Instructions for a Simple Fondant Birthday Cake

If you’re just getting started with fondant, this simple fondant birthday cake is a great place to start. It’s quite vibrant and enjoyable. Who wouldn’t want this darling for their birthday?

I know I’ve mentioned it before, but I Adore pre-making fondant embellishments for cakes. It eliminates the burden of having to arrange the cake in a single arrangement. This cake is ideal for the occasion. You may build the candle sticks and flames ahead of time and store them in a jar until you need them.

This cake is also fantastic since it is suitable for everyone. It’s so bright and entertaining that both kids and adults will like it. I harmonized the polka-dot colors with the color of the real candlesticks, but you may make it your own. You could paint all of the candlesticks the same color, or just a handful of colors, and then paint the polka-dots a separate accent color. The possibilities are infinite.

You may also sprinkle edible fondant confetti on top of the cake or around the cake board. (I’ve included a brief extra instruction for it at the conclusion of this video.) You may also get some lovely small number candles to place on top of the cake.

Well, let’s get started on this sweetie!

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Here are the supplies you’ll need for the easy fondant birthday cake:

• Baked cake (Mine was an 8″ cake and about 5″ high) You can find my favorite vanilla bean cake recipe here: Vanilla Bean Cake Recipe
• White fondant
• Fondant in Blue, Purple, Red, Orange, Yellow and Green. You can buy fondant pre-colored in small packages. I usually tint my own fondant, but I almost always buy red fondant. It’s hard to get it to a bright red without it affecting the texture.
• Polka-dot stencil
• Petal dusts in blue, purple, red, orange, bronze, yellow, burgundy and green (or any other color of petal dust you want to use.)
• Toothpicks
• Ruler or straight-edge
• Shortening

Making the fondant candlesticks part 1:

Roll out each color you have to form the candlesticks. I rolled them at a 2 on my pasta roller, which is fine but not extremely thin. You don’t want them to be overly fragile.

Cut out your candlesticks using a ruler or straight edge. I made mine 5 inches broad and 5 inches tall.

Put them aside to firm up. If your candlesticks get deformed as you move them, try this: As you place them on a board to dry, place two rulers or other straight-edged items on either side of the fondant strip. Press them (or gently push them together) on the fondant strip’s sides to straighten the edges.

Cut at least two fondant strips of each color and place them on a cornstarch-dusted cake board to dry. I let my air dry overnight.

Making the fondant flames part 1:

While your fondant candlesticks are drying, you can begin on the flames for the top of the cake. Roll out a thick layer of yellow fondant. Cut out a circle for each flame using a little circle cutter or the back of a pipe tip. Instead of merely taking portions of fondant to roll into balls, I do it this way so that I may use the same amount of fondant for each flame.

Just roll your circles into a ball in the palm of your palms. You’ll need to apply some pressure.

Next, taking one end, roll it tighter into a cone form. Just place the ball in your palm and roll one end with your other hand’s finger. I then shifted the tips slightly to one side.

Then, dip a toothpick in water, tap out the excess, and stick it into the base of the flame. Pinch the flame’s bottom around the toothpick. You’ll want to wrap the fondant around the toothpick. The flames may then be placed in some foam to dry. I dried mine overnight.

Making the fondant candlesticks part 2:

We can apply the polka-dots now that your fondant strips have dried. There are various approaches you may take, and here are the advantages and disadvantages of each:

• You can rub a very thin layer of shortening over your fondant strips, lay the polka-dot stencil on top and pounce the dry petal dust into the dots with a brush. (You get good color coverage this way, but you have to be really careful when handling the fondant strips because the polka-dots can easily smear.)
• You can put a thin layer of shortening only on the back of the stencil and then set it on your fondant strip. Mix the petal dust with a bit of lemon extract and pounce the mixture into the dots with a brush. (You will get good color coverage with this method, but there’s a chance the color could seep under the stencil easier than the other methods. The shortening on the back of the stencil helps with this, but not completely.)
• You can put a thin layer of shortening on the back of the stencil and set it on your fondant strip and pounce on your dry petal dust into the dots with a brush. (With this method, the color of the dots will not be as bright as if you had rubbed a thin layer over your entire fondant strip, but the dust won’t smear as easily.)

I chose the first option. I applied a very thin coating of shortening to the fondant strip, then layered on the stencil and pounced on the dried petal dust.

Each strip received the correlating color of dust, with the exception of the yellow strip, which received the bronze colored petal dust.

You may Gently brush away any shortened streaks you observe with a brush. Please avoid getting too near to the polka-dots. Put them aside to dry for a few minutes.

Making the fondant flames part 2:

Now we’ll put out our fires. These should be completely dry now. I used petal dust in yellow, orange, and burgundy to create complexity to these small flames. I fanned the color up to the center of the flame with yellow at the top and orange at the bottom. Next, near the bottom of the flame, I added a touch of burgundy and mixed it up just a little.

Putting the Easy Fondant Birthday Cake together:

Then, cover your cake in white fondant and place it on the prepared cake board. I set out all of my fondant strips in the arrangement I wanted them around the cake in front of my cake.

Add the fondant strips on your cake in tiny chunks to keep them properly spaced. Add a little of water or piping gel to the back of the color that will go on the front and rear of the cake (the red strip), and put one to the front and one to the back of the cake.

Place the two green strips directly between the red strips on each side.

Examine the strips you’ve left laid out in front of you. Two strips will be placed between each area of red and green strips.

If any of your strips are excessively long, just trim them so that they are level with the top of the cake. Employ a razor-sharp xacto knife or scissors.

After that, add your flames. Insert them as near to the edge as possible.

That’s all there is to it! You’re done when you’ve connected all of your flames! Take a step back and admire what you’ve done! Remember that you may decorate the top with charming miniature number candles or handmade edible confetti. Continue reading for a bonus guide on how to create fondant confetti!

How to Make Fondant Confetti:

Making fondant confetti is a breeze. Roll out your remaining colored fondant very thin. Cut out little circles of fondant using a piping tip.

Let them to dry fully on a piece of foam or a cake board.

After they’re entirely dry, sprinkle them on top of the cake or around the board it’s resting on. Very festive and lovely!

That’s all there is to it! You’ve created a lovely birthday cake, and your family will be overjoyed.

I hope you liked this video, and remember that you can always contact me if you have any questions!

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