May the Force Be With You: Star Wars Cake
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Long, long ago, in a galaxy far, far away, there was a birthday cake that every Jedi dreamed of…. In honor of Sunday, May the Fourth, here’s a fun cake to make.
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Once upon a time, I had four little boys who were infatuated with all things Star Wars. They knew all the story lines; they had memorized which style light saber belonged to which jedi; they played Star Wars in some form every single day.
It was a really sweet time. I think back on it and smile. They loved that universe to play in!
We never spent big bucks on costumes, but the boys used great imagination to make what they had work. We even got little sis into the action.
My kids learned the definitions of the words: senate, rebel, and alliance before they were seven. For some before they were even three.
Not every family is into the space/fantasty/super hero thing. I get that. I never was until I became mom to these kids. Nowadays, this is how I roll.
And when one of the big boys wanted a Star Wars birthday party…. well, honestly, I resisted. It was the Revenge of the Sith era. Anakin/Darth Vader was so…. icky — and bad at acting.
Eventually, I gave in. And I made this cake. The boys were over the moon thrilled with the lava and the chocolate rocks and Anakin and Obi-Wan duking it out in such a sad scene. (Forget the fact that the fumes from the volcano would have killed them both; this is George Lucas, right?)
The FishMama of today gasps a little at ALL THE SUGAR and BRIGHT RED FOOD COLORING. I think if I were making it today, I would use natural dyes or crush up naturally colored candies. I think there’s a way to make it work from canned as well as natural/homemade products. My kids were SOOO into this theme, I would have definitely made it work.
Here is our family’s Star Wars fascination, circa 2006, represented in sugar: the volcano scene from Episode III. You could easily remove the Star Wars guys and transform this volcano cake to another theme, such as dinosaurs.
Related:
- A Death Star Birthday Cake
- Make Birthdays Special
- Birthday Traditions to Make Your Child Smile
Recipe: Revenge of the Sith Star Wars Birthday Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cake mixes, prepared according to package directions shortening or non-stick spray or your favorite cake recipe
- small Pyrex mixing bowl or other oven-safe mixing bowl
- round cake pan
- 3 small loaf pans
- cake board
- aluminum foil
- 1 batch Buttercream Frosting, dyed red
- 1 batch Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
- candy rocks and pebbles
- red hots or other red candies
- red sprinkles
- chocolate bars
- Star Wars action figures (Anakin, Obi-Wan)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven according to recipe directions.
- Grease the small pyrex mixing bowl, the three mini loaf pans, and the round cake pan. Fill each 1/2 to 2/3 full with the prepared cake batter. Bake according to recipe directions. Since your cakes are differing sizes, check often for doneness, starting at 20 minutes and then every 10 minutes or so after that. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes once you’ve removed them from the oven. Remove from pans and cool completely.
- Wash and dry the toys well. Make sure no water is present in the nooks and crannies as this will mess up your frosting.
- Cover your cake board with aluminum foil, if desired. Place your cakes on the board. In one corner you will place the round cake layer. Cover with a thin layer of chocolate frosting and top with the cake baked in the small pyrex bowl. This will be your volcano. Scatter your loaf cakes around the board.
- Frost your cakes with chocolate frosting.
- Pipe the red frosting from the top of the volcano down to the ground and then around the board for “lava” and spread it thinly with a knife or spatula. It doesn’t need to be perfectly smooth; it’s lava. Sprinkle red hots and red sprinkles over lava.
- Scatter candy rocks and pebbles about. Kids love to do this!
- Place chocolate bars floating in the lava.
- Place your fighting action figures.
Preparation time: 40 minute(s)
Cooking time: 30 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 12
My rating
What would you use for the red now? Would you just add something to the buttercream, or totally approach this anew?
I would use natural dyes or crush up naturally colored candies over the buttercream, probably. We are entering birthday season, so we will see…. 😉