Step-by-step recipes, designs and color pics of the easiest (and cutest) birthday cakes for boys and girls
Serves 8
Ingredients:
- 1 (9-inch) round cake
- 2 graham crackers
- 1 can (16 oz) plus 1 cup vanilla frosting
- Purple food coloring
- 2 Oreos
- 2 Tbsp purple decorating sugar
- 2 Junior Mints
- 2 purple Laffy Taffy fruit chews
- 8 purple Smarties
- 1 (3-inch) piece red licorice lace
- 9 purple jelly beans
- 10 white ball sprinkles
What you'll need:
- A long and narrow serving platter
- A serrated knife
- 2 (1-quart) resealable plastic bags (Ziploc)
Trimming the cake:
- Trim the round cake as pictured in template.
- Place one of the trimmed pieces at the base of cake and round off both ends (see template).
- Arrange the cake at one end of a long and narrow serving platter.
- Cut the graham crackers with a serrated knife into 2 rounded wings as pictured.
Frosting the cake:
- Tint 1 cup of the vanilla frosting light purple. Spoon the light purple frosting into a resealable bag.
- Add even more food coloring to the remaining frosting to tint it a darker shade of purple. Spoon ½ cup of the darker purple icing into a resealable plastic bag.
- Spread the graham crackers with a thin layer of darker purple frosting. Sprinkle them with the purple sugar.
- Spread the cake with the remaining purple frosting and make smooth. Place the sugared graham crackers at the pointed end of cake, as pictured.
To complete the decoration:
- Snip a ½ inch corner from the two bags of purple frosting. Pipe frosting below the base of the cake onto the serving platter in varying lengths for the squid's tentacles.
- Unwrap and shape each purple fruit chew into an oval. Place the ovals at the base of the 2 longest tentacles.
- Press 4 Smarties into each fruit chew for the tentacle's suction cups.
- Separate the Oreo halves, leaving the cream on one side of 2 cookies.
- Press the Oreo halves, cream side up, for the eyes on top of the cake. Place the Junior Mints on the Oreo halves for the pupils.
- Place the red licorice below the eyes for the squid's smile.
- Press the purple jellybeans and white candies onto the squid's body as pictured.
Cake Anatomy:
Cake Cutout:
