We're so excited to have a video on how to make a birdcage cake! These cakes are cheerful, delicate and perfect for a variety of occasions from bridal showers, to teas & garden parties, to birthdays. This is one of those constructions that I love, because the cake itself looks so impressive, but is actually quite simple to make.
I will list the materials used and some quick notes beneath the video.
Part One
Part Two:
Materials
3 six inch layers
1 half ball cake (I used half of the Wilton Sports Ball Pan (aff.) set. It measures 6" in diameter.)
Buttercream- We used our "fluffy vanilla buttercream" recipe but any crusting recipe will do
Cardboard cake circle (cut to just under 6", it is placed within the cake)
Bubble Tea Straws or your dowels of choice. I used 3.
Cake base or pedestal. If you are stacking cardboard cake circles, I would stack 2 or 3.
Bench Scraper, Spatula of your choice.
Food coloring pen (I used an Americolor black pen for the birds' eyes)
Gum Paste (or fondant with tylose kneaded in) --For creating your birds & flowers
Fondant for the bars of the birdcage
Buttercream for frosting the cake - (Most of it was tinted blue, with a little reserved to be tinted green for our ivy vines)
Coloring Gel in desired colors--I used Americolor Electric Blue for the buttercream, Americolor Deep Pink for the pink shades of flowers, Americolor Electric Green for the ivy leaves & buttercream vines)
Cutters used: PME ivy leaf cutter, cherry blossom cutter, Wilton Daisy cutters, tiny flower cutters
FMM Multi Ribbon Cutter-- (aff.) I used this to cut my fondant bands/bars of the cage. The thicker bands are ¾" thick, and the thinner bands are ¼".
Extruder (very helpful)- We like Makin's Ultimate Clay Extruder (aff.)
Ball Tool & Foam Pad- optional (for thinning flowers)
Royal icing- I used for adding detail to the cage--you could also use a crusting buttercream. I also used it to glue our ring to the top of the cage
Sugar Pearls-optional. I used Wilton brand sugar pearls for some of our flower centers
Piping Tip 2- For piping royal icing bead board around the cage as well as our green buttercream ivy vines.
Misc: Sharp knife or x-acto for cutting, tylose/sugar glue (or your glue of choice),
If you love bird themed sweets, don't miss our free blog tutorial for Bird & Birdcage Cupcakes!! These are so cute and simple, and match our birdcage cake perfectly!
Hi Melissa. Can’t see the video.
Hi yary3, I'm sorry you are having a problem. It is playing on our laptop and ipad. Are you able to view our other videos? If not, you may need to update your Adobe Flash Player, here is a link http://www.adobe.com/support/flashplayer/downloads.html
Let us know if you continue to have problems as there are other things to try.
Hi Melissa and Bebe! I love this cake and am planning on making it in the near future for a birthday. Would you suggest dowelling it down the centre if it is going to be transported? I want to make sure it is stable.
On another note, the last 2 cakes I have made I used your white almond sour cream cake recipe. Best recipe I have ever used and I have gotten nothing but rave reviews on the taste. This is definitely going to be my go to recipe for cakes.
LOVE your site and all the inspiration and ideas you have given me. You have a lifetime member in me. Hope you had a Happy Easter ☺
Hello Shawn!
Thank you so much for your kind words, we really appreciate them!
Hmmm....on the center dowel... it is a good idea for peace of mind during transport, especially if you are traveling across town. Let me know if you have questions about hammering the sharpened dowel through and I can link you to one of our videos where we do this! (If you decide not to use a center dowel, just make sure that your cake is in the car sitting completely level. I also like to chill the cake before traveling so that everything is nice and firm.) - Good luck!
Hi,
Love learning so much from you-- so excited when you give us another new tutorial. So very appreciated--question--you say you use a Wilton half ball pan to do the top of this cake. Could you please give me a link to the pan you are talking about so I make sure I get the right one. Also could you please give me a little more info. on how you cooked the cake in this pan and made it level so it would fit correctly on the cake? I'm making a 3 tier cake and this is going to be my top tier. My first and very nervous. Thank you so much for your help and time--Blessings
Hi Julia, here is a link to the half ball pan we used, http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?id=3e30abd4-475a-bac0-5b381da1ba82e3d3. We add a rose nail that is greased and floured to the bottom of the pan to help distribute the heat and decrease baking time. We fill the pan 1/2 to 2/3 full. For the bird cage cake we used 6 inch cake pans and the half ball pan is six inches in diameter so it fit on the top with no problem. You might need to level the tops of the cakes. This is a link to using a rose nail, in case you have never used one, http://www.thatreallyfrostsme.com/2010/11/baking-cakes-with-flower-nail.html