How to make a letter cake

Making letter cakes is a newer cake trend that produces the cutest cakes that you can customize by shape, by flavor, and of course, by the decorations on top. I make these cakes all the time and everyone loves the taste and look of them.
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Letter cakes, number cakes, and cream tarts contain layers of cake, cookie, or tart crust shaped like letters or numbers. They are filled and topped with frosting or cream. Tops can be decorated with sprinkles, cookies, chocolates, or flowers. One cake will serve about 6-9 people; two about 12-18.

These cakes are great for beginners because it doesn't require any the typical frosting techniques like crumb coating or smoothly applying a top coat. There are however, some things to know, and I've compiled them all in handy video below. I have also made this process more efficient by providing the paper templates that I use myself. Alright, let's get started!

There are special pans that you can use to make letters, but I find those really unnecessary. Unless you run a baking business, how many times will you really be baking a cake in the letter of an "S" or "N"?

I've done these cakes and tarts several times, and I've found that the best way to make these is to use a paper template and just cut the cake/tart dough! It'd be a shame to keep these templates I created all to myself, so feel free to download them below for your baking projects. 😀
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For tarts, I cut the dough before baking, and then create the layers.
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For cake, I cut the cake after it's been baked. But, there is a bit of preparation that you need to do before actually getting to the baking.

Click on any of the letters below to generate a free printable for your cakes and tarts.

What type of board or platter will this cake need?

For one cake, you will need a platter, cake drum, or cake board that is at least 10" by 14". Here are some amazon links to common cake boards that I use for this project:

➡️ 10 x 14 inch Cake Drum
➡️ 10x 14 inch cake board

What about two letters (or numbers) on one board?

If you would like to place two letters on one cake board, you will need a platter that is at least 19" by 13", this cake drum, or this cake board.

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How to decorate your letter cakes

In my video, I use pipe a frosting design that makes little rounds (I call them "kisses") along the surface of the cake, both in between layers and on top.
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If you'd like to do the same technique, follow the shape of your cake, working around the outside perimeter, then filling your centers.
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Here are the piping tips I used:
For the top of the cake, I used the metal Ateco 806 (click here to see on Amazon) you see to the right. As you see below they are the same size in diameter, about 1/2 an inch.