Unicorn Cake
The Unicorn Cake is a whimsical and colorful dessert, perfect for birthdays, baby showers, and celebrations. With pastel-colored cake layers, creamy buttercream, and a magical unicorn horn, this cake is as delicious as it is beautiful.
Equipment
- 8-inch cake pans
- Piping bags & tips
- Cake turntable
- Offset spatula
- Fondant rolling pin
Ingredients
Cake Batter
- 3 cups all-purpose flour or cake flour for a lighter texture
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 4 eggs
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup milk or buttermilk
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- gel food coloring pink, blue, purple, yellow
Buttercream Frosting
- 2 cups unsalted butter softened
- 5 cups powdered sugar sifted
- 2 tbsp milk or heavy cream
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- gel food coloring various pastel shades
Unicorn Decorations
- white fondant for unicorn horn and ears
- gold edible paint for horn
- black edible marker for unicorn eyes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and grease three 8-inch cake pans.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
- In another bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well.
- Mix in vanilla extract, then alternate adding milk and dry ingredients until fully combined.
- Divide batter into separate bowls and tint each portion with gel food coloring.
- Pour batter into cake pans and bake for 25–30 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Cool cakes completely before decorating.
- Prepare buttercream frosting by beating butter until creamy, then gradually adding powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla.
- Trim cake tops if needed and apply a crumb coat. Chill for 30 minutes.
- Pipe colorful buttercream swirls to create the unicorn mane.
- Shape fondant into a twisted unicorn horn and paint it gold. Let dry.
- Cut and shape fondant ears, add pink fondant details, and let dry.
- Insert the unicorn horn into the cake and attach ears slightly behind it.
- Draw unicorn eyes using a black edible marker or pipe with black buttercream.
- Sprinkle edible glitter for a magical finishing touch.
Notes
For best results, chill the cake before slicing. You can substitute vanilla cake with funfetti, strawberry, or chocolate flavors for variation.