Unicorn Birthday Cake Recipe!

With 4 layers of vanilla cake and a mane of buttercream frosting, this Unicorn Cake is perfect for baby showers, birthday parties and any other unicorn-themed celebrations! If you’re looking for a magical and beautiful birthday cake to make someone feel extra special, look no further than this pretty unicorn cake!

Ingredients

For the Rainbow Cake Layers:

  • cups all-purpose flour (600g)
  • cups granulated sugar (600g)
  • tablespoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • teaspoon salt
  • large eggs
  • 1½ cups vegetable oil (360ml)
  • 1½ cups whole milk (360ml)
  • tablespoon vanilla cloud flavoring
  • Food coloring (hot pink, blue bell, yellow and purple)

For the Buttercream:

  • 2 cups unsalted butter softened (454g)
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 10 cups powdered sugar (1200g)
  • ½ cup cream (120ml)
  • teaspoons vanilla cloud flavoring
  • Food coloring (hot pink, blue bell and purple)

Instructions

For the Rainbow Cake Layers:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Prepare four 6-inch round cake silicone mold.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
  3. In another large mixing bowl, combine the eggs, vegetable oil, milk, and vanilla. Whisk until well combined. Pour into the flour mixture and whisk until combined.
  4. Divide the batter among 4 mixing bowls. Color each batter with food coloring to make pink, yellow, blue, and purple batters. Pour a single color batter into each cake pan.
  5. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cakes cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove and finish cooling on a wire rack.

For the Buttercream:

  1. In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter and salt on medium speed until very fluffy and pale, about 5 minutes.
  2. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the confectioners’ sugar a cup at a time, adding a tablespoon of cream at a time throughout mixing. Stop and scrape down the bowl occasionally during mixing. Once all of the sugar is added, beat in the vanilla and add additional cream if the frosting feels grainy when rubbed between your fingers. Increase the speed to medium-low and beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.
  3. Divide the frosting in half. Half will be used for frosting the cake base and half will be further divided into colors for decorating the unicorn mane.
  4. Divide the buttercream frosting into 3 equal bowls (or however many colors you wish to do). Add our oil based food color (hot pink, purple and blue bell) , and mix until the color is even. Add each bowl of frosting into piping bags with desired frosting tips. Set aside until ready to decorate.

How to Make the Unicorn Cake? 

  1. On a rotating cake stand, add a cardboard cake circle, add the first layer (purple), add a little frosting to make a thin layer between the cake layers, add the 2nd layer (blue), and repeat with yellow, and pink cake layers. Use the remaining white frosting to frost the outside of the cake using an offset spatula and cake smoothing comb. To get a smooth surface, you may need to refrigerate the cake before putting the final white layer on, depending on the temperature of the room you are working in.
  2. Now the fun part! Pipe the 3 frosting colors with tips to make the mane and forelock of the unicorn.
  3. Add the unicorn horn cake topper, the eyes, and the ears.
  4. Add Unicorn Sprinkle Mix to the piped flowers on the mane and forelock of the unicorn cake.
  5. This colorful Unicorn Cake will bring magic to any occasion!