A breezy sailboat on the sea is the perfect cake for any seafaring sailor who needs a little delicious cheer in his or her day. Use a sailboat as a summer cake decoration, as a sailor's birthday cake or as a delicious dessert at a nautical themed party.
Easy Sailboat Decorating Ideas
A breezy sailing design is easy to recreate, even if you don't have advanced cake decorating skills. Make a simple picture on top of a cake or cut out a shaped design from a template and decorate it.
Picture Perfect Sailboats
Create a piped sailboat cake by using the piping gel transfer method, outlining the boat and sails with black buttercream frosting or the color you plan to use on each section of the cake. Alternatively, sketch the design outline into the cake using a toothpick and then outlining. Fill in the design elements using a star tip, number 16 or 18. Make waves around the boat using lightly whipped buttercream, spread haphazardly onto the water area and pull up and out using the back of a teaspoon.
If you prefer to work with fondant, start by covering the cake with light blue rolled fondant. You can then use a sailboat cookie cutter or cut out a sailboat from a template. Place the sailboat onto the cake, affixing it with a little dab of water. Cut waves out of darker blue fondant and cover the bottom half of the cake, overlapping the bottom of the boat slightly.
Both cakes can be accented with a sunny sky, white clouds, small birds, a fishing pole and some fish in the water. Add a border around the top and bottom of the cake and it is complete.
Shaped Sailboat Cakes
A shaped cake is easy and impressive. To make it, you will need a rectangular baked sheet cake and a template. Follow Betty Crocker's shaped sailboat cake directions, which involve cutting the sails and boat from the rectangular cake. Decorate using simple frosting and candies.
Wilton has a discontinued cake pan in the shape of a sailboat. Look for used ones on eBay, Amazon, at your local library or garage sales. While it may take a little while to find the pan, having the exact shape with accents ready to go after baking makes decorating a breeze.
Advanced Sailboat Cake Designs
Those who have advanced decorating skills under their belt may want to try a more complex sailboat cake design for a special event.
3D Shaped Boat Cakes
A 3D cake is a stunning sight to behold. A basic sailboat bottom is a fairly easy design to cut out. Back a sturdy cake in a large loaf pan. After cooling, shape the side of the cake, narrowing it from the outside corners down to the bottom, creating the shape of a boat. Crumb coat the boat and begin working on the sails.
Make the sails by rolling out thick pieces of gum paste, wrapping one end of each around tall dowels. Once you have frosted the boat, place the dowels into the cake. This forms the basic 3D shape of the sailboat.
Accent the cake once the shape is complete. Add fondant life preservers to the outside of the boat, wood grain markings on a wooden sailboat or shape a chain with an anchor out of fondant to rest next to the sailboat. The small accents are what will truly make the cake stand out.
Sailing Toppers for Tiered Cakes
A tiered cake can also be made into a sailing themed cake. This is perfect for a retirement party or even for a wedding with a nautical theme. Decorate the entire tiered cake in shades of blue and scatter sea life throughout the tiers. Try making the bottom tier represent the ocean floor, decorate the middle tier with starfish and have the top tier covered in small fish.
Top the cake with a sailboat that has been made out of chocolate modeling clay or sculpting fondant. Add a bride and groom for a wedding/anniversary cake or add a fishing line for a retirement cake. If you want to include a message, use the large sails to write your wishes to the cake's recipient using edible markers.
Scrumptious Sailing
A sailboat is a great design for any cake, especially in the summer. Whether you are an amateur or professional, there are plenty of options for making your cake. Be sure to take a photo of the guest of honor with the cake before slicing the scrumptious sailing cake.
