Honor the grill master in your life by making a special barbecue grill birthday cake on his or her special day. Customize the grill with his favorite foods and be sure to add a birthday message!
Charcoal Grill Cake Instructions
Many charcoal grills are circular. Therefore, you will need to have an oven-safe bowl with a wide, flat base.
Cake Instructions
To make this cake, follow these instructions:
- Mix your favorite cake recipe, following the recipe as directed.
- Pour the batter into an oven-safe bowl that has been greased and floured.
- Bake according to instructions, or slightly longer, depending on the depth of the bowl. Check with a knife for doneness before removing from the oven.
- After the cake has cooled, carefully remove it from the bowl.
- Mark the top of the cake about an inch in from the edges and cut about an inch down. Remove this inner portion of the cake. This area will be for the charcoal briquettes (see instructions below).
- Cover the entire cake with a light crumb coat.
- Wrap burgundy, red, green, or black fondant around the outside of the grill and smooth.
- Lay gray fondant over the top of the grill.
- Add the charcoal to the small indented area.
- Roll out lines of dark gray or black gum paste that span the diameter of the cake. Allow them to dry. Once dry, affix them across the top of the cake to represent the grill. Use royal icing to secure.
Charcoal Instructions
To make charcoal briquettes, follow these simple instructions:
- Mix up your favorite fondant recipe and tint it a shade of dark gray.
- While the fondant is pliable, roll out to approximately ½ inch thickness.
- Cut into approximately 1 by 1 inch squares.
- Slightly squeeze all four sides so the middle ends up rounded, like a pillow.
- Use your thumb to round off the edges.
- Allow the charcoal to dry before adding it to your cake.
Gas Grill Cake Instructions
If your birthday boy is king of the gas grill, you want to be sure his cake represents this style of grill. Follow these simple instructions for making a gas grill:
- Bake a regular 9 by 13 inch cake in a greased and floured pan.
- Once it has cooled, flip it out of the pan onto a cake board.
- Cover the cake with a light crumb coat using buttercream frosting.
- Wrap the sides of the cake in gray or black fondant. For a metallic finish, use a food-safe paintbrush and dust silver pearl dust onto the sides of the cake.
- Cover the top of the cake with gray fondant. Smooth the top with the sides so the edges look clean and neat.
- Roll out black fondant and cut thin strips the length of the cake. Place on the cake to represent the grill.
Instructions for Grill Knobs
Gas grills typically have knobs on the front to control the flames, heat, and set a timer. Make the knobs by doing the following:
- Pick up round cookies, like Nilla Wafers.
- Pour royal icing in a shade of gray over three cookies until they are evenly coated. This may require several coatings. Wait a few minutes between coatings to give each layer time to set.
- Use a black edible food marker to mimic similar markings to the birthday boy or girl's grill on the cookies.
- Place a small hard candy into the center of the cookie to complete the knob.
- Affix to the front of the cake using royal icing.
How to Make Grill Decorations
A plain grill is not festive enough for a birthday celebration. To complete your grill cake, you need to add some decorations. These will work on either the charcoal or gas grill cakes.
- Flames: Dye medium-consistency buttercream icing orange. Paint a yellow stripe and a red stripe down the sides of a pastry bag. Attach a leaf or star tip and pipe out randomly on the grill.
- Hamburgers: Melt a crunchy chocolate candy bar (like Kit Kat or Nestle Crunch) and mix it with dark brown fondant. This will help achieve the texture of a hamburger. Form into patties. Use a food-safe paintbrush dipped in black icing gel to create grill marks.
- Hot dogs: Tint rolled fondant using a mixture of red and brown to recreate the color of your favorite brand of hot dogs. Roll out the hot dog to approximately ½ inch thickness and five to six inches in length. Round the ends and score with a fork. Add a few grill stripes using a food-safe paintbrush dipped in black gel icing.
Barbecue Birthday Message Ideas
No barbecue grill birthday cake is complete without a festive message. Use royal or buttercream icing to pipe a special cake inscription on the cake or cake board. Consider ideas like:
- Don't let your birthday go up in flames!
- Have a grill-ific 50th birthday!
- You're burning hot, birthday girl!
- Happy birthday to the Grill Master!
Grill Up a Great Cake
Creating a birthday cake themed around the celebrant's favorite pastime is a great way to show how much you care. Decide whether you are making a charcoal or gas grill and you're on your way to grilling up a delicious cake.
