How to Make an ‘Elf On The Shelf’ Cake Topper (Full Tutorial)

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

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.

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

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

Indent the mouth with a toothpick.

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

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

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

Roll them until you have the legs shaped as shown.

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

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.

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

Make each half into a round ball.

Then roll them out as shown into the arm shapes.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Attach them as shown.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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!
Renée