this strawberry layer cake recipe isn’t already on your list of cakes to bake, ADD IT! ♥️ These pretty pink cake layers are made with fresh strawberries + I used freeze-dried strawberries to flavor the buttercream. Top it with fresh chamomile flowers and pretty piping for extra cuteness, but no matter how you decorate, the authentic strawberry flavor in this cake is out of this world!🙌🏼⁣
⁣
Full recipe linked in my bio + on my blog at sugarandsparrow.com/strawberry-cake-recipe⁣
⁣
#strawberrycake #strawberry #pinkcake #cakedecorating #strawberries #layercake #cake #cakesofig #bakinglove #bakefromscratch #cakeideas #freezedried #strawberrybuttercream

Footer

On the Blog

  • Cake Basics
  • Recipes
  • Tutorials

Info

  • About
  • Privacy Policy & Disclosure

stay in the know

Copyright © 2023 · Theme by Sugar & Sparrow