I’ve had some people ask me for instructions on how I made my Elmo cake, or for more information on the details. Unfortunately due to the disorganized way it was created I forgot to take photos along the way as I have for some of the other cakes, so in lieu of showing progress pics I thought I’d write a bit about how I made it and share the plans I created.
The first step is to plan the cake and make the stand. The size of the cake depends somewhat on the number of people it needs to serve. My Elmo cake needed to serve at least 40 people, so it’s larger than you would need if you were only serving 20 people. I also like to err on the larger side, as I like decent sized servings rather than the smaller wedding cake sized serves which are often used as guides for these kinds of cakes, and it’s always better to have a bit too much than not have enough. With sculpted cakes it’s also important to keep in mind that sometimes as much as half the amount of cake that you start with gets cut away, and so your plans need to allow for that.
As well as the main cake, I’d originally planned to have more cupcake sized blocks and toys around the cake that could have been given to the kids at the party which boosts the serving numbers too.
Also when planning, the size and type of your cake pans come into play. My original idea was to use a pudding tin and a small Pyrex bowl for Elmo’s body. Everything else was planned around that size and I think ended up a bit bigger than I needed. I could have adjusted the plans to use different pans, or cut more cake away, but I didn’t mind making it bigger than it needed to be for the sake of ease. I prefer to let the cake tins dictate as much as possible, leaving less cutting and sculpting, and less margin for error.
Making The Stand
Once I’d determined the size and basic shape of the cake it was time to design the stand. This cake had originally been intended for a party 2 hours drive away. The head makes it quite top heavy so the stand needed to be designed well to make sure the cake didn’t fall over. The other consideration for the stand was that I wanted the smash cake to be removable so it could be lifted off and given to the birthday boy, but it needed to be sturdy enough not to move until then.
I had decided to use rice crispies for the arms and legs, with coat hanger wire support for the legs. I figured the icing should be able to hold the arms in place without needing extra support. Now I’ve made the legs a bit fancy, with his knees bent and having each leg at a slightly different angle. You can make it easier for yourself by having his legs straight on the board which means you wouldn’t need the wire supports.
The resulting stand consists of the base which is 40cm in diameter, a dowel up the center of Elmo’s body and head and a dowel to hold up the smash cake. The dowel up the center is made up of a 12mm width dowel up to the neck, then a disk to hold the weight of the head with a 9mm width dowel up through the head. The two dowels are held together by drilling a hole in the end of each and attaching them with a short piece of coat hanger wire. This makes a very strong joint that won’t break, but that can be easily pulled apart when cutting the cake or dismantling the stand. There is a 30cm piece of coat hanger wire for each leg, bent into shape and then placed into holes drilled into the cake board.
Now we get into the manly part of making cakes, the cake stand. We need a range of power tools for this job, including a jigsaw, a drill, a sander, a small saw for cutting the dowel and PVC pipe, pliers for bending the wire, and pliers or wire cutters for cutting the wire.
The materials I used were:
- 16mm MDF for the cake board
- 3mm MDF for the support disks
- 12mm dowel
- 9mm dowel
- 12mm PVC pipe
- 2 wire coat hangers
First step was to cut the 16mm MDF into a 40mm circle. I did this using a jigsaw, but you may be able to buy one ready made or get the hardware store to do it for you.
I printed the image on the right on an A4 piece of paper and taped it to the cake board with the cross at the center of the board (Click here for a letter sized version. Print both at 150dpi). I could then drill the holes I needed in the cake board using this as a guide without needing to measure it all up. It needs a 12mm hole for Elmo’s dowel, halfway through the board, a 12mm hole for the smash cake dowel, halfway through the board, and 2mm holes for the wire leg supports. In the middle of each dowel hole there should be enough of a hole through the board for a screw to come up through the bottom.
Note: Your cake board doesn’t have to be round like mine. It can be any shape as long as the circles and holes of the plan fit on it.
Next I cut the dowels to length. One 12mm dowel to 175mm long, one 9mm dowel to 100mm long and another 12mm dowel to 125mm long. I sanded the tips of the two shorter dowels into a sort of rounded point. I drilled a 2cm hole in the middle of each end of the long 12mm dowel, and in the flat end of the other two dowels (Before drilling it might be worthwhile testing the coat hanger wire in an off cut to make sure it fits very snugly in the hole. If not then try different sized drill bits until you find the best fit).
The PVC pipe is used to hold up the mini board for the smash cake. It slides down over the dowel and the mini board rests on it. I cut the PVC pipe on an angle so the smash cake would sit on an angle. You can do this too or cut it straight if you want the smash cake to sit flat.
I cut three disks from the 3mm MDF to make the supports for the head, the mouth, and the mini board:
- One 85mm in diameter to support the head. The 85mm disk needs a 2mm hole drilled in the center so the wire connecting the dowels can go through it as it rests on the larger dowel of the body.
- One 150mm in diameter to support the mouth. The 150mm disk needs a 9mm hole drilled into the center so it’ll slide over the head dowel.
- One 110mm in diameter for the mini cake board. The 110mm mini cake board needs a 12mm hole drilled into the center so it’ll slide over the thicker dowel, resting on the PVC pipe. If you want it to sit at an angle you may need to widen the center hole a little to accommodate that. You don’t want this one too tight either, as it’ll need to slide off when you remove the smash cake.
Finally straighten the coat hangers and cut each to 30cm. From one of the off cuts, cut a straight piece around 4 cms long.
Putting it all Together
Start by sticking the 175mm long 12mm dowel into the Elmo hole in the board and secure it with a screw through the bottom. Position the 85mm disk over the top and stick the short piece of wire through the disk and into the hole in the dowel. Slide the 9mm dowel over the wire, and it should all be tight and sturdy.
Stick the other 12mm dowel into the smash cake hole and secure it with a screw through the bottom. Slide the PVC pipe over the dowel and slide the smash cake disk over the dowel.
Make any adjustments necessary to ensure it’s all sturdy and secure.
Next I used the image on the right, printed on an A4 piece of paper, as a guide for bending the coat hanger wire. Using pliers I bent the 30cm lengths of wire into shape following the top and side pics for each leg.
Once the wire is in shape place each end into the holes in the board. Adjust the bends if necessary to ensure a snug fit.
The stand is now pretty much complete. There should be a 150mm disk left over, but we’ll put that in position when we stack the cake. Make sure you wobble the head dowel a bit to make sure it’s in no danger of falling off, as the head will be quite heavy. The small disk will be enough to hold the weight, and the dowel should stop it toppling off.
Making The Icing
Hang on, we haven’t even started making the cake yet, what am I doing talking about the icing? Well here’s the thing about icing. Apparently when making icing, it needs to age if you want a rich deep color. Pastel colors can be made and applied straight away, but richer colors set in over the course of a few days. So I’ve read that it’s best to make the icing at least 3 days in advance.
The trouble with this theory is that it’s hard to know when you’ve used enough coloring. For my icing I may have used too much as he ended up darker red than I’d intended. I guess, like many things, it comes down to experience. For now I’ll tell you how much I used, and how much I’d try when I need to do it again and you can experiment a bit yourselves.
Butter Cream Icing using Copha (shortening)
The recipe is basically the same as traditional butter cream icing, replacing the butter with copha.
Beat 125g copha until thick and peaks form. Add 1 1/2 cups icing sugar half a cup at a time. Add 2 tablespoons of milk if necessary.
Generally I’ll add some milk for a crumb coat, but not much if any for the outer coat. But you can essentially use any combination of butter and copha to make up the 125g if you don’t need it to be quite so solid, or your prefer the taste of the buttery base.
When it comes to coloring icing and especially fondant, it’s best to use concentrated gels instead of the liquid food coloring available from most supermarkets. Liquid colors tend to alter the consistency of fondant when used in quantities enough for anything other than very pastel colors. So if you can find the concentrated gels online or in specialty cooking or cake shops then use them instead.
The other reason to make the icing early is the fondant covered blocks if you choose to include them. They can be made up to a week early (or a month early if using rice crispies for them instead of cake) so you’re not doing everything at the last minute. I make my own fondant, but for something like this it’s just as easy to use store bought fondant if you wish. But again, for richer colors it’s best to make it a few days before you use it.
As I mentioned in the previous blog entry, I’d decided to use copha as a base for the butter cream icing, instead of butter, mainly because the cake would be outside on a warm day, possibly even in direct sunlight. The reason for this is that copha has a much higher melting point, and is harder when it’s solid. With the change of party plans, the cake ended up in the shade on not too warm a day so I didn’t get to test my theory fully. But I can safely say that the icing ended up much more solid than traditional butter based icing, and I do believe it would have held up under the sun considerably better.
Marshmallow Fondant
Also known as MM Fondant. I originally got the recipe and instructions from this very informative site:Fondant 101.
I’ve adjusted the amounts to suit Aussie measures, so I use 500g marshmallows (2 packs of Pascall’s Mega-mallows), 1 kg icing sugar, and 2 tablespoons of water.
I think I ended up making 3 batches of butter cream icing for the filling and crumb coat, and 3 batches for the fur. I ran out of icing for the fur, so I’d recommend making 4 batches for the fur for an Elmo this size. The crumb coat doesn’t have to be as deep in color as the fur coat, so you can use less color in the crumb coat icing. For the fur icing I used most of a 1 oz jar of Wilton’s Red concentrated gel, but next time I’d try around 1/2 a jar, as it reached a point when mixing that it didn’t change color no matter how much gel I put in. I think next time when I reach that color I’ll stop and see how that goes once it’s set in.
For the fondant, one batch should be enough depending on the number of blocks and toys you want to make, and you can either buy ready made chocolate or black fondant for the inside of the mouth, or you can make up another 1/2 batch. It’ll be easiest to color the fondant as we go since each block doesn’t need very much colored fondant, and it’ll be best to have lots of different colored blocks.
Thanks for reading this far. In the next installment I’ll talk about making and carving the cakes, making and molding the rice crispy arms, legs, eyes and nose, creating the blocks, and possibly get as far as piping the fur.
Continue to How I Made an Elmo Cake… Part 2…
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Hello, your Elmo cake is gorgeous!
Just wondering where abouts you are from, My daughter is turning 2 in July and she love’s Elmo, Was going to ask if I could pay you to make a cake like the one you have posted.
Hi Kerstin,
I’m afraid I don’t make cakes for other people. Most cake shops can make Elmo cakes for you though. If you want one just like this you can always give them the web address.
Best of luck,
jonny
I just have to say, this cake, and all of your cakes, are pretty amazing. My daughters first birthday is in less than two weeks and I am attempting a replica of your beautiful Elmo for her Sesame Street birthday. While I have been experimenting with cakes, fondant, and sculpting, this is going to be my first 3D cake, and I just have one question. If I were to make the legs out of cake and position them flat on the board, then put the cake close to it, when I get to that point, could I fill a space like that with icing?
Thanks Tiera,
Yep, you could easily make the legs out of cake. I’d set the body up first, then add the legs and feet. Cut the legs where they join the body at the right angle to minimise any gaps, then glue them together with icing.
Hello there:
Just wanted to say your cakes are super. i hope you don’t mind, but I’m going to need to do a replica (kind of) is that going to be ok. I promise you will get credit for the idea and process.
Hi Jonny,
Have just made up my buttercream icing a few days in advance. I know this might be a tricky question to answer, but can you tell me how red your icing went when you first mixed it? I have used 500 gm of butter, about a kilo of icing sugar and 6 tablespoons of butter. I added 1 1/2 containers of Wilton Concentrated Paste, and the best way I can describe my icing is a deep salmon colour. Can you tell me if yours was similar when you first made it? I think your final red colour was PERFECT! I will be using the icing in about 3 days.
Thank you!!!!
Julie
Ah, the red icing, what fun…
Mine also got to that same deep salmon color, and no matter how much more coloring I put in there it just wouldn’t change. I stopped adding color after a bit over a container of wilton concentrate (I ended up using most of a jar of red, a good amount of pink, and some liquid red from the supermarket), figuring he’d just have to be pink.
So I ended up leaving it in the fridge for not just 3 days, but 6 weeks, and I was quite disheartened that the color still hadn’t shifted, it was still exactly the same color as when I first made it.
Luckily as it turned out, the color all came through as the icing heated up. So as you’re piping and the icing is being warmed by your hands, it will soften quite a bit, and considerably deepen in color. As it cools on the cake it will retain its color, but set a bit harder.
I tried to find out some insider tricks to how much color to use to get a nice deep color without going too far (my Elmo was a little darker red than I wanted) but didn’t have much luck. I guess it’ll just come down to more experimentation…
You can read a little more about the icing adventure here:
http://www.zerogravity.com.au/blog/2008/12/rani-and-elmo-cakes/
Best of luck Julie
Hi Jonny
You’re cake is absolutely amazing!!! I am so impressed but sure I will never be able to make anything like it!!
I am making a red cake this week and wanted to make a small amount of red marshmallow fondant for the top. Probably about a fist size. I just wanted to confirm that your recipe states 500g marshmallows, 1kg of icing sugar and only 2 tbs of water.. Can I halve this recipe and do I just add the red colouring once its all melted?
This is the only website I’ve been able to find that has the aussie quantities and was never sure what “chrisco shortening was”…
Also, are you a pastry chef by trade or just incredibly creative?! I’m curious and have passed on to many friends to show off your talent!
Gem
Thanks Gem,
Yep you certainly can. Just watch it in the microwave, as it’ll take less time to melt with less ingredients.
You know I’m still not sure that chrisco is exactly the same as copha, but copha hasn’t done me wrong so far.
I’m just an animator who likes making creative cakes for my kids
Hi Jonny,
Just wanted to say thanks for your advice on the red icing, and also all your other tips along the way! I’m pleased to say my Elmo turned out really well! It wasn’t quite as adventurous as yours, but it was a design out of my head which was enough for me! You were right about the icing. My salmon-coloured icing definitely turned out red! Quite amazing really – almost like magic! I’m surprised Wilton don’t provide you with information about this, as had it not been for your blog I probably would have chucked out the bowl of salmon icing and ended up doing a green Dorothy cake or something!!! Thanks again Jonny, and happy cake-making!
Best wishes,
Julie
Jonny
Ps. I only just thought to look through the rest of your website…!?! WOW I am absolutely speechless, you are incredibly talented and imaginative!
Gem
Dear Johnny ,
I was thinking about making a banana choc chip cake .I don’t know if you have any experience with Banana cakes but i was wondering since i would be using real bananas in the cake do you think there would be a problem with freezing it ? Let me know if you have any idea thanks soo much .Also do you think a banana cake would be to heavy for something like this cake ?
Thank you so much i really appreciate you taking the time to answer me back .
Hi. Great work! you have a really great talent.
I am going to attempt to make your elmo cake in the “ollie” character of sesame street. Can you please gve me a suggestion on how to do his hair?
Julie, you’re most welcome. Amy has posted some very interesting information on coloring icing in the Rani and Elmo Cakes post. It makes a lot of sense, and I’ll definitely follow her advice next time.
Thanks Gem.
Amanda, there shouldn’t be any problem with freezing, but the bananas may weaken the cake. That along with the heaviness might not be a great combination. I’d say, make sure you mix the banana in really well, and perhaps use the banana cake for the lower sections, or parts that are very well supported.
Thanks Ange. If you include the bulk of the hair shape in the cake, you’ll need less icing to decorate it. You could do his hair with icing and a grass tip. Otherwise rolled strands of fondant could also work…
OMG I LOVE DAT CAKE!!!!!!!!
Thank you so much for the very detailed information on how to make an elmo cake. I stumbled upon your website after searching for an idea on how to make Elmo’s head without buying the Wilton Elmo-Face-Pan. Your Elmo cake is truly beautiful and thanks so much for the idea of making a Rice -Krispies cake and the different links you gave on this write-up on to make Fondant and making an Elmo cake out of Rice Krispies. Keep up the good work.
If you were to make this cake… how much do you think you would charge for it? It is AMAZING… I never know how to price cakes, I always do a ton of work for NO MONEY… I was just curious what you thought you might charge if you made it? ~Stephanie
Thank you very much Yinka, I’m glad you found it helpful.
Hi Stephanie,
I honestly have no idea how much I’d charge. I don’t think I’d ever be able to charge enough to cover the time. But that’s also because each cake I make is very different. If I had access to a bakery and made a bunch of Elmo cakes the same as this one now, I might be able to get the time down to something workable.
That was an awesome cake!!!
Cakes awesome!!!
Hi Jonny,
Thanks for the inspiration. I have one question re the dowel for the body/head. Is there a reason why you used two pieces and not one piece? One long piece would have given it more strength?
Shane
woooooow that cake is amazing!!!!
im a girl by the way just in case anyone thought wrong about this lol
im inlove with elmo and cookie monster<3 im turning 15 on december 15th and i was looking for cake ideas. i found your cake and i love it but i think im going to make cupcakes intead. its funny how i still love my favorite childhood characters but thats ok
Thanks for your plan of attack.
I just made Elmo for my neice and she loved it. I would not have attempted it without your plan and reading your handy hints. I am a bit sad to open my spare fridge and not seeing Elmo smiling back at me.
Thanks again
Jonny; if I do the calculation correctly; the two dowels going up Elmo’s body = 275 mm which converts to almost 11 inches – is that correct? The cake looks much bigger in the pictures.
Also did you use a box cake mix or did you use a more dense cake recipe?
Hi Shane,
The head is very heavy and needs to be supported or it’ll crush the body. Connecting the dowels like that makes a very strong connection, with the added benefit of creating a strong platform for the head support.
Thanks Dylan, my fav is Oscar. I might get a chance to make him for my son in a couple of years.
Glad to be of help Clare, well done. It is always a little sad afterwards…
That’s right Kelly, about 11 inches. The actual cake is a bit higher though, probably 13-14″.
The cake recipe I use can be found here:
How I Made an Elmo Cake Part 2
Jonny,
This cake is amazing and I am going to try to make it for my niece’s 2nd birthday. I was wondering if you painted the cakeboard gold and if so, what did you use that would make it non-toxic?
Thank you for the pictures. They are inspiring!
Jill
Hiya! I see that this blog was from a year ago, but I stumbled upon your site when looking for advice with working with Rice Krispy Treats. Your cakes are awesome!
I have done many fondant cakes, but nothing with any real structure involved. I am making a full size, upright guitar cake for my husband’s bday and have made a wooden cake base and neck to build on. I am wondering what you keep the cake and structural stuff separated by? Or is everything you use food safe? I just used wood, so I’m debating over what to cover it all in before applying cake and cereal treats.
Hope to hear from you soon! Thanks for sharing your techniques… very helpful!
Renee
Hi I love ur cake it is so beutiful I was wondering if u can make me one its for my son his turning 3 on 5/28/2010 how much would you charge me to make me one
Great Cake!!! Thanks for all the ideas its given me tips on how i can make a 3D Makka Pakka cake for my son’s 2nd birthday. I agree the cakes take forever to make but the look on kids faces is so worth all the effort.
Hi Jonny,
im going to make a trial cake before my son’s first in September, do you have any tips in cutting out the disc’s from MDF board? i’ve gone to hardware shops around where i live and no one will cut them for me, so i am left to cut them by myself.
and also could i use the boards again for when i do the cake again in September?
ta Aisa
Hi Jonny,
AMAZING – and you make it sound almost achievable.
I have been inspired to ditch my Wizard of Oz idea and go back to Elmo for my daughter’s 2nd birthday. It is not until December but I like to be organised and will be doing all the cooking for her birthday and Christmas myself, so – how early do you think you can make the cakes, the buttercream icing, the blocks and then ice Elmo? Does buttercream icing freeze? I am keen to get started ASAP.
Melanie
[...] from a couple of cakes I found on the interwebs, crazy cakes on flickr, and this one from Zero Gravity. Mine didn’t come out nearly as good as either of these two, but I think i did pretty well [...]
Hi Jonny, great instructions and diagrams. Just out of curiosity, I’m wondering if you are a professional cake designer decorator or is just about giving your kids the most awesome cake around? :p
Is it food safe to have
coathanger wire in cake?!
If a bare coat hanger is exposed to an edible part then it can be a good idea to cover it in foil. When making cakes for others when you don’t know which parts will be eaten, then it’s best to play it safe and cover all the wire (except for the bits inside the dowels).
In the case of Elmo I used plastic covered coat hanger wire, which was washed ahead of time, so it was just as safe as the other elements of the armature
Thanks Jess, I just make cakes for my kids
I just made this cake, thanks to your instructions. It turned out great and my friend’s daughter loved it! Thanks so much for posting these detailed instructions. I feel like a whole new world of cake building has been opened to me!
Hi! Awesome cake! I know you made this cake a long time ago, but I was wondering what size of pans you used and how many cakes you had to make. I wanted to try and make a cake like this but I am stuck on the sizes.
Thanks
Hi there!
Your cake is amazing! I’m attempting it for my son’s 2nd birthday coming up. I’m confused with the paper sizing of A4 though. It seems to print everything smaller. Everything I’ve googled, A4 paper seems to be 8.27″ x 11.69″. Is that what you used? Thanks!
Hi there!
Your cake is amazing! I’m attempting to make it for my son’s 2nd birthday coming up. I am having trouble with the paper size though. Was your A4 paper 8.3″x11.7″ because that seems to be all I find when I google the size of A4 paper which seems to make the circles much too small. Thanks for your help!
I was wondering if you could tell me how you went about printing out the stand patterns on the A4 paper and got them to come out to the correct size for the base board, when I print mine out it only covers about 1/4 of the page. Any help would be appreciated! By the way, excellent job on the Elmo cake, my daughter and myself are making it for my granddaughters 2nd birthday (I’m making the stand). Thanks in advance.
Thanks Chrissy. Check out part 2 which describes the cake tins and sizes I used.
Hi Megan, that’s the right size. If you print the image at 150dpi it will print at the right size on A4 or letter.
Oops. I was just making a letter sized version of that image and realized that I had the labels the wrong way around. The top one is Elmo and the bottom one is the smash cake.I’ve updated the image with the correct labels now and added a letter sized version. Thanks for noticing
Thanks Kelly. You can tell the printer to scale the image to fit the page, or print at 150dpi.