How to use cookie cutters for decorating cakes

Create impressive decorations using cookie cutters, sprinkles, or icing sugar

Sometimes decorating a cake can be a bit of a faff especially if you do it on a regular basis. This nifty little food hack will show you how you can use cookie cutters to create shapes and patterns on your sponge in a matter of minutes.

All you need to do is decide on which cookie cutters you’d like to use (we’ve opted for heart shapes) and then you want decide on whether you're going to decorate with icing sugar or sprinkles (or both, as we have).

Draw around your cookie cutters onto greaseproof paper and cut those out as templates or use the cookie cutter directly onto the cake. Watch how to put this method into action – it really is as simple as that!

If you’re looking for a quick and easy way to decorate a cake or cupcakes for a special occasion, we’d recommend this easy technique.

It’s also perfect for beginners if you’re new to cake decorating and is ideal if you haven’t got time to whip up buttercream or get fancy with designs.

This method is best tried on plain, non-frosted cakes like a classic Victoria sponge or lemon drizzle cake. You could try this technqiue on other cakes too - how about a chocolate cake decorated with white chocolate sprinkles? Or a strawberry cake decorated with dried strawberries?

Try using different cookie cutter shapes too. We've used hearts but you could experiment with stars, circles, squares or even, when it comes to special occasions like Christmas or Easter you could try themed shapes instead. A red sprinkled Santa or icing sugar Easter egg.

The possibilities are endless!

Jessica Dady
Food Editor

Jessica Dady is Food Editor at GoodtoKnow and has over 11 years of experience as a digital editor, specialising in all things food, recipes, and SEO. From the must-buy seasonal food hampers and advent calendars for Christmas to the family-friendly air fryers that’ll make dinner time a breeze, Jessica loves trying and testing various food products to find the best of the best for the busy parents among us. Over the years of working with GoodtoKnow, Jessica has had the privilege of working alongside Future’s Test Kitchen to create exclusive videos - as well as writing, testing, and shooting her own recipes. When she’s not embracing the great outdoors with her family at the weekends, Jessica enjoys baking up a storm in the kitchen with her favourite bakes being chocolate chip cookies, cupcakes, and a tray of gooey chocolate brownies