3D Minecraft Fondant Birthday Cake
Minecraft is a game where you can explore, create, discover, mine and craft a whole world. In the game it takes patience to build anything. This cake is the same it takes 1,280 tiny fondant squares to make this 3D minecraft logo.
minecraft cake instructions
To start with you will need to make a cake. You can use a packet mix or if you’d prefer homemade like I do, then try either the vanilla cake recipe or the chocolate mud cake. Depending on the depth of your cake tin you will need to make two or three square cakes and then stack them on top of each other, sandwiched with buttercream to make a cube.
The cake I made once trimmed down, before icing was 15cm (5.91 inches) x 15cm (5.91 inches)
Trim down the edges to get an exactly square shape slightly smaller than your template and then smother in buttercream (buttercream recipes are here).
Use paper towel to smooth off you sides and sharpen your corners. See the video for a demonstration on how to do this and the rest of the cake.
You can purchase fondant or make your own, fondant recipe is here. Then you will need to colour it into your greens, browns and grey. If you have not worked with fondant before there is a post on fondant basics here. Allow approx 200g (7.05 ounces) of fondant for each colour.
Print the side template below. Cover it in baking paper and roll out one of your colours to the size of the white square. Using a pizza cutter cut strips and then turn to cut squares. The lines in the blue section will act as you guidelines for this. Repeat with all of your colours.
Click on the link below to download the block template free.
Take another piece of baking paper and lightly grease using butter or margarine or crisco, wipe off any excess with a paper towel. Place one edge of the paper along one edge of the white square on your template and sticky tape into position. Then line up your squares one row at a time to cover the white area, remember to add green squares at the top.
Lightly dampen the fondant using a paintbrush. Slide your baking paper onto something firm but thin, like cardboard. Line up the bottom edge with the base of the cake and then lift up and push into place. Remove the cardboard and use a fondant smoother to flatten, then peel off the baking paper. When you do the top green section do not put water on it, instead put the cardboard on top of it, and flip it over. Then put in position on the cake and slide the cardboard out of the way. Then finish the other sides in the same manner as the first.
If you have left over fondant you can make more squares and use on pieces of cake or chocolate honeycomb squares.
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My son recently requested a Sonic the hedgehog cake and I was inspired to use your minecraft cake as a guide. Unfortunately I ran out of time to do the fondant squares as planned and opted for green coconut and grated chocolate but I’m certain it would look really awesome in fondant! The sonic game has more of a checker board so only 2 greens and 2browns would be needed. Thanks for your amazing creations Ann!
Hi.
When the cake is ready how Can I lift it to the cakeboard?
Hi Gabriella, It is best to assemble the cake on the Board or on something that allows you to transfer it with ease.
Where do I find a template like that? Did you make it or buy it?
Hi Kat, Ann creates her own templates.
Thank you so much for you tutorial. I use your butter icing recipe as well. Your web is so helpful. If not include the cake baking part, I spent around 10 hours to put it together and decorate outside icing. Here is my cake. I am so proud of myself. 🙂
Hi Shellyn, we can’t see the pic but I we are proud of you too! This cake is a great challenge. I hope it was thoroughly enjoyed.
This was my first real time working with fondant. It didn’t turn out perfect and took 28+ hours straight to make (literally), but my 5yr old loved it. Thank you for the help! For a newbie, I was pleased with the results.
It included both your mud and vanill cake recipe along with your chocolate buttercream mixed with ganache as well as your fondant recipe.
I would love tips on keeping those tiny squares fell drying out while you work to cut them all out and then assemble them all. I kept the fondant in cling wrap and zip lock bags until it was time to assemble but assembly still took me quite a while and by the last panel they were so dried out that they had 0 stick left. I ended up brushing them lightly with water just to try to get them to stick enough to finish the panel. That didn’t work great, but as better than nothing.
Also-on the mud cake recipe-I think the grams to cups conversion on the margerine is off. At first I had the cups and that was a LOT, but when I weighed it with grams it was only about 1/2 that much.
Just an FYI.
Thanks for posting and for responding to my question!!
Trying to add the picture. It doesn’t appear to have posted last comment.
Hi Amy, That looks brilliant. Well done!
Thanks Amy. Some brands of fondant will dry out more quickly than others and yes adding a little water to help them stick is the best way to go. The cup measurements given are Australian cups and so quite different from US cups. Maybe that was the issue?? Also margarine can vary greatly as some brands are more whipped and therefore lighter than others.
Is there a ballpark amount of time the fondant portion of this cake might take? Even an idea like 2-3 hours? Or 6-8 hours? Just trying to have a clue. I’ve never worked with fondant before so I know it’ll take me even longer, but I’m wondering about a ballpark
Hi Amy, This is really hard to estimate. If you have never worked with fondant before it will be a challenge, but I would allow a day (6 hours minimum)for the fondant prep. Ann does it pretty quickly but she works with fondant a lot. You can make these panels well ahead, so they have a chance to dry and harden befor putting them on the cake. Check out Ann’s tips for working with fondant before you get started: https://www.howtocookthat.net/public_html/sugar-paste-fondant-cake-decorations/ https://www.howtocookthat.net/public_html/the-great-fondant-review-which-fondant-is-best/
Hi, I love Ann she nails it Everytime!! She makes it so easy to follow with great tips… I was wondering how far in advance could you make the panels and how to store them (just in cling wrap?)..Also in summer is it best to use chocolate Ganache or use buttercream to Cover the cake before the fondant?
Thank you
What is the approximate cook time for the vanilla cake recipe?
Hi Amy, we dont give a specific cooking time as ovens and trays used vary a lot. Ann recommends testing the cake to see if its cooked after about 15 minutes. It usually takes about 15-25 minutes to cook depending on the the trays you use. Ann now has another sponge recipe that she likes to use, so yu may wish to consider that as an alternative to: https://www.howtocookthat.net/public_html/sponge-cake-recipe/
Question on why it needs to be 6×6. Wouldn’t 8×8 be a cube shape also?
I’m wanting to make the inside checkerboard, which requires 4 cakes-chocolate and vanilla (your recipe) dyed to be different shades of brown and green. But I can work out how I would make 4 different cakes perfectly equal a 6×6 cake.
Hi Amy, You can make the cake any size you like but you will need to adjust the recipe accordingly.
Am I understanding correctly-on the how to make the actual cake part-does the recipe provided make 1 single 6×6 cake (approx) and we’ll need 2-3 layers. So would need 2-3 times those ingredients. Is that right?
Hi Amy, If you use packet cakes you will need 3 packets at least- one for each layer. If you are using one of Ann’s recipes, one quantity should make two layers or use one and a half quantities to get 3 good layers.
Sorry-another question.
When buying the food coloring gel-which basic colors could I buy to then mix at what amounts to get the various needed colors?
Hi Amy, Ann suggests a starting point would be emerald green, black and brown gel colours to colur your fondant. You could make most shades from those 3. You may find it easier to buy black fondant rather than use the gel.
Thank you so much for your quick replies.
A few additional questions: is there an average prep time for making/coloring the fondant and then average time for cutting/assembling? Doesn’t need to be precise as I’m sure it could vary greatly depending on skill level. I’m just trying to get a ball park or range of time for planning.
If making our own fondant, is there one that is typically easier to work with for beginners for this type of project? There is no way my spouse is going to let me spend the $ for the ingredients to make multiple types of fondant to try out, so I’ll have one shot to make some and make the best of it.
What size is this cake once complete? And will it transport well?
If adding ganache to the butter cream recipe, do you recommend making the regular/standard buttercream recipe that she provides then adding the ganache or making the chocolate buttercream recipe and adding the ganache?
Thanks again for all of your help and for posting such a great instruction tool! Someone wanted to charge $250 to make this same cake. We thought my son just wouldn’t get the cake he wanted until I found this. Fingers crossed it doesn’t turn into a disaster! (Which would be due to my skills if it did. Your instructions are solid)
Hi Amy, as this fondant work is fiddly, we recommend setting aside at least a day to make the panels. read the comments of other people who made and they often say it took longer than they thought. In terms of fondant, Ann has tested some common brands to see which is better to work with: BUT brands can vary from contry to countr so we can’t recommend a particular one. Best option is to chat to others and see what they like, then buy some and experiment with it and see if you find it easy to work with. The finished cake is about 16cm x 16cm x16cm. Its stability is pretty good, though transporting any cake can be a challenge. If you are concerned about the panels staying in postition, you could put some non-stick baking paper around the four sides to hold them in place during transit. Usually Ann would make a chocolate buttercream and and add the ganache to it.
Is icing sugar and confection/powdered sugar the same thing for fondant making purposes?
Hi Amy, These are all the same thing, just called by different names in different regions. It is just white sugar that is refined until it is powdery. It should have nothing else added.
Is glucose syrup the same as kyro corn syrup for fondant making purposes or will it mess things up?
Hi Amy, Glucose syrup is very similar to light corn syrup and can be used as a replacement. I believe Karo is a brand name.
A few questions as I’m going to attempt this for my son’s birthday party and am not a highly skilled baker, much less decorator.
-Which type of fondant did you use and do you recommend it for amateurs or a different one? (I’ve made and worked with fondant only once before, 5 years ago and it did not go well. No clue which fondant it was)
-Which buttercream recipe did you follow or does it matter?
-I’d like to try to add the ganache to the buttercream just to make it more over the top delicious. Does it really improve the taste? And is it advisable to add that when putting fondant over top of it?
-I have 8X8 glass baking pans. Will those work for this?
Hi Amy, Ann doesnt recommend a particular brand of fondant as they vary from region to region. You will find a fondant test that she did here: https://www.howtocookthat.net/public_html/the-great-fondant-review-which-fondant-is-best/ . Ultimately it is best to choose one that you find easy to work with and you will need to try a few till you find one you like. In most of Ann’s recipes she likes to mix buttercream and ganache and frost the cake before adding the fondant. She finds it tastes better and works well. Here is a typical example and it has recipes for buttercream and ganache: https://www.howtocookthat.net/public_html/disney-cinderella-cake/. Use what ever cake tins you have, though keep in mind that you will need to trim the sides and top to get a nice square finish. If using 8 x8 inch pans, you will may waste a fair bit of cake. Perhaps save it for another dessert.
I was just wondering how big are you little squares? thanks
Hi Stacey, There is a template for this on the blog page that you can download. If you ensure that it is printed at 100% and not scaled, it will give you exact measurements.
Hi Ann, thank you for this tutorial is great! I’m gonna try to make it for my son’s birthday and i have a question: if i make the squares one day in advance how should i store them? Thank you!
Hi Miriam, . Ann has commented previously that you could make and assemble the fondant squares and keep them uncovered at room temp. But, Be aware that the squares may dry out which may make them harder to get onto the cake. They may not stay in place as well when transferring to the cake. Other subscribers have made the small squares in advance and assembled on the day, with good results. Let us know how you go.
Nice video
Any advise on how to cut this cake for serving? Also, how many servings do you get from a 6 inch cubed cake?
Hi Diane, Ann’s cake serves about 25. She recommends cutting a rectangular slice across the cake and then cut that slice into the desired number of serves.
Good job, well done. I cannot find the link for the template, please help, thank you
I don’t see the link for the template as well(?)