Monday, February 7, 2011

How to Make a Star Wars Cake



Duel on Mustafar
My niece and nephew both have February birthdays so my sister always throws a joint party for them. Amazingly enough she managed to get the soon-to-be 5-year-old boy and the soon-to-be 8-year-old girl to agree on this year's theme of Star Wars.

I was in charge of the cake. My husband, thrilled with the kids' choice, immediately went to work "researching" the theme for me. About midnight one night, we settled on a scene from the Return of the Sith, the Duel on Mustafar, with the agreement that he would "art direct." I'm happy to report that it turned out great and we are still happily married.


Want to try your own version? Here's what you need:
2 square cakes with the smaller one cut on an angle
icing (chocolate and two tones of orange)
gel icing (2 small tubes in red and orange)
Rice Krispy treat ingredients
dark and milk chocolate melts
Obi-wan Kenobi and Anakin figures

Cake layers: For the base I baked two square cakes: one 12" x12" and one 10" x 10". I frosted the bottom layer with chocolate icing. Then I cut the smaller square cake on an angle to serve as the volcano base, placing the triangle in the corner of the larger square and frosting it also.

For more dimension, I mixed a basic store-bought chocolate frosting with black food coloring and streaked it over the base coat of plain store-bought frosting. I used a small icing knife to make some indents in the frosting for the lava rivers

Volcano: My husband was in charge of the volcano. He prepared the Rice Krispy treats according to the directions on the box. Then he spooned the hot mixture into a small greased bowl. Once it cooled, he unmolded it, carved out the center and made some small gouges in the side where the "lava" would flow.

He coated the volcano shape with melted chocolate and once it hardened, he transferred the volcano onto the cake triangle wedge and poured more chocolate over the volcano to set it in place.


Lava: I mixed two shades of orange icing; light and dark. I used my mom's icing recipe. I started by piping on the lighter shade with a star tip and then smoothing that slightly with a cake knife. I added the darker orange in patches with the cake knife.Then I blended in the red and orange gels to give it more depth. I finished it off with some crushed cinnamon sprinkles.

Figures: Rob melted some chocolate slabs and placed the figures in the chocolate.Once the chocolate was set, he placed them on the cake and I streamed some lava around the chocolate to blend it in.


Don't forget to send me pictures if you give it a try! I'll leave you with a few more scenes from the party, including the adorable Yoda pinata that my sister made.


16 comments:

  1. super cute!! I know a few kids that would love that cake.

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  2. I thought it was amazing when I saw the pics... but hearing what went into it makes it 10x more amazing! Great teamwork, Youngs!

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  3. WOW... that puts my most recent birthday cakes to shame... Love it.

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  4. You are all so sweet! I did penguin cupcakes last year, but you won't find them featured here because they were a disaster. Win some, you loose some. Te kids eat the either way!

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  5. My son LOVES this cake!!! I think I might have to attempt it!!! (But not until Sept!!!) So fun!!!

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  6. Wow, this is amazing that I found your post because I have an "order" from my grandson for the duel between Anakin & Obi wan and had no idea how to start. I know how much work went into this cake and it is just what any child would want so kudos to you and your husband. I will definitely try to use your cake as a model for mine and hopefully it will turn out half as spectacular as yours.
    Thanks for the very detailed instructions.

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    1. Hi Vincenta,
      The cake is certainly a labor of love, but the look on the kids faces made it well worth it! Good luck with your grandson's cake. Send me some photos when you are done. I'd love to see it.

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    2. I made the cake this weekend and would like to send you a picture of it but not sure where I can attach the file... let me know. The birthday boy loved it and I had a lot of fun making it.

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    3. I got the photos in my email. It turned out great! Your grandson is adorable!!!

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    4. Thanks again for sharing so generously... I really wanted to have the volcano "erupt" but could only come up with sparklers for it and then gave that idea up as the kids were too close to be safe when lit.

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  7. After looking at hundreds of Star Wars cakes online, my 6-year-old son asked me to make his birthday cake like yours. I just now finished it at 1:30 am (it's the second birthday cake I've made in one day - he has a twin sister!), and I'm really proud of how it turned out. Thanks so much for the inspiration. I used red velvet cake, fudge icing and white icing died orange and covered in Wilton's cake sparkles for the lava. I stacked one round on top of a large sheet cake and cut another round up into smaller rounds and arranged them to make the lava mountain!

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  8. I am so flattered, Ali! I can't imagine making two cakes! So far I've managed to talk both kids into one theme, but it is getting tougher ever year.

    I featured both yours and Annette's pics on my blog today. I love both of your interpretations!

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  10. My son requested a Mustafar battle cake for his 7th birthday. I wondered if anyone had ever made one and low and behold found your post! Thank you for your example. My son and I had a great time working together on it and it was a huge hit at his Star Wars party!

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  11. The cake looks fabulous! I'm so glad that the instructions made sense. published your version on my new website today: http://marieyoungcreative.com/mustafar-star-wars-birthday-cake/ . Thank you for sharing!

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Ooh,a comment! How delightful.

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