My twins, Anja and Andres, are in love with Elmo; therefore, for their second birthday party, we chose Elmo for the theme. There are no cool ready-cakes at local stores, so after some internet research, I decided to make the Elmo Birthday Cake myself.
Since it was my first time making a figurine-tier cake, I made this one inspired and based in one of your postings (Elmo 17). Also, it was my first time making fondant, so I made my choice for the marshmallow based one. It’s super easy to make and work with, and it tastes delicious! I got the recipe for fondant and icing from the Wilton web site. For the cake, I used “funfetty” mix that I got at the local supermarket.
I used the stand-bear cake from Wilton as the base for Elmo’s body, then carved the right arm and the mouth to make it thinner, happy and festive. With the remaining batter, I made mini cupcakes that I used for building the arm holding them with a couple of long kebab skewers.
To make skin, I covered the figurine with red icing strokes using a straight spatula. To make the fur, I used the Wilton tip# 233 making sure that the hairs were mixed and crazy-looking like Elmo’s. I used a picture to follow how the hairs should look, specially on the face.
For the eyes, nose, mouth, and accessories (cube, hat, and crayon that I forgot to place in the cake) I used the marshmallow fondant. I made those with a week of advance, so they could harden a bit (inside of the refrigerator). I “glued” the pupils to the eyes with water. For the cube, though, I used rice-krispies bars to make the shape and then covered it with fondant. To help the hat keep its shape, I used a cone that I made with cardboard.
I baked everything the day before the party and kept the cakes in the refrigerator making sure they were well-covered in clear plastic (or aluminum foil). I also carved the bear the night before and “glued” the mouth with the same red icing that I used for the skin and fur later on. All the icing colors (yellow, blue, green, and red) were made in advanced as well. I used “red-red” food color from Wilton, but I think “Christmas-red” would have offer a closer color to Elmo’s fur and skin.
I also covered the big cake with white fondant, and just added a couple of piped strokes for color. Changed the tips to make the lettering. It was a fun experience, and I got tons of compliments from the people who saw it and eat it.
Good Luck to the next baker.
this cake is so pretty:-)
OMG!!!!! This cake is absolutely AMAZING !
I’m looking for an Elmo’s birthday cake for my son (his 1st birthday) and I think I’ll try to do the same!
But the baker here is very gifted! Hope i could do the same…. ;o)