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How to Make an ‘Elf On The Shelf’ Cake Topper

January 2, 2023 by Kristen Finley 13 Comments

Elf1

My household is obsessed with The Elf on the Shelf this time of year so I had to turn the little guy into a cake topper. I took some photos along the way!

This is what I used:

  • work surface
  • parchment-covered foam block
  • Lemon Meringue doll
  • small ball tool
  • stick tool
  • 1.5” circle cutter
  • toothpick
  • corn starch
  • rolling pin
  • X-Acto knife
  • lollipop stick or skewer
  • water pen
  • fondant in red, white, nude, black, blue, brown
  • gum paste
  • extra-fine tip edible marker in black, brown, and red
  • small brush
  • orange and pink luster dust
  • Any large piping tip
  • fondant smoother

Edible Elf Cake Toppers

elf2.jpg

I have several homemade face molds from my daughter’s dolls. I thought this Lemon Meringue one was around the right size and shape. To create the mold, dust the doll’s face with cornstarch and press it firmly into a ball of gum paste. Let it harden overnight.

elf3.jpg

Once your mold has hardened, press a flesh-tone ball of fondant/gum paste mix into the mold.

elf4.jpg

Tease out the bulbous shapes of the cheeks, nose, and chin with a small ball tool.

elf5.jpg

Indent the mouth with a toothpick.

elf6.jpg

To make the torso, start with a ball of red fondant/gum paste mix that is a bit larger than the head.

elf7.jpg

Use a fondant smoother and your hands to achieve the proper shape.

elf8.jpg

Then for legs, form a smaller ball and cut it into equal halves.

elf9.jpg

Roll them until you have the legs shaped as shown.

elf10.jpg

Flatten the top of each leg so it will sit flush under the torso.

elf11.jpg

Bend the legs over the parchment-covered foam piece. Then attach the torso to the legs with water or the edible glue of your choice.

elf12.jpg

Form a small red ball of fondant/gum paste mix and divide it equally to make the elf’s skinny arms.

elf13.jpg

Make each half into a round ball.

elf14.jpg

Then roll them out as shown into the arm shapes.

elf15.jpg

Attach a white, pointy elf hand to the bottom of each.

elf16.jpg

Attach them with a dab of water. (I occasionally place the head on the body to see how it is “shaping up.”)

elf17.jpg

To make the white collar, cut fondant with a 1.5-inch circle cutter.

elf18.jpg

Hand-cut the points of the collar with the X-acto knife.

elf19.jpg

Attach the collar to the body with a dab of water or the edible glue of your choice.

elf20.jpg

Moving on to make the face details, I used a Wilton #230 tip to cut eye details because it has a nice oval shape.

elf21.jpg

Roll the white ovals out to make them a touch larger and attach them with water.

elf22.jpg

Then cut out slightly smaller blue ovals, and then slightly smaller black ovals for the eyes.

elf23.jpg

Attach them as shown.

elf24.jpg

Use an extra-fine tip edible marker to draw the black lines at the tops of each eye. Then draw in the lashes with black and the brows with brown. Finally, draw his little pink lower lip.

elf25.jpg

His cheeks are an orange/pink tone so mix the two colors and gently apply with a soft brush.

elf26.jpg

Mold the ears by hand and then attach them and give them an indent with this stick tool.

elf28.jpg

You only have to add the front and side hair because the hat covers the rest. I cut mine into three small pieces and attached them with water. Give some added texture to the hair with a toothpick.

elf29.jpg

To shape the hat, start with a red ball of fondant/gum paste mix. Use your hands and fondant smoother to keep rolling it into a cylinder. Hollow out the base of the hat with your thumbs a little so it sits nicely on his head.

elf30.jpg

Attach the hat with a little water and (2) half toothpicks for extra stability.

elf31.jpg

Finally, roll out and cut a wide white band of fondant for the hat trim and attach it. Allow the head to dry for a while up against your backsplash or somewhere. This will help the hat keep its upward shape.

Elf1

In my cake topper design, I made a small, white pillow (Rice Krispy Treats covered in fondant) for the elf to sit on. I attached the torso to the pillow with a thin wooden skewer and left an inch of the skewer sticking up from the neck. The next day, after the head had time to harden, I secured it to the body by pressing it down onto the exposed skewer.

Suggested Read: 18 Christmas Cupcakes & Cookies for Sparkling Holidays!

This cake would make a big impression at a Christmas party. It would also be perfect for any birthday boy or girl that loves the Elf on the Shelf!

Happy Caking!
RenΓ©e

Previous Post: « How to Make a Princess Cake Topper
Next Post: How to Make Edible Glitter for Cake: Step-by-step Easy Tutorial »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Christiane

    December 10, 2013 at 10:16 PM

    Thank you for the tutorial! I love your little elf…. so cute…
    Best regards,
    Christiane

    Reply
  2. Donndarae Van Syckel

    December 10, 2013 at 2:20 AM

    Love it πŸ™‚ Great tutorial Renee. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  3. Donndarae Van Syckel

    December 10, 2013 at 2:09 AM

    Great job Renee πŸ™‚ Love your elf!

    Reply
  4. Marja Boersma

    December 9, 2013 at 5:54 PM

    One question i fgorgot to ask you! What cake do you have underneath it? And is that just white fondant arround it? Thanks in advance for answering! And this i forgot too…..thank you for sharing your idea! Bye. πŸ™‚

    Reply
    • Renee

      December 9, 2013 at 7:14 PM

      Marja, the topper is sitting atop a 6” round vanilla sour cream cake with vanilla pudding. It is iced with vanilla buttercream πŸ™‚

      Reply
  5. Marja Boersma

    December 9, 2013 at 5:50 PM

    Hi, i love your elf on a cake! It looks wonderfull! And your subscriptions are so clear That i without trouble can understand how you made it! It is sooooooo amazingly beautifull! A great idea to make be4 the Christmas! I really, really love it! You did a great job! Well done! Byebye. πŸ™‚

    Reply
    • Renee

      December 9, 2013 at 7:16 PM

      Thanks for the nice compliments Marja. And when I answered your question about the cake details above, I meant to say “with vanilla pudding inside.” Don’t want to confuse you πŸ™‚ xo

      Reply
  6. Roshini

    December 9, 2013 at 9:29 PM

    he’s so cute. thanks for the lovely idea

    Reply
  7. judy

    December 9, 2013 at 8:39 PM

    I’d love to learn how to make my own molds. Do you have any tutorials? You Elf is perfect !! Merry Christmas

    Reply
  8. Rima

    December 9, 2013 at 5:49 PM

    I love the idea of making molds from dolls! Such a great tutorial !

    Reply
    • Renee

      December 9, 2013 at 7:19 PM

      Thanks Rima. It’s certainly not my original idea. Cake decorators have been sharing their methods for mold making for years. I think i first saw the idea on Cake Central when I became interested in cake decorating years ago. But, it does give me a nice head start for figure modeling many times. Luckily my daughter has a large doll collection πŸ™‚

      Reply
  9. Margaret Garner

    December 9, 2013 at 3:44 PM

    Great job, thank you so much for sharing.

    Reply
    • Renee

      December 9, 2013 at 7:21 PM

      Margaret…my pleasure. I’m glad that you enjoyed it. Thanks for taking the time to comment πŸ™‚

      Reply

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