My son recently turned 9 years old, and I really can’t believe it. Each year, my kids choose a theme for their birthday and help me design their cake. This year, my son designed it almost completely on his own. Being such a huge fan of Minecraft, it was important that everything looked authentic. He was very particular, and it was funny to watch. It was a big challenge to make all characters, but he was thrilled with the way it turned out. My daughter’s birthday is next, and her cake will be all about puppies. 😀 Have a wonderful weekend!
The cake is a homemade yellow butter cake, from Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook. I doubled the recipe to make a large sheet cake. The icing is also homemade, and made with real butter (see recipe below). This type of buttercream can crack easily and is a bit more challenging to work with than the vegetable shortening variety, but I prefer it.
When frosting a cake, frost the top first and then the sides. Place a large amount of icing on top of the cake (you can remove the excess later), to prevent crumbs from mixing with your icing. After icing the top and sides, smooth out with a cake spatula and remove any excess icing. Place the cake under a stove fan and light for about 20 minutes to slightly harden the icing. Smooth the cake by using a smooth paper towel (Viva works well). Place the paper towel on one section at a time, and gently smooth with your hand. Repeat, until the cake is where you want it. I also use the paper towel to smooth the edges, by placing the paper towel on the edge, and smoothing gently from the side to the top. The cake is now ready to decorate. I use a disposable cake box to store the cake in, until it is ready to put the decorations on and time to put on display. I bake the cake 2 days before the party and ice it the day before the party.
I mixed the icing with green gel color. The decorations are made out of fondant and gum paste.
- All the characters are made out of fondant. I molded them and used colored fondant, food safe markers, and color dust for the details.
- I used gum paste for the letters, along with color dust. The eyes had to be cut and placed on the characters. Keeping the edges was challenging.
- I used a mixture of gum paste and fondant for the squares along the side of the cake. The mixture gives it stability, but also enables it to remain flexible.
- The water is a blue icing gel, and the sand is made from crushed Rice Krispies cereal.
- I used a gum paste glue to adhere the decorations to each other and the cake (made with water and gum paste). I placed all the decorations on the cake a few hours before the party, but had everything ready the day before, including icing the cake.
I am excited to bring my son’s birthday cake to Fiesta Friday #283 this week, and to be co-hosting with the lovely and talented Jhuls of the Not So Creative Cook! Check out her site and Fiesta Friday for delicious recipes!
Ingredients
- 6 sticks unsalted butter (softened)
- 8 cups pure cane confectioners sugar
- 1 1/2 Tbsp real vanilla extract
Instructions
- With the flat beater attachment, beat the butter until smooth (about 45 seconds). Add the sugar (sifted if possible or at least whisked well) and beat for about 30 seconds or until combined. Add the vanilla and beat on high until very fluffy (around 2 minutes). Store in a sealed container and use within a day or 2.
Check out more of my birthday cakes 🙂
So creative, I can imagine the joy it brought to your son!!
Thank you, Zeba! He was a happy boy! 😀
This is fabulous, and so good! My #1 Grandson loves Minecraft and would love this cake. I’m not talented enough to do it, but your son is a lucky little man! Happy Belated Birthday to him!
Thank you, Deborah! Minecraft is so popular, isn’t it? It is pretty cool how you can build almost anything. You are very kind! I hope you have been doing well! 😀
We’re doing very well, thank you so much! I hope you’re Summer isn’t passing too quickly and you’re having fun.
I have #1 Grandson next week. I’m going to show him your son’s Birthday cake!
It seems to be passing a little faster than I’d like, but that’s OK. I’m getting tired of the relentless heat. I hope he likes it! 😀 Have a nice visit with him!
What a super fun cake! Any little boy would love this! 🙂
Thank you, Nancy!
Antonia, the cake look gorgeous!! My nephew would go crazy over this cake – he likes minecraft anything. Thanks a lot for co-hosting with me. See you! x
Thank you so much, Jhuls! It’s nice to cohost with you! 😀
Memories! 🙂 I also made a Minecraft cake (several years ago) – this one looks great! I’ve never heard about heating the icing and smoothing it though? – I’m tempted to make cake now just to try it! 😛 Thanks for sharing at Fiesta Friday and thanks for co-hosting!
Yes, memories are so important! Thank you, Laurena! If you place the cake under the stove fan before smoothing it, it helps harden the icing some, and then you can smooth it out with parchment or a smooth paper towel. It works great. Have a wonderful day! 😀
Wow, what a fantastic cake – and I’m sure that designing/creating this together with your son will be a cherished memory for years to come! Looking forward to seeing the puppies-themed cake later on!
Thank you so much, Mara! Yes, I agree! 😀 Have a great day!
You’ve outdone yourself, Mom 😀 You should go on those cake-decorating shows! Or open a cake shop 🙂 Thanks for cohosting, two weeks in a row!
You’re so kind, thank you, Angie! Absolutely! 🙂
So cute!
Thank you, Irene! 😀
You make such fun cakes!! You kids will love looking back on all thier parties when they’re adults!!
Thanks, Mollie!