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    Decorated Treats » Tips & Techniques

    3D Fondant Letters for Cake Decorating

    Published: Aug 20, 2020 · Modified: Mar 1, 2024 by Priya Maha

    Learn how to make 3D fondant letters for cake decorating with this easy tutorial. These letters add a professional touch to your cakes and stand out as a cake decoration on their own. Plus they are completely edible too!

    Poster showing 4 different cakes with 3d fondant letters decoration.

    My 3D fondant letters are made using cutters. I bought these from a local cake decorating shop. The cutters themselves are quite thick, making it easy to cut out thick pieces of fondant letters.

    I use these cutters quite often in my cake decorating projects and I am going to share on this page, my tips and tricks on how to use these cutters to make 3D letters for cake decorating.

    Jump to:
    • ❤️Why you will love this tutorial
    • 🧾Supplies required
    • 👩‍🍳How to make
    • ❤️More tutorials you will love

    ❤️Why you will love this tutorial

    • It is very easy to follow and the 3D letters are easy to make.
    • They add a professional touch to cakes and the upright standing letters can be used as cake toppers too.
    • You can also use these letters to decorate your cake boards.

    Like this tutorial? You might also want to check out my other tutorials on how to make 3D letters in rainbow colors, how to make 3D standing number cake toppers and how to align letters on cakes.

    🧾Supplies required

    • Fondant - I use Satin Ice fondant. You can also make your own fondant with this homemade fondant recipe or marshmallows fondant recipe.
    • CMC powder - I use this to stabilize the fondant so that it dries quickly and harder. Tylose powder can also be used in place of CMC powder. 
    • Alphabet cutters - The cutters must be deep so that they can accommodate the thick fondant used to cut the letters.
    • Powdered sugar for dusting.
    • Needle tool - I use this tool to help remove excess fondant from the cutters (especially on tiny corners of the cutters).
    • Small rolling pin - This is quite an important tool for these 3D fondant letters, not just to roll the fondant but more for tapping the fondant out of the cutters.

    👩‍🍳How to make

    Step 1: Mix CMC into fondant. Start by mixing CMC powder into fondant. Knead the fondant until the powder is well incorporated into it. 

    Step 2: Roll the fondant. Roll it thick (approximately 1 cm thick) so that the fondant letters that are cut out could stand upright without any support. 

    Fondant alphabet cutters in letters L, I, S and A.

    This is roughly how thick you need to roll the fondant in comparison to the cutter thickness (about 1cm in thickness).

    A piece of rolled fondant with a letter L cutter at the side.

    Step 3: Cut the letters. Before pressing the cutters into the rolled fondant, make sure to dip them in powdered sugar. This helps in releasing the fondant letters from the cutters after cutting.

    A thick rolled fondant, with a letter L cut out of it. In the background is letter L cutter.

    Step 4: Release the fondant letters from the cutters. Once cut out, use the needle tool to remove any excess fondant around the cutters, especially the small corners. Clean the sides off fondant first before attempting to release the letter cutouts. 

    Using a needle tool to remove excess fondant from an alphabet cutter.

    If the fondant letters do not readily release from the molds, tap the cutters with a rolling pin. This can take some time but the letters will eventually release. 

    Using a small rolling pin to knock out fondant from an alphabet cutter.

    And this is how my letter L turn out after the tapping process:

    A thick rolled fondant, with a letter L cut out of it. In the background is letter L cutter.
    A thick rolled fondant, with a letter L cut out of it. In the background is letter L cutter.

    Cut the remaining letters. Once done, try to position them standing upright, and make sure the bottom is level so that when the letters are dry, they can stand upright stable.

    If the bottoms are not even, gently press the bottoms against a cake board until they are flat and even.

    Fondant cut out using alphabet cutters to form the name LISA.

    And then return the letters to a horizontally lying position and let them set completely before attaching them to cakes.

    How to Attach the Letters to Cakes

    To attach the letters to a fondant covered cakes, brush some fondant glue to the bottom of each letter and simply attach them to the cake. Let the glue dry completely before attempting to move the cake to prevent the letters from falling off.

    For buttercream or ganache covered cakes, insert a toothpick to the bottom of each letter after cutting them. Once they are completely dry, you can simply poke the letters along with the toothpicks into the buttercream covered cakes.

    And here are some of my cake projects that feature these upright standing fondant letters. 

    Minion cake with 3D fondant letters.
    Chotta Bheem cake with 3d fondant letters.
    Lightening McQueen cake with 3d fondant lettering.
    Marvel Superheroes cake with 3D fondant letters.
    Uno Cake with 3D fondant letters.
    Disney princess cake with 3D fondant letters.

    Hope you enjoyed reading this!

    ❤️More tutorials you will love

    • Name 'LISA' on a pink plaque on a white fondant cake.
      Cake Lettering (How to Align Letters on Cakes)
    • Removing fondant lace from a silicone fondant mold.
      How to Use Silicone Fondant Molds for Cake Decorating
    • Black and white guitar cake topper.
      3D Fondant Guitar Cake Topper (How to Make)
    • A heart shaped cookie decorated in pink heart and powdered sugar.
      How to Make Fondant Hearts (without Cutters and Molds)

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Nic

      February 11, 2022 at 10:39 pm

      Hi, I was wondering if the letter cutters are made of silicone or plastic? Thanks

      Reply
      • Priya Maha

        February 12, 2022 at 8:33 am

        These are made of plastic.

        Reply
    2. Riza

      February 28, 2021 at 5:18 am

      Hi,

      I really want to buy the same letter cutters that you used here.

      Would you mind sharing where you bought them?

      I am located in Toronto, Canada

      Thanks in advance!
      Riza

      Reply
      • Priya

        March 03, 2021 at 11:01 pm

        Hi Riza,

        I purchased the cutters from a local cake decorating supplies shop, and I am in Malaysia. I have tried searching for similar cutters on Amazon for you, unfortunately I could not find similar ones.

        Reply

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    A poster of images showing how to make 3d fondant letters and cakes decorated with 3d lettering.
    A poster of images showing how to make 3d fondant letters and cakes decorated with 3d lettering.