Magically Easy Unicorn Cake Recipes

Steps:

• For the unicorn decorations: First, make the horn and ears. Put the marshmallows in a large microwave-safe bowl and sprinkle with 2 teaspoons water. Microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring in between each, until the marshmallows are melted, about 1 1/2 minutes total. Add 1 1/2 cups of the confectioners' sugar and stir to make a stiff mixture. Grease your hands and a work surface with some shortening. Knead the mixture, adding up to 1/2 cup more confectioners' sugar and greasing your hands as needed to keep it from sticking, until the mixture is very smooth and pliable, 4 to 5 minutes. (The mixture should form a tight but very smooth ball. If you poke a finger into it, the indentation should remain.)
• Break off three-quarters of the marshmallow mixture, add 1 drop blue gel food coloring and knead it into the mixture until evenly distributed. Remove one-quarter of the blue mixture and roll out to a thickness of a little less than 1/4 inch. With a sharp paring knife, cut two 2-inch-tall triangles for the inside of the unicorn ears. Roll the remaining blue mixture into a thick, tapered strand, about 2 feet long. Brush an 8-inch lollipop stick with water. Starting about 3 inches up from the bottom of the stick, roll the strand around it, starting with the thickest part first, into a tapered horn. Press gently all around to adhere it to the stick. Stick the horn upright in a jar filled with dried beans or rice to dry.
• Roll out the remaining plain marshmallow mixture to a thickness of a little less than 1/4 inch. With a sharp paring knife, cut two 3-inch-tall triangles for the outside of the unicorn ears. Brush the larger ears on one side with a small amount of water. Stick on the smaller blue ears. Drape the ears, with the smaller pieces face down, over the rolling pin to dry.
• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat four 8-inch round cake pans with cooking spray and dust with flour, tapping out the excess. Prepare the cake mixes according to the package directions. Stir in the sprinkles. (If you don't have 4 pans, make 1 box of cake mix at a time and use half of the sprinkles in each).
• Divide the batter among the 4 prepared pans and bake, rotating the pans from top to bottom halfway through baking, until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 25 to 28 minutes. Let cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then remove from the pans and cool completely.
• For the buttercream: Beat the butter and salt in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and light, about 1 minute. Add the confectioners' sugar and beat on low to incorporate, then increase the speed to medium high and beat until fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Beat in the vanilla and then the milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the frosting is easily spreadable.
• Cut the domed tops from the cakes to make them flat. Frost the top of one cake layer with about 1/2 cup frosting. Set another layer on top and frost again. Repeat with the third layer, then end with the last layer bottom-side up on top. Coat the cake with a very thin layer of frosting to crumb coat, then chill until set, about 15 minutes. Set the cake on a cake stand and spread all but 1/2 cup of the remaining frosting on the cake in a smooth layer.
• Cut two 3-inch strands from the licorice and stick to the cake about halfway down in wide U shapes for the eyes. Cut ten 1/2-inch licorice pieces and press 5 along the bottom of each eye for eyelashes. Wrap the rainbow candy belt around the base of the cake. Spread the remaining 1/2 cup frosting in a strip along the base of the cake to adhere the candies. Stick the candies around the cake in a decorative fashion. Pull the cotton candy apart to make it fluffy and stick on the top and sides of the cake as a mane. Add the horn and ears and serve immediately. (Most of the cake can be decorated in advance; the cotton candy needs to be added at the last minute.)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven according to the package instructions. Line a 9-inch round cake pan with parchment paper and grease well.
• Pour the cake mix into a large bowl and add water. Mix well.
• Divide the cake batter evenly between three bowls and add a different food coloring to each one, mixing well.
• Pour the batters into the prepared cake pan. Bake according to the package instructions, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Let cool, then invert the cake onto a serving plate, removing the parchment paper.
• In a large skillet over medium heat, add ½ cup water, the marshmallows, powdered sugar, butter, and blue food coloring. Stir, and cook until the marshmallows melt completely and the color is even.
• Pour the marshmallow mixture over the cake, top with multi-colored sprinkles, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
• Slice and serve.
• Enjoy!

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Line bottoms of three 6-in. round baking pans with parchment; grease and flour pans., In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Beat in butter until crumbly. Add egg whites, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in 1/4 cup milk and extracts; beat on medium until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Gradually beat in remaining milk. Gently fold in jimmies., Transfer batter to prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in each center comes out clean, 25-30 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes before removing to wire racks; remove parchment. Cool completely., For buttercream, in a microwave, melt chocolate with cream until smooth, stirring every 30 seconds. Set aside to cool slightly. In heatproof bowl of stand mixer, whisk egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar and salt until blended. Place over simmering water in a large saucepan over medium heat. Whisking constantly, heat mixture until a thermometer reads 160°, 8-10 minutes., Remove from heat. With whisk attachment of stand mixer, beat on high speed until cooled to 90°, about 7 minutes. Gradually beat in butter, a few tablespoons at a time, on medium speed until smooth; beat in vanilla and white chocolate mixture., Spread frosting between layers and over top and sides of cake. Divide remaining buttercream into smaller portions; stir in food coloring to achieve desired colors. Decorate as desired. Store in refrigerator.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350˚F (180˚C).
• In a large bowl, prepare 2 boxes of vanilla cake mix according to the package instructions.
• Fill 3 separate bowls with 1 cup (225 grams) each of cake batter and dye one batter pink, one purple, and the last one blue.
• Pour the remaining batter into two round 8-inch (20 cm) baking pans and one loaf pan that have been lined with parchment paper.
• In random places, place spoonfuls of colored batter on top of the plain batter.
• Using a toothpick, mix the colors together until the batter looks marbled.
• Bake all 3 cakes for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cakes cool on a cooling rack completely before assembling.
• Using a hand mixer, mix powdered sugar, butter, vanilla extract, and milk until well combined to make the frosting. Set aside 2 small bowls of frosting and dye one pink and the other black.
• Assemble the cake by placing one round cake on the serving dish and spread a layer of plain buttercream frosting on top. Place the second round cake on top of the frosting.
• Cut two of the corners off of the loaf cake to make ears. Spread frosting on the inside of the ear and stick to the top of the round cakes at 10 o'clock & 2 o'clock. Cover the top and sides of the cake with the plain buttercream leaving a semicircle at the bottom for the pink frosting. Frost the semi circle and the side with the pink buttercream, saving some for later.
• Put the black frosting into a resealable bag and cut off the tip of the corner. Decorate the cake with eyes, nostrils, and a smile.
• Cover an ice cream cone with the remaining pink frosting and pink sprinkles. Place the cone in between the ears and gently push into the cake to secure. Decorate with more pink sprinkles around the horn and on the ears.
• Place the cone in the middle of the cake (between the ears) and sprinkle the area around the cone and the ears with the pink sprinkles.
• Enjoy!

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Prepare cake batter and bake in 2 (8-inch) round pans as directed on package. Cool cakes in pans 15 min. Invert onto wire racks; gently remove pans. Cool cakes completely.
• Beat cream cheese, marshmallow creme and vanilla in large bowl with mixer until blended. Gently stir in COOL WHIP. Spoon 1-1/4 cups cream cheese mixture evenly into 2 separate small bowls; stir in food colorings to tint cream cheese mixture in each bowl to desired shade.
• Spread 2 Tbsp. of the remaining (untinted) cream cheese mixture into thin layer onto outside of waffle cone; roll in sprinkles until evenly coated.
• Stack cake layers on plate, filling layers with jam. Frost top and side of cake with remaining (untinted) cream cheese mixture. Place inverted waffle cone on top of cake for the unicorn's horn as shown in photo.
• Cut marshmallow diagonally in half with kitchen shears. Press cut sides of marshmallow halves into remaining sprinkles; gently press into cake for the unicorn's eyes.
• Spoon one of the tinted cream cheese mixtures into pastry bag fitted with star tip; use to pipe cream cheese mixture onto cake for the unicorn's mane. Spoon remaining tinted cream cheese mixture into second pastry bag fitted with separate decorative tip; use to pipe cream cheese mixture onto cake as shown in photo. Decorate cake with candies and decorating gel as shown in photo.

Steps:

• Start by making the unicorn's horn and ears - they'll need to dry completely before use. Roll 225g white fondant into a long sausage shape, with one end slightly thicker than the other. Starting from the thicker end, twist the sausage into a tight coil until you have a horn shape. Pinch the small end upwards into a pointed tip. Next, divide the remaining white fondant into two pieces. Roll each one out into a rough oval on a sheet of baking parchment, then pinch the top end of each oval upwards to make a point. Set the ears aside with the horn and leave to dry while you make the cake.
• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Butter the base of three 20cm sandwich tins and line with baking parchment. Beat the butter, sugar and vanilla together in a large bowl with an electric whisk for 8-10 mins until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift in the flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt, and fold in using a large metal spoon. Add just enough of the milk to create a soft dropping consistency.
• Divide the batter between the prepared tins and smooth the tops with a spatula. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 25-30 mins, or until golden and firm to the touch. Leave to cool slightly in the tins, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• While the cake is cooling, make the buttercream. Beat the butter, icing sugar and vanilla together until pale and fluffy, beating in 4-6 tbsp hot water to loosen the mixture if necessary.
• Put one of the cooled sponges on a cake board or stand and spread a little of the buttercream on top using a palette knife. Gently spread over half the salted caramel, if using, then sandwich with another sponge. Repeat the process with a little more buttercream, the remaining salted caramel (if using) and the third sponge. Spread the outside of the cake with a thin layer of buttercream - this doesn't have to be neat. Chill for 30 mins.
• Spread a thick, even layer of buttercream over the chilled cake using a palette knife. Divide the remaining buttercream into three bowls and colour each one differently using the gel food colouring. Ours were light pink, purple and dark pink.
• Put a little gold lustre dust into a bowl, add a drop of water and stir to make a gold paste. Using a small paintbrush, paint the unicorn horn gold using the paste, as well as the inside of the ears, if you like. Carefully place the gold horn in the middle of the iced cake, with the ears on either side.
• Fit three piping bags with three different nozzles (we used a round nozzle and two different-sized star nozzles) and fill each with a different colour of buttercream. Pipe each colour around the ears and horn and all over the top of the cake, coming down one side and over the edge of the front - this is the unicorn's mane. Decorate with some sprinkles, if using.
• Divide the black fondant in two pieces, and roll each into a thin sausage shape. Shape each into an arch, then press onto the front of the cake for eyes. If you like, curve the outer edges of the eyes upwards for eyelashes. Cut into slices and serve. Will keep in the fridge for up to three days.