Chocolate Unicorn Cake Recipes

CHOCOLATE UNICORN CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease two 9-inch cake pans and line with parchment paper.
• Whisk flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.
• Combine sugars and butter in a large bowl; beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, thoroughly mixing after each addition. Beat in vanilla extract.
• Mix 1/3 of the flour mixture into the butter mixture until just combined. Mix in 1/2 of the coffee and 1/2 of the sour cream until just combined. Add remaining flour mixture alternately with remaining sour cream and coffee. Do not overmix. Divide batter between the cake pans.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool in the pans for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the pans before inverting cakes onto cooling racks. Peel off parchment paper. Cool cakes completely, about 30 minutes.
• Make frosting while cakes cool. Beat butter with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, until incorporated. Mix in vanilla extract and salt. Add heavy cream. Beat frosting on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add more heavy cream if needed to reach a spreadable consistency.
• Place 1/2 cup frosting into 2 separate bowls. Stir blue food coloring into one bowl and purple food coloring into the other. Place colored frostings into a piping bag fitted with a star tip.
• Place 1 cooled cake layer onto a cake plate. Top with 3/4 cup of white frosting. Place second cake layer on top. Frost the outside and top of the cake with remaining frosting.
• Divide the cake into 8 wedges by tracing a sharp knife through the frosting on the top; do not cut all the way through. Place 2 pink sprinkles in the innermost point to make unicorn's nostrils. Pipe the eyes and eyelashes near the upper portion of each wedge using the black decorating gel. Pipe blue and purple unicorn hair at the top of each wedge.
• Stretch marshmallow quarters into ear shapes and dip into pink sugar. Attach 2 ears to the edge of each slice. Pipe more hair around the ears. Place 1 candle into the hair for the horns. Keep cake refrigerated until ready to serve.

UNICORN CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Line bottoms of three 6-in. round baking pans with parchment; grease and flour pans., In a large bowl, whisk flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Beat in butter until crumbly. Add egg whites, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in 1/4 cup milk and extracts; beat on medium until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Gradually beat in remaining milk. Gently fold in jimmies., Transfer batter to prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in each center comes out clean, 25-30 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes before removing to wire racks; remove parchment. Cool completely., For buttercream, in a microwave, melt chocolate with cream until smooth, stirring every 30 seconds. Set aside to cool slightly. In heatproof bowl of stand mixer, whisk egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar and salt until blended. Place over simmering water in a large saucepan over medium heat. Whisking constantly, heat mixture until a thermometer reads 160°, 8-10 minutes., Remove from heat. With whisk attachment of stand mixer, beat on high speed until cooled to 90°, about 7 minutes. Gradually beat in butter, a few tablespoons at a time, on medium speed until smooth; beat in vanilla and white chocolate mixture., Spread frosting between layers and over top and sides of cake. Divide remaining buttercream into smaller portions; stir in food coloring to achieve desired colors. Decorate as desired. Store in refrigerator.

MAGICALLY EASY UNICORN CAKE

Steps:

• Coat the outside of the sugar cone with an even layer of corn syrup using a kitchen paintbrush. Roll in the gold sanding sugar. Set aside to dry, about 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, examine the cake and designate which side will be the front. Place the white frosting in a piping bag fitted with a large French decorating tip. Pipe a large circle of frosting on the front top edge of the cake. Continue piping circles connecting the first circle to the top center of the cake, and then down the right side of the cake. Place the cone on the front top edge of the cake in the piped frosting circle. Arrange half a package of the candy ropes across the front of the cake to create fringe (or bangs), trimming with scissors if needed.
• Twist half a package of the candy ropes and place them around the base of the horn. Continue to place groups of candy ropes around the horn and down the piped side of the cake, creating a mane. Braid a few candy ropes together and work them into the mane, if desired. Pipe four large swirls of frosting over the candy ropes, traveling from the horn to the top center of the cake; cover with the rainbow sprinkles.
• Using a 2-inch round cookie cutter, gently score a half-circle in a dark chocolate melting wafer. Move the cutter back and forth until the wafer is cut into two pieces. Use a half-moon piece to create a winking eye to the left of the mane, pressing it into the frosting. Dot a tiny amount of frosting on the backs of the white confetti sprinkles and adhere them to the remaining dark chocolate melting wafer, arranging them parallel to each other. Place the wafer in the frosting to the right of the mane on the cake. Place the two pink candy melts on either side of the cake for blushing cheeks.
• Snip the marshmallow in half diagonally with kitchen scissors. Immediately dip the sticky edges in the blue sanding sugar. Pipe two mounds of frosting on either side of the rainbow candy mane and stick the marshmallow pieces upright into the frosting mounds for two ears. Serve immediately.

UNICORN CAKE

Steps:

• Start by making the unicorn's horn and ears - they'll need to dry completely before use. Roll 225g white fondant into a long sausage shape, with one end slightly thicker than the other. Starting from the thicker end, twist the sausage into a tight coil until you have a horn shape. Pinch the small end upwards into a pointed tip. Next, divide the remaining white fondant into two pieces. Roll each one out into a rough oval on a sheet of baking parchment, then pinch the top end of each oval upwards to make a point. Set the ears aside with the horn and leave to dry while you make the cake.
• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Butter the base of three 20cm sandwich tins and line with baking parchment. Beat the butter, sugar and vanilla together in a large bowl with an electric whisk for 8-10 mins until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift in the flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt, and fold in using a large metal spoon. Add just enough of the milk to create a soft dropping consistency.
• Divide the batter between the prepared tins and smooth the tops with a spatula. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 25-30 mins, or until golden and firm to the touch. Leave to cool slightly in the tins, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• While the cake is cooling, make the buttercream. Beat the butter, icing sugar and vanilla together until pale and fluffy, beating in 4-6 tbsp hot water to loosen the mixture if necessary.
• Put one of the cooled sponges on a cake board or stand and spread a little of the buttercream on top using a palette knife. Gently spread over half the salted caramel, if using, then sandwich with another sponge. Repeat the process with a little more buttercream, the remaining salted caramel (if using) and the third sponge. Spread the outside of the cake with a thin layer of buttercream - this doesn't have to be neat. Chill for 30 mins.
• Spread a thick, even layer of buttercream over the chilled cake using a palette knife. Divide the remaining buttercream into three bowls and colour each one differently using the gel food colouring. Ours were light pink, purple and dark pink.
• Put a little gold lustre dust into a bowl, add a drop of water and stir to make a gold paste. Using a small paintbrush, paint the unicorn horn gold using the paste, as well as the inside of the ears, if you like. Carefully place the gold horn in the middle of the iced cake, with the ears on either side.
• Fit three piping bags with three different nozzles (we used a round nozzle and two different-sized star nozzles) and fill each with a different colour of buttercream. Pipe each colour around the ears and horn and all over the top of the cake, coming down one side and over the edge of the front - this is the unicorn's mane. Decorate with some sprinkles, if using.
• Divide the black fondant in two pieces, and roll each into a thin sausage shape. Shape each into an arch, then press onto the front of the cake for eyes. If you like, curve the outer edges of the eyes upwards for eyelashes. Cut into slices and serve. Will keep in the fridge for up to three days.