Create the elegant, mythical unicorn in cake for your tween or teen's next birthday. Your child's eyes will light up upon seeing their favorite creature depicted in cake.
Pretty Pastel Unicorn Cake
A lovely pastel unicorn sets the tone for a baby shower or birthday for that special person. The softly closed eyes makes decorating the face easy.
Start by making your unicorn horn and then move to decorating the cake itself.
- Tint rolled fondant gold. Roll into two thick ropes (approximately 1/2" diameter). The ropes should be about 4-6" long and slowly taper at one end.
- Twist the fondant ropes together around a food-safe dowel that's a minimum of 2" longer than the horn. Be sure you press the tapered ends together to create the point at the top. You should not see the dowel once the ropes are wrapped.
- Cover with gold luster dust and set aside so it has time to firm up.
- Cover the cooled cake with white fondant.
- Roll out additional white and gold fondant to cut ears; the gold fondant should be about 1/4" to 1/3" smaller than the white. Shape into ears and use royal icing as adhesive to keep them together. Set aside to firm.
- Use a black fondant marker to draw closed eye shape with lashes on the front of the cake. You'll use the eyes as a focal point for the unicorn's mane.
- Lightly brush pink pearl dust below eyes to represent the unicorn's cheeks.
- Press the unicorn horn into the center of the cake.
- Add the ears to either side of the cake. You may need to use toothpicks to keep them upright.
- Wrap bottom of cake in food-safe ribbon if desired.
- Fill pastry bags with buttercream frosting in your choice of colors like yellow, mint green, and pink.
- Add the large tip of your choice to the bags; you could select an open star or drop flower.
- Starting about an inch or two above the center of the unicorn's eyes, start piping the mane. Place the pastry bag perpendicular to the cake and pull up. You want a small point on the ends.
- Cover the top of the cake and go down the back in the unicorn's mane.
Brightly Colored Unicorn Cake
Working with fondant is similar to rolling sugar cookie dough or even Play-Doh. Using a knife and some cookie cutters makes getting the shapes you need easy for this unicorn cake featuring bright, happy colors.
Start with a white fondant covered cake and follow these steps.
- Place an upside-down sugar cone on top of the cake, centered. Use pink buttercream to help secure it. This creates the unicorn's horn.
- Roll out white fondant. Cut a half-circle out to represent the unicorn's muzzle.
- Cut out the unicorn's mouth and nostrils. Affix to muzzle with royal icing adhesive. Add to cake with royal icing.
- Cut out four circles for the whites of the unicorn eyes. Two should be bigger than the others. Set aside.
- Cut out two ear shapes and set aside.
- Roll out a small amount of black fondant. Cut into large circles.
- Add the white circles to the black circles (as shown) to create the eyes. Place to the upper sides of the muzzle using royal icing to secure.
- Roll out pink fondant. Cut two pink circles for the cheeks. Cut two ear shapes smaller than the white ones.
- Affix the pink ear shapes to the white ones, using royal icing adhesive. Add to cake on either side of the horn, using toothpicks for support as needed.
- Add the cheek circles to the sizes of the muzzle.
- Roll bright pink, blue, and yellow fondant into thin strips that are tapered at one end. Clump them together with similar colors and then place by color group in the center of the eyes. The thicker ends should touch the horn and the thin ends should hang over the edge of the cake.
- If desired, add small drop flowers around the unicorn's face.
Unicorn Cake Cut-Outs
One of the easiest ways to decorate a cake is to use a cookie cutter to get the appropriate shape out of gum paste or fondant. This unicorn cake is easy enough even a beginner can replicate it!
Start with a cake covered in chocolate ganache.
- Roll gum paste or fondant in your choice of colors, like baby blue.
- Press a unicorn cookie cutter into the fondant to create the unicorn shapes.
- Use a food marker to create small shapes, like stars and hearts, on the hip.
- Allow the shapes to harden; this can take anywhere from 6 to 24 hours, depending on humidity levels of your home and geographical location.
- Once the unicorn shapes have hardened, use additional ganache to add them around the sides of the cake.
- Top the cake with unicorn candles.
Spectacular Unicorn Cakes
Making cakes depicting these fantastic creatures doesn't mean you have to have professional skills. In addition to showers and birthdays, a unicorn cake is also appropriate for a supernatural, medieval, or renaissance themed party.
