For Biggie’s fifth birthday, we had a little shindig at home, a few friends from school over one afternoon for cake and fun.
Also, how is she actually five? Like, last week when I posted a link to her birth announcement I was like 2011 wtf? Wasn’t that last year? and surely 1999 was only five years ago? jeez.
Well, Miss FIVE hadn’t given me much direction in birthday cake making (I know, I couldn’t believe it either) but one day when they were playing with their OMG INTERMINABLE amount of LEGO, I realised I could probably re-create the v. cute little two-tier plastic number from the Birthday Party set (kindly sent to us from the folk at Netflix to celebrate the release of LEGO Friends: The Power of Friendship online, all the series are currently available to watch on Netflix Australia) which, confusingly, had a carrot sticking out of it but hey who am I to question the brainiacs at my favourite manufacturer of itty bitty toys (Sylvanian Families and their minuscule household items a close second).
So you know what I got myself some fondant and I made a bloody carrot and I stuck it on top of a two-tier Devil’s Food and we had ourselves a LEGO Birthday Party Cake.
And you can too! Only you’re not going to be lazy and top yours with the classroom cupcakes, you’re probably going to legit pipe some nice pink frosting swirls and make it look real pretty. I had to make two full size iced cakes and 24 cupcakes from scratch PLUS fondle a fondant carrot and wield a piping bag for the first time in my life, so was 100% happy to cut corners somewhere.
So here’s what I did to make the LEGO Friends Birthday Cake:
- Made two Devil’s Food Cakes
- Cut one into a smaller circle
- Frosted the first cake, and rolled out a small piece of white fondant into a thin circle and put it on top. Stabbed a skewer into the centre of the cake.
- Frosted the smaller cake on a different plate so I didn’t screw up the white fondant (120% likely) and v. carefully lowered onto the waiting skewer.
- Rolled out a smaller piece of white fondant into a thin circle and topped the top cake with that.
- Mixed some fondant with some red and yellow food colouring to make orange and somehow smushed it into something resembling a carrot
- Pushed that onto a skewer, leaving some skewer at the top for the carrot top.
- Mixed a smaller amount of fondant with blue and yellow food colouring for the top, dyeing my cuticles in the process and never quite getting the leaves right
- Popped that on top of the orange carrot bit and stuck the lot in the top of the cake, trying desperately to get it to stop doing the awkward lean and failing for a a full 24 hours
- Grabbed some of the school cupcakes and placed them on the cake for the pink swirls (you will pipe pink frosting swirls, I know you will, but props to you if you take the easy way out)
- decorated cake with the incredibly adorable woodland creatures in party hats
What you will need:
- a round baking tin
- a piping bag
- bamboo skewers
- white fondant
- a rolling pin
- red, yellow, and blue food colouring
- LEGO pieces
- patience and a sense of humour
Devil’s Food Cake Recipe
(adapted from Pippa Middleton’s Celebrate recipe)
85g butter
285g sugar
2 medium eggs, lightly beaten
60g cocoa
220ml warm water
170g self-raising flour
- Preheat oven to 150C.
- Grease a 20cm cake tin and line the bottom with baking paper (I use a springform tin, it’s just easier!)
- Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, at least 5 minutes.
- Add the eggs and mix well
- Mix the cocoa powder with the water and add alternately with the flour until all is incorporated.
- Bake 50-60 minutes (check after 50, it may need more than 60, 150C is pretty low) until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- For the second cake I eyeballed how big I wanted it then grabbed a bowl that was a similar circumference and cut the cake around that to make a smaller top tier.
For the icing
(I made both batches at once)
250 butter
500g icing sugar
3/4 cup cocoa
3 tablespoons milk
- Mix all ingredients together (not all of the milk at once, add it at the end to get the consistency right, you want a reasonably thick buttercream to hold up to the layers), I used a kitchenaid but it’s cool by hand too or whatever other mixer you have. Get it light and as fluffy as you can while still being pretty firm.
Cupcake recipe I used Pippa’s in Celebrate (similar to this, really) and eyeballed the buttercream measurements, but halve the above icing recipe and you should be about right for one batch of 12.
Go forth and LEGO Friends birthday cake – it’s hilarious trying to explain why you’ve topped a perfectly good cake with a carrot.
Brigette @ Honey and Bean says
I feel you with the amount of Lego thing (my god where does it all come frommmmm).
Also, it’s because it’s a carrot cake. Geddit? They’re so clever…
Stacey says
ha I thought it had something to do with the little woodland rabbits in party hats, like it was maybe the rabbit’s birthday? CLUELESS!
Karin @ Calm to Conniption says
I can’t wait for my kids to be old enough for all the LEGO! I sat down with my step-daughter a while ago and we put together the apartment block. Oh, it hurt my head so bad making it page by page with her until she got sick of it and told me to just finish it off. HELL YEAH!! I was so excited!
Stacey says
HAHA I won’t lie, I was waiting impatiently for the day too! I fricken love LEGO! Except when it gets sucked up in the vaccuum and I have to dig it out again…
kelley @ magnetoboldtoo says
Dude. FULL MARKS. That is awesome. Seriously. I love it. Because 1. It totes looks like it. and 2. EASY! You are amazing.
Stacey says
YES, EASY! no buying lego shit off the internet for me!