Please tell me that I'm not the only one that is totally frustrated with the Cricut Cake Machine! I have tried every tip and hint that I can find to make this thing work and so far nothing! I tried fondant & gumpaste. I rolled it out thin and made sure it had just the right amount of shortning on the matt, not to much not to little! I've tried cutting larger images and smaller ones with no difference. All of this is after I recieved a faulty machine and it had to be sent back for replacement. I was so disappointed with Provocraft and the customers service dept, It took them five and one half weeks, and serveral phone calls and even more emails for me to recieve a new machine. I guess I just am feeling that for the amount of money that you pay for this machine it should be easier to use. Maybe Im just not there yet, but I just think I would be better off sending it back! I would appreciate any help, I really do think it will do wonders if I ever get it to work right!

Hi,
I found with my machine that it doesn't cut small items very well( or maybe like I was hoping it was going to)
The speed and pressure too makes a huge difference, and it was all trial and error for me.
But I did find it getting better the more I use it, I also use the cricut gumpaste and I found it better with the machine then fondant.
Jodi

Mix 2 tsp of tylose to one cup of fondant, knead well then roll out on the greased mat to the thinness of a dime. LET DRY OVER NIGHT then cut the next day. I have had my CCake for 2 months now and routinely do this on a weekly basis. Another tip, do not try to cut out fonts under 1 inch and don't try to cut out thin decorative pieces under 3 inches...they break. I have not tried straight gumpaste yet but I do the fondant with tylose every time and as long as I let it dry for 8 hours it's great.

Cat

Thanks for the additional tips I'll give them a try.

I'd love to get one also. Any tips would be great.

It's just trial and error. You have to find the right consistency, pressure and speed for the material you are using. CuttingEdgeCakeArt dot com will email you a gumpaste recipe that is supposed to work great with Cricut. I haven't tried it yet. I just did fondant with Tylose rolled super thin and let it sit out for a couple of hours. It cut well at first but when I had to warm and reknead the scraps to use again it was too soft so I would have had to wait again.

I'm going to try cutting edge cake art's recipe and see how that goes. I loved the results I was able to get and could see how it just takes time to learn the nuances of speed and pressure versus thickness and type of material. Just like when you are first learning to use fondant and gumpaste. Trial and error and then SUCCESS!!! And to answer the question about throwing away the remaining material you don't have too. Just warm it in the microwave and you can knead it and roll it out again. Or save it in a plastic bag. Even if it hardens you can zap it for few seconds (7-10) and it resoftens. I've brought back some really hard fondant w/ tylose added by just zapping and kneading.

Good luck! Don't give up on it yet.

I've been using the cricut cake machine for about 6 weeks now, and it took about 3 weeks to figure out the best way to get it to work. I have used straight SatinIce Gumpaste and SatinIce Fondant mixed 50/50 with gumpaste. (I do find that the straight gumpaste is easier to pull off the mat without stretching & tearing) I roll down to 1.5 - 2 on the sheeter which is about the thickness of a dime. I place the rolled out sheet of gumpaste on the table then put the greased mat on top and trim excess. Flip the mat over, roll out the bubbles with a rolling pin then trim the excess again. I've found that I was getting really jagged cuts and pulls with the machine because the gumpaste and fondant were drying out so fast, so I started spraying it with water before loading the mat into the machine. This helped me get smoother cuts, and the water is dry by the time I'm ready to peel the designs off the mat. I've sprayed with water out of the airbrush and from a spray bottle- just a light mist over the gumpaste, don't soak it. The only thing I've had trouble cutting so far are damask designs- I cut one successfully that came from the cake basics cartridge at 3 inches and that was all, every other damask I've cut has broken. I also use the Sure Cuts a Lot program to cut different fonts and designs not found on the cartridge- I would definitely recommend- it's super easy to use and you can trace a pattern from any image you have.
I've also found that sometimes the blade doesn't cut through tight corners on some designs so I use an exacto knife to peel the designs from the mat. Also, if you place your designs on a sheet of parchment then stick in the freezer for a few minutes, the stiffen up without drying out, so they are easier to handle while placing on the cake.
Figuring out all of the little details to get the best cuts took A LOT of trial and error and was very frustrating at times- but don't give up! Once you figure out the little tricks that help you, it's worth it!!

I've seen that a few A.C. Moore's have classes in how to use it or at least demo's. If they don't, you can always suggest it. Maybe Michael's and Hobby Lobby and such have the same?

Ah, ok, I think I have renewed faith. I was hopeful... I've seen some really CUTE stuff from people using the Cricut. I want a sheeter really badly too, but goodness knows getting both is probably out of the question at the same time. Patience...? It's the one thing I'm really bad at, waiting for cake toys!

I usually won't even use it if I don't have a bunch of stuff to cut out and yes, I leave space so if I need to recut something then I'll have enough fondant/tylose to do it with. And, no, you don't waste it..you can pull it off the matt, warm for a few secs in the microwave and reknead then roll it out again. I rarely have to recut, I usually am using it to cut out several pieces at one time (decorations and letters for example) so I tend to use up a full sheet. I usually roll out two just to be safe that I have enough to use the day I need it. You can, of course, cut out what you need a few days in advance in case you need to remake something but I have not found this to be needed.

Oh, also, I'm a scrapbooker and an event planner so I use my CCake for paper a lot (I bought seperate blades to be used for the paper and the paper matts) so I use the CCake for much more than just caking...made it worth the money for me.

Cat

Thank you for that info Cat! I would also like to get one to use for both cake and other things (paper). I just love the scrapbooking potential as well as the cake potential! Too many possibilities, a girl's heart could give out!

Ah man, I was doing a scrapbook for hire when I got it...did ALL the titles with it and I thought I was in heaven...THEN I had two cakes due and was able to do the fonts I needed for those and KNEW I was in heaven! LOL!

Don't give up, it is trial and error. I killed a mat before I did my first cake, just practicing, but I absolutely love my cricut cake. Once you figure out the right level of firmness needed to cut, you will be able to cut any size, with any medium. I have even cut cookies! Different fondants require different drying times, gumpaste dries the quickest for me, so if I need something right away that is what I use. Keep at it!!!

Just a couple questions:
1) Melvira: what is a sheeter?? Is it that thing that they use on Cake Boss where they just put the fondant through and all of the sudden it comes out in a perfect sheet? Also, where do you get one.

2) To Everyone on here: there was an add in my local newspaper's bargain corner for 2 different Cricut's. One just said: "Used once, personal Cricut cutter, $69.00" Does anyone know if that can be used for cakes??

The other add said, " Cricut Expressions, excellent shape, $169.00." Does anyone know if that can be used for cakes??

Also, if I did just decide to go out to Michaels and buy the Cricut Cake, can that be used for paper too?? I am also into card making.

Yes, that's exactly what a sheeter is! They are NOT cheap. You can find them online by just typing in 'sheeter' and looking around. ME WANT!

I know the personal Cricut only does smaller sized sheets, but yes you can use it for cake. The Expression is the larger one. And yes, it can also be used. That's how the cake Cricut came about. The company got wind of the amazing cakes people were making with them and decided they could charge more money for one if they put CAKE in front of the name! Hahaha. Just teasing. But yah, if you maintain separate cutting blades and preferrably mats too, you can do both cake and paper.

what about the wishblade? I'm new to this forum but have been a cake decorator for a while now and just opened my own shop. (we'll we're officially opening in a few days I am thinking of getting one but I'm torn, heard good things about wishblade...as oppossed to cricut...any thoughts?

I've used my Cricut Cake successfully with Fondariffic, rolled really thin on the cutting mat, and put in the freezer for about 10 minutes. It saves so much time with cutting out lettering!
The trick is rolling thin, and making sure the fondant/gum paste/icing sheet is stuck to the cutting mat well. If there are any air bubbles under the fondant, it'll pull up and screw up the cut.
Shortening seems to work, but you have to make sure you work out any air bubbles.

I also have the cricut cake machine. It is definitely a learning curve. I also use fondarific, or Cutting Edge gumpaste recipe. They both work very goodl. I agree that you can't makes cuts too small on this machine. I roll my fondant or gumpaste directly onto a generously "crisco'd" cutting mat, to about the thickness of a dime. You have to make sure that what you a cutting is really stuck to the sheet. Also, I rub a little corn starch on the fondant or gumpaste, and it does help.(that was suggested on another post) Also, start your cuts about an inch or so in from the edge of the fondant or gumpaste, otherwise you disturb the contact between fondant and mat. I hope this helps. I made my grandaughters Hello Kitty cake with the cricut cake. Its in my photos if you want to take a look. I really think that you have to find what works for you.
Melvira, you are a riot. I enjoy reading your cupcake posts, only I CAN'T
FIND RICH'S BETTERCREME ANYWHERE IN NEW YORK! Okay, I feel better now!
Kathy

are there actually differences in the blades for cake and regular cricuts?
So when using a regular cricut just keep the blades separate? I thought i read that the blade housing fits in a cricut cake but not the regular cricut? Can a cricut cake mat also be used in a regular cricut? What type of blade is used for cookies and what would the setting be? Thanks everyone for your patience.

Just keep in mind that the Cricut cake is food safe and "crumbs" can't get into places they are not suppose to. For cutting cookies I use the same blade in the cricut cake so for the expression I would think (guessing) it would be the deep blade. And I still used medium (3) and medium (3) speed, for cookies.

grandmaruth
The cricut cake housing does not fit into the regular cricut machines, but the deep cut housing and blade do fit the cricut cake, so you can cut paper in the cricut cake.

Karen 421 Can you explain please how you cut cookies in the cricut cake? What recipe do you use?

Melvira
I'll try contacting them today. Maybe I'll have some luck. I also live near a BJ's, and they use the Bettercreme, but told me they absolutely don't sell it.

I think she's right Mel. I've read where some are cutting sugar cookies with it.

Okay Melvira
I just called Rich's, and spoke to a rep there. She was not helpful at all.
She could not tell me where to buy Rich's on Long Island, or even if any stores here carried it. So back to square one. I figured that if I called them directly, they could put me in contact with a sales rep? Any other suggestions?

I saw a short video from Provo Craft and they showed cutting cookies and cheese slices with the Cake blades. If you can get the blade to do cookies and have a baker or just do cookies to sell, won't that be wonderful to make all different cookies than others sell? Oh, the different designs to try. I am waiting for mine to come from HSN, they had a great bundle with 2 cartridges, mats and other items for 399.00 and free shipping.
evelyn