Guitar Cake with your top ten bands & artists
We asked what your favorite bands and artists were and after more than 6000 responses we’ve tallied up all the votes and the results are in. This was a fun cake to make. If you’re new to cake decorating, give yourself a couple of days to make it. One to bake the cakes, make the frosting, chocolate and the fondant details and the next day to assemble and decorate the cake.
To make this guitar cake you will need:
Fondant extruder ( you can get them online here )
1500g (52.91 ounces) white fondant
core flute board
fondant smoother
brown, yellow and black gel food coloring
vodka
paintbrush
rice paper printed with edible ink for band logo ‘stickers’ and chromatic tuner (optional)
480g (16.93 ounces) chocolate, tempered
Chocolate Cake
450g (15.87 ounces) of 70% cocoa dark chocolate
715g (25.22 ounces) or 3¼ cups margarine
18 eggs
5 cups or 1080g (38.1 ounces) caster sugar
2¾ cups or 440g (15.52 ounces) plain flour (use GF flour if coeliac, this recipe has been tested with gluten free flour and works well)
2/3 cup or 70g (2.47 ounces) cocoa powder (unsweetened)
3½ tsp baking powder
A double batch of my basic vanilla buttercream
Make some very fine snakes of fondant for the strings, this will be easiest if you use a fondant extruder. Then make some slightly wider ones for the frets. Line these up perfectly straight and leave to dry out.
For the cake, combine the cocoa powder, baking powder and flour using a whisk. Then whisk to aerate and remove any lumps.
Add the chocolate to the margarine and melt in the microwave.
Pour the chocolate mixture into a large mixing bowl and add the sugar and the eggs. Whisk on high speed until smooth.
Turn to low speed and add in your flour, cocoa powder and baking powder mixture. Whisk until it is just combined and you can’t see any more flour.
Split that into three trays and bake until cooked through (15-20 minutes). My trays are 15in (38.1 centimetres) x 10in (25.4 centimetres).
Cut a cake board the shape of the body of the guitar.
Make a mold for the neck, head and support of the guitar using core flute (see the video for instructions).
Melt some chocolate and then temper it. If you haven’t tempered chocolate before please watch this first.
Once that is done pour the tempered chocolate into each mold and then tap it on the bench to smooth out the top. With the smallest box tilt it to one side and support it so that the chocolate sets on an angle.
Roll out some black fondant and using the template cut out the shape of the bridge. Then cut an extra strip of black, place it over the top and trim it to the right size.
Then cut a strip of white for the saddle and add that into place in the centre. Then using your template make indents where the strings go.
Now for the top of the tuners find cut out a circles of black fondant. Roll a snake of black then cut it into short strips. Using a little water add them to the centre of the discs.
For the underneath of the tuning mechanism, cut out a piece of black in the shape shown on the template. Use a piping tip to make an indent at the top and the bottom, then indent a line and another across so it looks like a screw.
Cut another circle of black and squash it slightly, then flatten it on each side to give the shape of the tuning pegs.
Now using a little water, join the base plate the the peg using a snake of fondant. Then take some gold luster dust and brush it all over the black pieces.
Once your cakes are cooled and levelled, cut out the guitar shape using the template.
Add some buttercream to the cake board so the cake doesn’t slip. Then slide the first layer of cake on top of the board. Cover that in a layer of jam spread out thinly, then add a layer of buttercream over the top.
Stack on the remaining two layers in the same manner. Then cover the whole thing in butter cream. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or more.
Take the chocolate out of the container and join the pieces together as shown in the video.
Position the body of the guitar on one end of a long cake board.
Cover the whole thing in fondant. Lift and smooth down the edges all the way around. Cut the excess fondant from around the base of the cake. Use a fondant smoother and your hands to sharpen the corners.
Also add a layer of white fondant and add it to the head of the guitar.
Paint with gel food colour diluted with vodka, brushing it on in long strokes from top to bottom. Then make the colour a bit deeper towards the edges. Then do the same on the sides and on the head of the guitar. While that is still damp add the posts on top.
Using your template mark where the bridge should go. Then add that on top.
Put the neck in place and add a strip of black fondant over the top. Use the template to mark where the sound chamber is and push your cutter down to cut a circle out of the fondant, take out the fondant and buttercream so that it dips down a level. Then add a circle of black. Paint the inside edge with the brown food colour so it looks like wood.
Place a slightly larger circle cutter on top and add a thin snake of cream colored fondant around the cutter. Then just remove the cutter. Add one more slightly bigger circle indent for decoration.
Add a strip of white just below the head and using your template add the indents for the strings. Then mark off where the frets go all the way down the neck. Trim the snake of fondant to the right length for the frets.
Using some chocolate add the tuning pegs into place on the underneath. Then very carefully add the strings into place and trim to length. Use some fresh white fondant to make loops around each peg.
Add your chromatic tuner to the side, then make some fondant details to add on top (see video).
Then finally add your rice paper stickers on top.
My Cookbook
Stores that sell my book listed by country: http://bit.ly/ARcookbook All recipe quantities in the book are in grams, ounces and cups.
Hi how much would you charge for a guitar cake
Thanks for the video and encouragement. It was hard but worth it!
this is amazing, well done!!
Hello,
How many people do you think this will feed?
Also, what size board did you use for the entire cake?
Thanks!
Watched this video with my guitar-loving and HTCT-loving 5yo today, and he was inspired to make you this: (“This is for Ann Reardon.”) He wrote your name in the top spot!
Thanks for hours of fun, and also for teaching my boys a bit about being skeptical on the internet!
Awww, that’s so nice! Thank you & Merry Christmas
Loved this cake. It inspired me to make this guitar cake for my husband.
looks amazing!
The template is only good if your printing. I was not going to I was looking for the measurements and there are none on this … can I get a refund?
I have paid for the template but the pdf does not include a template.
Please can you send me my template.
Hi Ann
Thanks for the amazing tutorial. I have bought the template but I am struggling with scaling it up…was never very good with drawing…I printed it on A4 and it says 1cm :1″…using this the body alone would be 20″ before I put the arm …I have baked 15″by10″ cake sheets…please help 😋
Thank Ann for your step by step super cake tutorial..I made this cake for my son’s 13th Birthday and he was over the moon in excitement. your chocolate cake recipe also tastes awesome.
Hi Chez
Absolutely gorgeous cake…I am trying to make one too, I bought the template the template but I am struggling with the measurements, it’s either too small or too big when I scale it…what were your dimensions please, if you don’t mind me asking
Hi ann, i am going to make this cake for a 21st and i have no idea what to charge for it, any help with this would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks mel
This is an amazing cake!!! I want to make it for my grandson but I have watched the video and read the directions and I don’t see a template anywhere. Is there a printable template available somewhere on your website?
Hi, here’s the template link: https://www.howtocookthat.net/public_html/product/guitar-cake-template/
Hello! I was wondering if, instead of chocolate I could use a rice crispies and marshmallow mixture for the neck?
Hello, this looks amazing. Am I blind or is not here the paper with the shape and size of guitare? I would really like to try this but I cannot without the cardboard or paper with the shape…
Absolutely so helpful and your instagram page is fab just started following you, I’m in de middle of making de guitar ??????
Hello clever lady
I am about to embark on this amazing creation later this week but just have a quick question please……
I always use butter when baking or vegetable oil if the recipe calls for it. Figured I would use your cake recipe so I don’t have to guess whether there will be enough etc so would like to query the margarine.
Are you using this so that you get the same consistency as oil based cakes or that it’s softer out of the fridge?
Just curious to know if butter is ok to use or if margarine is the better option for this one.
Many thanks
Mrs H
Hiya, just wondering how to store it so it dries?
I need to make an acoustic guitar and I wondered roughly how many you would expect to feed from your design. Thanks Susie
I can’t thank you enough, the step by step guide was so easy to use and the cake was amazing. I am so please with the result and so was my son for his 18th birthday!
Sorry, the photo didn’t post the first time. Here it is!
Looks awesome well done Olivia, happy birthday to your husband
Hello, Mrs. Reardon!
Thank you so much for this incredible recipe! It inspired the cake I made for my husband for his last birthday. He plays the banjo, so I used your basic instructions, but made a banjo instead of a guitar! It was a hit!
All the best,
Olivia