This unicorn cake comes together so quick, it’s like magic! Don’t let those 3D elements intimidate you — as long as you follow these steps, you only need basic fondant and buttercream skills to bring this beauty to life.
Easy Unicorn Cake Tutorial
Level: Easy
What You Need
- Round cakes
- Wooden skewer
- Fondant in white, pastel, caramel and black (buy it or make your own)
- White and pink buttercream (Swiss meringue and American buttercream work great)
- Rose piping tip (we used the 855 by Ateco)
- Disposable piping bag
- Rose petal cutters in two sizes
- Fondant rolling pin
- Edible glue
- Food-safe paint brushes
- Candy, cookies, macarons, meringue kisses, etc.
- Sprinkles
- Cake dummy
- Cake smoother (optional)
Instructions
1. Prep Your Cake
Bake your favorite cake according to recipe instructions. Once cooled, stack the layers, add a crumb coat and frost with white buttercream. Use a cake smoother for a seamless surface.
2. Make the Horn
Insert a wooden skewer into a cake dummy. This will help you determine the height of the unicorn horn and cake.
Roll out a tapered rope of caramel-colored fondant. Twist it around the base of the wooden skewer, piling it up until you reach the top. The spiral should get thinner as you build.
Paint the unicorn’s horn. This tutorial uses gold, but you can opt for another color like silver, pink or even a rainbow stripe.
3. Shape the Ears
Roll out some white and pastel-tinted fondant (we used mint green). Make two ears from the white fondant using rose petal cutters. Then cut two smaller inner ears from the pastel fondant.
Use a veining tool to indent the centers of the ears. Pinch the tips, then leave the ears to set on flower formers or a cardboard egg crate.
4. Sculpt the Eyes
Roll out two thin ropes of black fondant. Pinch each one in half and taper the ends to form V shapes. Set aside to firm before adding them to your cake.
5. Pipe the Mane
Spoon pink buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a rose piping tip. Pipe simple buttercream rosettes around the edge and down one side of the cake. If you’re adding treats like cookies or macarons to your cake, remember to leave space for them.
6. Bring on the Sprinkles
Add some sparkle with the sprinkles of your choosing. This tutorial used white sugar stars, but don’t be afraid to use rainbow confetti or some edible glitter.
7. Add the Horn
Push your wooden skewer and horn into the center of the cake.
Pro Tip: If you’ve given your horn enough time to set, you can simply secure it in place with buttercream — no skewer needed.
8. Pile on the Goodies
Finish off the cake by adding the fondant ears, eyes and decorative candies like swirly lollipops, chocolate truffles, macarons or even decorated cookies.
I love this...thank you for sharing.
Thank you for the step by step tutorial. My baking skills are not the problem as my cakes turn out find. I seems to have issues making Swiss Meringue Buttercream, no matter what I do it doesn’t it is still runny, measurements and temperature are both right so I’m not what keeps going wrong. Second my cake layers keep moving when I am crumb coating or even coating with buttercream, it’s been really stressing me out. I can’t seem to get a flawless finish to the top or sides. I would really appreciate your help and suggestions. Thank you
Afterthought, but before garnish cake with Punkin camellia flowers from my previous recipe would make Punkin flowers out of royal Icing and have floral arrangements made from Punkin camellias and other camellias that bloom in fall and autumn cool sweater crochet hat days! Happy beginning of holidays! Serve with warm , teas add from camellia sinesis leaves that is a edible camellia leaf and teas are made of. The punkin camellia may not be edible so make flowers for cake from icing.
I liked your unicorn cake and would liken to try this for a gingerbread or. Carrot cake with buttercream frosting and cornucopia of different pumpkins and squashes a nd turnips and cabbages and Brussels sprouts as well as other fall garden vegetables in icing shapes and Punkin camellia flowers for skirt lace of cake. Serve with snowballs of orange sherbert with sprinkles. Have kiddos and elder guest serve the the cake in slices on a dessert plate and carnival glass sherbert, dessert dish or bowl. Culinary flowers that can be edible can be added to plates and bowls got garnish. Best Regards, Kelli Hornsby
Very beautiful, in cooking school we used vodka and gold change the color of the meringue
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Nice tutorial
how can I send this to someone
I'm so interested in baking and making cakes, decorating is my favourite thing and many other aspects.