Coolest Homemade Volcano Cake Ideas and Decorating Tips

For my son’s 4th birthday party we had a dinosaur-themed party. He didn’t, however, want a dinosaur cake; he wanted a volcano cake that erupted. There are a few ideas out there on the “net”. Nothing was exactly like what I wanted so I borrowed some ideas and used some of my own.

Volcano Cake Preparation

I baked 3 chocolate cakes: 1 in an angel food cake pan and two 8″ round cakes. Once cooled, I “glued” the two 8″ ones on top of one another with chocolate icing and then placed the angel food cake-molded one on top of the bottom 2 round ones. This made the cake taller. I then sculpted the top of the volcano cake by carving down the edges a bit to better resemble a volcano. The great thing about volcanoes is that they are not perfect!

Volcano cake Icing

I then iced the entire cake with 2 different-coloured chocolate icings. After, I sprinkled Oreo cookie crumbs on the outside to resemble dirt and rocks. Volcano cake lava: I used prepared red icing (the stuff in the tube) on the top. I made about 8 or so long “drips” of lava from the center of the cake.

*Remember: there is a hole at the top of the cake from the angel food cake pan*.

You need to start at the edge and go around. After the “drips”, use the rest of the tube to go around the edge of the hole to make it look like it is over-flowing. I then added some cake decorating gel (red and orange) to make it look more like fiery lava.

Around the Volcano Cake

I iced my platform with a thin layer of slightly tinted green icing. I dyed some coconut green (put coconut and about 8 drops of green food colouring in a Ziploc bag and shake). Then, I sprinkled the coconut over the green icing to resemble grass. Next, I tinted some icing blue to resemble water and made a river. I sprinkled blue decorative sugar over the icing to make it sparkly. I then decorated with mini dinosaurs.

Volcano Cake Eruption

In the hole at the top of the cake I placed a shot glass (it fits perfectly). I bought some dry ice (look in the yellow pages under dry ice) and placed a little piece in the shot glass right before bringing the cake out. Then, pour a little hot water into the glass and “Voila”…volcano smoke.

I used sparkler candles too, after he had blown out his real candles for a more fiery effects. It was a huge hit.

Cool Red Lava Cake

Volcano cake by Sam B., Gardner, MA

I made this cake using a bundt on the bottom, a Pyrex bowl in the middle and a cupcake on the top. First, I covered everything with chocolate frosting, then drizzled white icing around the rim.

I dyed half an eggshell red and put it in the cupcake during baking so it fits perfectly in the top. Then I made “lollipop lava” with corn syrup, sugar and water (can be done just as easily by melting red lollipops or candy on low). I let the lava cool and poured it on a sheet pan lined with foil to simulate spews and blobs. When they were cool I put them in the top of the cake.

When it was time to light the candle I put about a teaspoon of vodka in the top and lit it (no kids were harmed during the making of this cake. Vodka burns off when heated and the eggshell was discarded in order to cut the cake). The Vodka is best when lit in a dark room as the flame is hard to see.

My son had a great 6th; he loves volcano cakes!!

Easy Homemade Cake

Volcano cake by Heather A., Zephyrhills, FL

I was shocked and a little upset the day my daughter decided, for her 5th Birthday party, she wanted a Dinosaur theme. I couldn’t believe it…my little girl wanted a “boys” theme!

After contemplating my options, however, I couldn’t believe how much fun one could have with this theme! I wanted a unique cake, so I hit the internet. I got the idea for this volcano cake from several different sources, including this website. The tips and hints from everyone were great. At first, I thought it was going to be a nightmare and this would end up looking like a football with ketchup on it!

Baking the Cake

Well, as you can see, the volcano cake came out slightly different…and easy as 1-2-3 . I used two boxes of Devil’s Food cake mix, prepared as directed on box. I used one entire mix in a bundt pan, the type you would make and Angel Food cake in, not with scalloped or fancy edges.

The other mix I split between a Pyrex bowl and a Pyrex 8 x 8 glass dish (and I’m sure you can use any baking dish that would produce the same shapes). The bundt cake was baked as directed, however you have to adjust the baking temperature and time if using glass dishes (I used the trusty method of starting at about 325 degrees and checking it every 3-5 minutes with a toothpick after 25 minutes. The 8 x8 finished faster than the bowl.)

Decorating the Cake

After the volcano cake COMPLETELY cooled, I started decorating. Using about 2-1/2 cans of chocolate and fudge icing, I mixed them with coarsely crushed Oreos. I placed the cakes in this order: Bundt cake on bottom, square cake next and bowl shaped cake on top. I then used a sharp knife to trim away pieces to form a more “volcano” shaped cake. Using the other 1/2 of the plain fudge icing, without Oreos, I put the layers together. Using the Oreo mixture, I frosted the outside in a haphazard fashion. Don’t try to make it too “clean” if you want a true volcano look.

To top it off, using one can of white icing divided into three parts, I made red, orange and green frostings. The lava effect of the volcano cake was produced by microwaving the red and orange icings (separately) for about 10-15 seconds on high.

I then used a medium-sized metal spoon and “dripped” the melted icing down the sides of the volcano cake in a lava trail fashion. Finish it off with a few dollops of green frosting with green sugar crystals to add looks of vegetation.

Cool Volcano Cake With Candles

Volcano cake by Betsy D., Layton, UT

Read Betsy’s “Party-Tale”: The story behind the cake…

Coolest Lava Birthday Cake

Volcano cake by Who?

Read Rachel’s “Party-Tale”: The story behind the cake…

Awesome Homemade Cake

Volcano cake by Teresa B., Vancouver, BC, Canada

I made this cake almost 2 feet high – it was quite amazing I must say! The kids all loved it.

First, I made a chocolate cake from scratch, as the box cakes are far too crumbly and weak to support this cake (the homemade cake is really firm and heavy). I used several round pans and Pyrex glass bowls of various sizes, which I inverted.

The top part was a small cake I made in a ramekin (what you would make crème brulee in). I stacked everything on top of each other and spread homemade chocolate icing in between (tastes better and sticks better). Then I dug a hole at the top like a crater and iced the whole thing with more chocolate icing.

Decorating the Cake

I went to a cake decorating shop and bought “colour paste” in red and yellow (that’s what gives you the intense icing colours; the liquid dyes do not work). Then, I mixed them to make the orange lava. I bought Duncan Hines icing in white and plopped it in the crater on top to make it look like steam and smoke coming out of the crater.

Then, I went to Michaels and bought the little people and trees because my 5 year old son wanted it to look like “the people were fleeing the lava” like he has read in his books! I bought the happy birthday letters at the grocery store and I lit it all up with 3 sparklers and 5 candles— it was amazing when they were all lit!

One 5-year-old boy at the party actually thought it was going to explode like a real volcano and was cowering the whole time until my son blew everything out! It was fun to make and my son was so happy- thanks for this great website! My next cake will be a power ranger cake for our almost 4 year-old— you guys have given me great ideas again!

Cool Luau Themed Birthday Cake

Volcano cake by Stephanie F., Honolulu, Hawaii

For my son’s 3rd birthday we had a tiki/luau theme so I made this volcano cake. I used a bundt pan and a basic cake pan and just “shaped” the cake into the form I needed. I used red velvet cake and store bought icing. Then, I put a small ramekin in the top, and put a bit of dry ice in it for a smoke effect and decorated with plastic dinosaurs and fish. The volcano cake was quite the hit!

Happy Homemade Cake

Volcano cake by Cari G., Grandview, TX

This volcano cake was my middle son’s 9th birthday cake. I made this cake using the Pampered Chef Batter Bowl. It makes a dome shaped cake and the possibilities are endless.

I used one box cake and cut it into 4 layers. Then, I used 2 cans of icing between the layers and on the outside. I took some extra frosting and heated it in the microwave and poured over the cake. Then I threw Milk Duds and Nestle’s Bunch O Crunch (I think that’s what it’s called) on the cake for rocks and boulders.

I used some cream cheese icing and colored it red (or I tried to anyway), heated it in the microwave and poured it over the cake also. This volcano cake was easy to create because it is not suppose to look perfect and the kids loved it.

Cool Jello Decorated Cake

Volcano cake by Olivia M., Durham, NC

My son wanted a dinosaur volcano cake for his second birthday, so I dug up my old standby Jello-lake in the cake idea and was going to have some dinosaurs playing in the water. The only problem? I only had red Jello, and had already been to the store once that day. SO, the lake became a volcano, and he was even more thrilled!

Use your favorite cake mix in a 13×9 pan, and when cooled, cut about 3 inches off of one side, the short way. Cut this strip of cake into several chunks, randomly. They will be your volcano walls. Frost the cake with chocolate frosting, and then mix 1 package of red Jello (4 serving size) with 1 cup of boiling water. Add 1/2 cup of cold water, and put in fridge about an hour, or till slightly thickened.

Put a small amount of Jello in a small clear plastic cup (I used an old serving-size jello cup or applesauce cup) and place on the cake where you want your volcano to go. Then, randomly place the cup up pieces of leftover cake around the cup— it doesn’t have to look pretty, cracks and smashed spots just make it more realistic!

Frost the “mountain” up to the rim of the cup, then pour the remaining Jello over the volcano, filling any cavities and letting it “trickle” down the sides like lava. Next place your plastic dinosaurs, trees, whatever you want to add. The kids will love it!

Cute Birthday Cake With Gummy Worms

Volcano cake by Michelle C., Mechanicsville, VA

My son wanted a volcano birthday cake for his birthday this year. When I started thinking about how I was going to make this cake, I thought it would be really neat if we could actually make it look like lava was coming out of the cake.

So I came up with the idea of using a bundt cake on the bottom and my pampered chef classic batter bowl to cook the cake. Since the bundt cake already had a whole in the middle I carefully cut a hole in the cake that was baked in the batter bowl and then placed them on top of each other creating the foundation of my volcano.

Once there was the hole in the middle of the cake I took chocolate and vanilla pudding and adding some red and yellow food coloring (attempting to make it look like the color of lava) and filled the hole with my pudding. I even mixed some gummy worms down in the pudding and coming out of the top for effect.

When it was time to serve the cake to the kids I used my left over pudding to stream it down the sides of the cake to give the effect of an explosion. Once we started cutting the cake and the pudding oozed from within the kids were thrilled. It was a lot of fun!

Cool Tiered Volcano Cake

Volcano cake by Jennifer C., Manchester, CT

I made this volcano cake for a luau party for my daughter. I bought two funfetti cake mixes and baked a bundt cake. Then, I used my medium-sized saucepan, my smallest sauce pan and a small mini-tart tin so I could layer them into a volcano (all my saucepans are entirely metal so they are able to go in the oven).

Once the cakes were cooled I took them all out putting the bundt down first. Then I cut a hole out of the next biggest size to match the bundt hole. I did the same with the small saucepan cake and the mini-tart size tin. I then piled them all on top of one another. The tart pan was PERFECT for the top since it tapered.

I mixed up some Jell-O instant pudding in white chocolate and mixed it with Red food coloring to make the lava. While it set I frosted the cake with LOTS of chocolate frosting to cover all the seams and make the cakes blend. I sprinkled crushed Oreo crumbs all over it and then poured the pudding down the hole in the middle until it was full. I made the pudding drip out down the sides.

Another nice effect was that we used a sparkler candle in a “7” shape on the volcano cake.

Coolest Jurassic Themed Birthday Cake

Volcano cake by Virginia, Azusa, CA

For my son’s 7th birthday he decided on a Jurassic/Dinosaur party. We invited a lot of guests and therefore I knew baking a single volcano cake would not be enough.

So, I bought a sheet cake already frosted. I baked two cakes, one in a Bundt pan and another in a glass bowl. I stacked the cakes one on the other and both on top of the store-bought to form volcano. Then I frosted the cakes with chocolate icing.

Around the volcano I placed toy dinosaurs and palm trees.

Since, his birthday falls in April, I had some left over speckled candy Easter eggs and I made a nest with some crushed chocolate cookies for the dinosaur eggs to lie in. I took some strawberry icing and tinted it with liquid red food coloring, thus, making the icing runny enough to drip down the sides of the volcano cake. I also used red licorice and black candles for the illusion of shooting lava and sprinkled more cookie crumbs all over the finished volcano cake.