This shell-shocked turtle cake was created for my nephew’s birthday. I wanted to make him a turtle cake, but I wanted it to be different than others I’ve seen. I decided to have my turtle hiding in his shell, with only his eyes peeking outward. It’s unique as well as simpler to make since you don’t have to fuss with a head or legs. It also reminds me a bit of those old Mario Nintendo games, which he’s just starting to appreciate and which most of us are nostalgic for. King Koopa, eat your heart out.
Nine Inch Round Cake and Dome Shaped Cake
The first step is to bake two pound cake mixes in one nine inch round pan and one dome shaped cake pan. Let them cool completely (putting them in the freezer for an hour or so isn’t even a bad idea) before beginning cake work. Whip up a batch of buttercream frosting while you wait. I used buttercream as a base for marshmallow fondant, but you can decorate your cake with only buttercream if you don’t wish to use fondant at all.
Trimming the Turtle Carapace
My next step was to trim the round cake, which serves as the turtle carapace, at an angle to simulate a turtle’s underbelly. I then covered it in buttercream and applied a light green fondant all over it.
For the turtle shell, I colored my fondant a dark green, applied buttercream to the dome-shaped cake, and covered it in the marshmallow fondant. I tried to shape the outer edges to look more like a turtle shell by pinching them together (similar to pie crust edges). I then placed the dome on top of the carapace piece.
Turtle Shell Cake
I created the plates in his shell by lightly cutting into the fondant with a cutting tool. You can use a knife (gently) if you don’t have fondant-specific tools.
I lifted some of the fondant on the dome cake to create a place for the turtle’s “face”. Next I used black fondant to create the inside of the turtle shell, along with white fondant eyes and black centers. I then gave him a light green tail as a finishing touch.
Would you like fries with that? This fun food-shaped cake features a cheeseburger and french fries on a cake shaped like a plate. It was made from two pound cake mixes, buttercream frosting, and a batch of marshmallow fondant.
For the plate I baked a 9″ round cake, scooped a small amount of cake out of the middle to create a plate indentation, frosted it, and covered it in white fondant to give it a smooth porcelain appearance.
Cake Cut into French Fry Strips
For the french fries, I baked a small rectangular pound cake. I cut it into strips and placed the edges that had become golden after baking face up on the fondant plate. A few dollops of red buttercream frosting complete the look.
Cheeseburger Cake
The cheeseburger is a bit more complicated, but it is still fairly simple to create. I used a three inch round pan and added a few drops of brown food coloring to the cake mix for the hamburger patty. For the top and bottom bun, I used a mini ball pan and only filled one of the half round sections with batter. After baking, I cut it in half to create a top and bottom bun. I then frosted each part with buttercream and covered them in ivory fondant. The sesame seeds are flattened, white fondant balls, and the cheese is fondant (colored orange and bright yellow) rolled into a square shape.
This is again a really easy cake to make. I was really surprised to do a search online to find hardly any full moon cakes.
You’ll need:
1 round sponge cake cake (ready made or see this recipe )
Fondant icing (amount is depending on the cake size 6 inch = about 1/2 a pound)
Yellow food colouring Silver edible pearlescent powder (bronze or gold colour may also work)
Start by placing the fondant in a thick plastic food bag. This helps to prevent discoloration of hands and nails and also allows you to do something else while kneading in the colour .
Put fondant in plastic bag
Add a couple of drops of food colouringbut no more initially. We are after a light cream colour and not yellow icing. Add more if necessary but take your time and knead it in well.
Roll out the icing . I roll out in between greaseproof paper as it is unnecessary to use icing sugar (unless your icing is very sticky)
Add icing to cake and smooth out. I found I didn’t need anything to hold the icing to the cake but you could use jam/jello.
Cover cake with fondant icing
Add random sized craters
Then add craters. I used cake modelling tools but anything with a rounded end will do. Make various sizes to form the lunar craters. Once the craters are added you could stop there. You have a great representation of the full moon.
You could add eyes and a mouth and make a Man-in-the-moon cake. I took a stencil I created of the lighter areas of the moon, cut them out and smoothed them onto the the top of the cake.
Place stencil on cake
I then took some silver pearlescent powder and highlighted the areas in between the stencilled areas. I also highlighted some craters. This effect looks fantastic under glowing light such as birthday candles. Not so great under out lousy home lighting of an evening though! There we have our full moon cake. Why not make one every lunar month?
The finished full moon cake
I’m eagerly awaiting the release of the new Duncan Jones movie “Moon”. So since I was making a moon cake I thought I’d have a go at a fun cake of the trailer:
Mimicking the trailer for "Moon"
Ok so it might not be a very good replica, so here is the original trailer. It excites me to think there is a true sci-fi movie out later this year. It looks and sounds beautiful
King Koopa, eat your heart out.
