Cricut Cake

Those familiar with scrapbooking machines will have heard of the Cricut, a machine that cuts complex shapes from paper, but even those knowledgeable about baking may not have heard of the new Cricut Cake Machine which does the same with gum paste! This is a great way to save loads of time in the kitchen, and for those of us at home who have large dessert orders to fill, whether they be for cakes or other treats, it will be an indispensable new helper.

Sugar gum paste is the familiar sweet sugar dough typically formed into cake flowers or other similar decorations. Also known as fondant, gum paste is traditionally made using egg whites, confectioner's sugar, glucose and other ingredients, which are combined in a double boiler for a brief period and subsequently chilled. This dough can be later removed from cold storage and softened by kneading. A properly made fondant will be pliable once it has warmed to a temperature very close to body temperature, so rolled strips are perfect for forming into cake decorations!

Rolled gum paste dough pieces are cut into shapes for use in building decorations using two basic methods. With a rolling wheel fondant cutter or wire cutter, a chef can trim custom shapes from the flat paste strips in the same way a pizza cutter snags a nice slice. With a cookie-cutter fondant cutter or punch, the chef is limited to whatever custom shapes they have at hand. From there, shapes can be further styled using fine plastic and metal decorating tools. Only then, are they ready to be applied to the cake or other sweets, and if there are large sizes or batches in question, this is all guaranteed to be a fairly involved process! For those of us who forgot to tell our teams of sous chefs to come in that day, cutting can definitely put a huge damper on that DIY wedding cake project.

But Not With The Cricut Cake Machine!

With the new Cricut, anyone can easily make cakes with complex designs that would have previously taken hours complete. This cake machine is basically a mechanized cutter that allows the chef to cut any shape or design that they input via a computer program. The Cricket Cake Machine can cut gum paste pieces on 12"x12" and 12"x24" gradated mats and is designed with speedy decorating in mind. It is perfect for use on cookies, cakes, cupcakes, and other confections, and your shapes can be cut out while you prepare. With the bundled Cake Basics Cartridge you have automatic access to a world of embellishments, swirls, trims, and font choices that will quickly become necessities of your cake design aspirations!

The Cricut is big enough to cut the discs and sides for a small round cake, and can easily be used to create repeating trim patterns that gently wrap around layers, to seal in that delicious taste. Although simply icing confectionery is an alternative to making or using and cutting a pre-prepared fondant batch, icing will not hold moisture in for as long as a fondant covered cake will, about 3-5 days. With the Cricut Cake Machine you can eradicate dry cakes forever, and make them look really nice while it does so!

These cutting mats are new for the Cricut Cake Machine and come in two sizes: a 12x12 cutting mat and a 12x24 cutting mat. They both are essentially standard Cricut cutting mats with the stickiness removed. By using shortening (like Crisco) the gun paste can be firmly attached to the mat while still being able to be removed easily enough so as not to ruin the sometimes dainty designs.

There is also a new blade and blade housing that is suitable for cutting fondant and gum paste. The standard blades should not be used on the Cricut Cake Machine, or at least while it's cutting cake decorations and it'll muck itself up. Maintenance is made easy with inexpensive replacement blades that include housing protectors to keep the machine interior clean of food particles.