Toppers that steal the table

Treat all of them as not food safe. Some of our acrylic is labelled food safe by the manufacturer, but we are not comfortable confirming food contact, so we ask you to assume none of our materials are food safe. A cake topper sits in the surface of a cake, so this matters. See the next question for how to handle that safely.

Keep the material out of direct contact with the cake. Wrap the part of the stake that goes into the cake with food wrap (cling film) before you insert it, or push the stake through a food-safe straw or cake pick and insert that. The decorative part of the topper stays above the surface, so only the wrapped or sleeved portion touches the food. When in doubt, wrap the stake.

3mm (1/8 inch) is the standard. It is rigid enough to stand straight on a stake without bowing, and it laser cuts with a clean edge. Use 2mm for very small or delicate toppers where weight matters, and stay at 3mm for anything wide, tall, or cut from mirror acrylic.

Match it to the tier it sits on. A topper should be no wider than the top tier of the cake. Name and script toppers are commonly 5 to 7 inches wide; smaller accent toppers run 2 to 4 inches. Taller designs read better on tiered cakes, shorter and wider on single-tier cakes. The free cake topper generator at mylasertools.com lets you size the design before you cut.

One stake is fine for compact toppers up to about 5 inches wide. Go to two stakes for anything wider, top-heavy, or with thin connecting points between letters, since a single stake lets a wide topper pivot and lean. Two stakes also help on soft cakes like whipped cream or mousse where a single point can sink or rotate.

Leave 2 to 3 inches of stake below the artwork so it seats firmly into the cake without the design touching the surface. For tall tiered cakes you can go longer for extra grip. Keep the artwork itself fully above the frosting line, and remember to wrap or sleeve the stake before it goes into the cake.

Acrylic is light, so a 3mm topper rarely sinks into firm buttercream or fondant. Very soft surfaces like whipped cream, mousse, and naked cakes give less support, so use two stakes or a wider stake base to spread the load and keep the topper upright.

Cast acrylic is the workhorse for crisp letters and clean edges. Mirror acrylic gives that reflective gold or silver finish people associate with cake toppers; note that our mirror is extruded rather than cast, so it is sold separately. Glitter acrylic adds sparkle for celebration designs. Pick the finish to match the cake, and keep to 3mm for stability.

Yes. Acrylic toppers are reusable. Wipe with a soft, damp cloth and mild soap, and avoid the dishwasher, harsh solvents, and abrasive pads, which can haze or scratch the surface. Always use fresh food wrap on the stake each time you reuse a topper on a cake.