Have you seen those cake competitions on Food Network? I used to binge-watch them while eating cake I might add. I was amazed at how they built multi-tiered works of art using fondant. Perhaps it reminded me of playing with play-doh as a child or the idea of the oohs and aahs it would get at a party. So, at some point, I started making images of their favorite characters for my kids’ birthday cakes. In this post, I want to show you how easy it is to make your own fondant birthday cake.
Store-bought Cakes
“Why not just purchase a decorated cake from a bakery?” I used to do what your average parent does and purchase the licensed character cake from the bakery for upwards of $50. It usually consisted of icing with a spray-painted landscape and a toy on top. I thought I had it all, but then Food Network came along, stepped all over my store-bought birthday cakes, and shamed me for not using any fondant. Okay so I am exaggerating, but I was ready to go out and buy fondant birthday cakes.
“I’m not an artist, Nikki.” Guess what? You don’t have to draw or be good at using fondant. You only have to be able to trace, something you may have learned in elementary school. “I could just buy a licensed character cake and save some time.” Absolutely, but if you are feeling adventurous, want to save some money and like making things yourself, keep reading!
Step One: The Cake
I’m so excited because I am about to blow your mind. When I tell friends that I make my kids’ birthday cakes, they immediately mention how they don’t have time to bake a cake or just aren’t good at baking. Then I say, “Me neither. I actually don’t bake a cake, I purchase it!” Yes, I purchase a cake from the grocery store or bakery of my choice. “Okay, Nikki, you just said this is how to make your own fondant cake decorations.” And it is, however, I start with a basic cake.
Determine Your Theme
In the early years, before my love of cake competitions, I would take my daughter to the grocery store and we would flip through the licensed character book to find one that she would want. If we were able to find something that went with her theme, which was a cake that had a toy on top, some simple icing landscape, and the standard “Happy Birthday,” we would immediately buy it. If her theme wasn’t available we just went with a basic cake with balloon decorations and sprinkles.
Just the Cake Please
Now ordering a cake is easy! Based on the theme, we pick a background color. The color should be one that will allow your fondant decorations to stand out. So don’t make the background color red if you are going to add a superman logo on your cake. I would make it a deep blue instead
I order a cake without decorations and only my base icing color. Doing that cuts the cost and time in half. Below I have 10″ round cakes I ordered from the grocery store for each of my son’s parties and it only cost $10. I chose blue icing for an underwater theme, yellow for minions. No words, no decorative edges. Only cake and icing. This is the “blank canvas” in order to make your own fondant birthday cake decorations. Sometimes it confuses the bakery because they are not used to getting plain cake orders. Ha!
Step Two: Select Easy Shapes To Print Out
The key to successfully making your own fondant birthday cake is to keep the design simple. You will be tracing these designs onto fondant so it has to be easy. Let’s discuss simple versus complicated designs.
Here is a superman logo. On one side is the logo with superman in the center. That would look really cool and you would make every party planning mom envious, but this is the real world and unless you are a master artist…not gonna happen! This design is way too complicated and would take too much time.
Here is just the basic “S” logo. It’s two primary colors (easy to find) and easy to trace!
The batman yellow and black symbol is another easy symbol. Two colors and a simple drawing of a bat are very easy to trace. What about some other characters, Nikki? So Mickey Mouse is a popular character and you can easily create the outline of the face and ears. The key is to make sure the shape is simple enough that a 5-year-old could trace it. And please don’t find a 5-year-old master artist to use as a gauge. They are out there and they will put even me to shame.
Step Three: Trace Your Shape Onto Fondant
You will use the shape that you printed out on regular paper to trace onto your fondant. Yes, black and white is preferred but it is okay to have a color printout. That’s right, regular printer paper and ink, nothing special. Trust me, this is going to be super easy and once you make your own fondant birthday cake, you will feel a sense of pride.
I don’t mix and create my own fondant. The dye stains your hands making you look like you robbed a bank and the ink exploded. I actually buy small packs of fondant from Walmart or Hobby Lobby for under $5 each. It’s just enough fondant to create a single image. And guess what? No mixing die because you can buy all the colors. If I need a particular color or shade I mix two packs together. Need a lighter shade? Add White. Need a darker shade?Add black. It’s like playing with play dough as a child. You loved mixing those colors together to make new colors! If you need a refresher on making colors check out my post on mixing and matching colors.
So I roll out the background color for the shape. Let’s go back to the superman logo. Yellow would be my base color to roll and cut out for the diamond shape.
Then I would trace the “S” over a packet of red fondant that has been rolled out.
Tools for the Trace
So what do I trace the fondant with, Nikki? You want something that has a dull point so that it will leave an imprint but not cut through the paper. And for my completely sanitary friends if you are concerned about putting printer paper on fondant you plan to eat, slide a sheet of wax or parchment paper in between the two.
That being said I do have a set of tools I use for fondant. The kit is less than $13 and includes a roller, smoother, and some other tools for scoring, slicing, sculpting. It has been a great investment!
Here is an example of tracing using Baby Shark. Notice how simple the design is. It’s from a coloring book page. I later added white for his belly and eyes which I traced using the same printout. Also, yes, I am just as concerned about being sanitary so I do wear gloves and I do put wax paper over my fondant.
And it is just that easy!
Slap that image (don’t slap, gently place it) onto your cake, and you are done! I put it right on the icing. You could also cover the cake with fondant before adding the images but that can be challenging and you have the rest of the party to execute. You have made your own fondant birthday cake. You who feel like they can’t draw anything. You did it! Wow your friends with a bakery fresh cake that looks like you paid more than $20, but you made yourself.
