How to Cut Fondant with a Cricut

Co-authored by Jessica Gibson

Last Updated: April 30, 2022

If you'd like to make your cakes look more professionally decorated, use a Cricut cake machine. You can cut specific designs, words, or symbols in fondant and apply them to your cake. The Cricut cake machine will come with its own cartridge and chart that you'll use to select the images, font, and patterns you want to print. Simply roll and load your fondant into the machine and make your selections.

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Preparing and Loading the Fondant

1
Spread shortening over the entire cutting mat. Get out the 12 x 12-inch (30 x 30-cm) Cricut cake cutting mat that came with the machine. Use a pastry brush to spread vegetable shortening over the whole cutting area of the mat. Avoid spreading so much vegetable shortening that the mat looks white.^{[1]
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2
Roll the fondant. Roll out fondant to the size you need to cut. If you'll be cutting a large design or several small designs, fill the cutting area of the mat with fondant. Or you can roll a small amount, if you'd only like to cut a word out. Roll the fondant to 1/8-inch (3 mm) thick.^{[2]
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- The fondant will cut easier if it's firm or chilled for a few minutes. If you're using a soft fondant, you may need to mix in a little gum paste.
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3
Arrange the fondant on the mat and trim the edges. Lay the rolled fondant onto the prepared mat. Use a rolling pin and roll over the fondant a few times just to get any air bubbles out. Take a butter knife or offset spatula and use the blade to trim away the edges of fondant. The fondant should be within the guidelines of the mat.^{[3]
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- Rolling the fondant on the mat will also help it stick to the mat and prevent tearing.
- The guidelines on the sides are where the roller cutters of the Cricut move, so the fondant shouldn't go beyond them.
4
Load the mat into the Cricut cake machine. The mat should have an arrow on one end. Hold the mat so that the arrow is pointing towards the cake machine. Open the doors of the Cricut cake machine and insert the mat underneath the roller bar and above the deck. You'll need to push it a little to get the mat onto the rollers. Turn on the machine and press the "Load Mat" button on the keypad.
- The Cricut will load the mat into the machine. If your machine doesn't, just press the "Unload Mat" button and try reinserting the mat.

Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Programming the Cricut and Cutting the Fondant

1
Program your basic settings. Press the "Settings" button to choose what language you want to use (from English, French, Spanish, or German). You'll also need to decide what unit of measurement you want. You can choose how many cuts the machine will make if you use the multi-cut mode (two, three, or four) and you'll need to enter the size of the mat you're using, either a 12 x 12-inch or 12 x 24-inch (30 x 30-cm or 30 x 61-cm).
- You can always readjust these settings at any time.
2
Use the size dial to adjust the size of your design. Move the size dial on the right of the machine to choose the height for your design. You can set the size between 1.5 and 23.5-inches (3.8 to 60 cm). You should see the size you selected displayed on the screen.
- If you're cutting a large design, ensure that you've rolled a large enough piece of fondant to fit it.
3
Select a phrase, word, or design. Look at the chart that came with the cake basics cartridge. Use the legend on the chart to enter your design or word. If you're using a simple design, you might be able to simply press that button on the keypad. For example, if you'd like to do a shadow of a butterfly, press the button that looks like a butterfly.^{[4]
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- You can use other cartridges that are designed for the Cricut cake machine. They should come with charts that you can use to select your design.
4
Press the "Cut" button. Once you've selected the design or entered the word you want to cut in fondant, press the large, circular "Cut" button. The Cricut will immediately start cutting your selection in the fondant.^{[5]
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- If the fondant begins to bunch or pull up a little, use the butter knife to quickly smooth it down. This will prevent the machine from snagging on it as it continues to cut the rest of your design.
5
Unload and remove the fondant design. Once the machine has finished cutting, press the "Unload Mat" button and the mat will eject from the machine. Gently pull the mat out of the rollers and away from the machine. Use a palette knife to carefully slide under the design or letters and lift the fondant up.^{[6]
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6
Clean the mat and Cricut machine. Once you've taken the fondant off of the mat, wash the mat in warm soapy water. Turn off and unplug the Cricut machine. Wipe the outside of the machine with a damp cloth and brush any crumbs off of the rollers. You'll need to push the "Load Mat" and "Unload Mat" buttons as you clean the rollers.
- If you need to clean the cartridge cover, take out the cartridge and put it in a dry place. Wash the cover in warm soapy water and dry it completely before putting it back over the cartridge. You can also wash the keypad protector in warm soapy water.