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Inside: Learn how to make a flamingo birthday cake the easy way. This simple flamingo cake tutorial will take you through the steps that will leave you with a cake you will be proud of. This cake will be perfect for a flamingo or a tropical birthday party which all the girls will love.
My daughter recently celebrated her 8th birthday and for her party she requested a tropical party that is sophisticated, has a touch of flamingo but is NOT Hawaiian. That was the brief I was running with!
She basically wanted something very pretty that was not overwhelming with color, but still had the pretty pinks of the flamingo.
Well I was very happy with how the party turned out, but following that I was also super happy with her birthday cake.
This isn’t the cake that we had for her party, but the cake I made for her actual birthday. I kind of have my little tradition working with this. I purchase a cake for her party and I attempt to make one for her birthday.
This year, she literally gushed as I walked towards her. Her eyes lit up, she gave a little squeal and she followed it up with “this is the best birthday cake I have ever had”. I think that was a win!
So if you want to know how to make a flamingo birthday cake, you have probably searched Pinterest by now. I certainly did! You would also have seen many beautiful flamingo cakes and flamingo cake decorations that made your eyes pop.
Then you found this one and here you are.
This is good. This means you are like me. You are after something pretty, but you realize and accept your limitations and you are not going to attempt to be a super mom and try to make a cake only fit for a cake decorator only to be bitterly disappointed with the results.
This really is a no fail simple flamingo cake. That’s what we want to hear right?
Supplies you will need to make the flamingo birthday cake:
Download Your Flamingo Cake Topper
Before we get started on making the cake, you will need to obtain the flamingo cake topper. Ensure that you prepare this a few days before you wish to make the cake.
I have designed the flamingo cake topper for you which you can obtain for free from the free printable library. The cake topper in the library doesn’t have the number 8 on it as pictured on my daughter’s cake, but the rest of the topper is the same.
The topper is sized just over 7″ which means it is perfect for an 8″ cake with a little bit of room to spare around the edges.
Open the PDF and save to a USB where you can take it to your local cake supplier. This topper cost me AU$14 to print onto a fondant sheet at the cake shop nearest to me. Every cake baker will charge a slightly different price so you may want to shop around for quotes first.
It will only take a couple of minutes to print and then a couple of minutes for the print to set.
Create a Simple Flamingo Cake in 8 Easy Steps
This flamingo cake tutorial has 8 easy steps to follow. Are you ready?
Step 1: Bake the cake. I tend to use a packet mix for a chocolate mud cake in an 8″ pan. That’s just our preference, but it really doesn’t matter what flavor cake you make.
Step 2: Using a cake leveler, slice the cake in half. If the top of the cake is not flat then you may also wish to level off the top of the cake too.
Add a layer of ganache in the middle of the cake. I used a chocolate ganache, but again choose whatever flavor is your preference.
Step 3: Cover the cake with a crumb layer of buttercream.
I call it a crumb layer because you WILL see lots of crumbs in it. Don’t worry about this, as this is just the base. Try to make it as thin as possible, whilst also covering the entire cake.
It will look messy, it will feel messy, but relax, it will come together.
I purchase pre-made buttercream as it makes the process quicker and easier, but if you would like a recipe to follow to make your own, I’d recommend this one from a previous sprinkles birthday cake that I made.
Step 4: When the cake is completely covered, pop it in the fridge to harden. This will just make it easier to apply the top coating of buttercream.
Step 5: Cover the entire cake with another layer of buttercream. This layer will need to cover the cake crumbs you can see, and try to keep it as flat and smooth as possible.
Sometimes buttercream just doesn’t want to cooperate. It is incredibly frustrating. I have been there shouting at the cake and it is not pretty! But, once you know some easy tricks, this process is a lot easier and a lot less stressful.
I always now use an icing smoother to create the perfect finish. Why I use to try and do this with a spatula and knife I will never understand. To avoid my mistakes, I suggest you check out this tutorial for how to create a smooth buttercream finish. It will be a lifesaver for you.
Step 6: Now that the buttercream is full in place it is time to add your flamingo cake topper. If you havn’t done so already, cut around the topper edge. Make sure you also peel of the backing sheet from the fondant topper.
Carefully place the topper on top of the cake and smooth down the sides.
Step 7: To create a nice finish around the topper, add some decoration. I used Wilton gold sugar pearls.
Step 8: Finish off the sides of the cakes by adding some edible sugar flowers. Gently press them into the side of the cake.
There you have it. Now you know how to make a flamingo birthday cake the super easy way.
It will look super fancy, but you don’t need to have any technical cake decorating skills. The kids will love it and you will love it.
Don’t forget to grab the free flamingo cake topper from the printable library.
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