My Little Pony Cake Rainbow Dash

My little pony, my little pony. What is friendship all about? If you know the song, sing along and get baking because this cake will be popular in your household. It’s covered in m&m’s and only the tiniest bit of fondant for the details. And I’ve developed a brand new frosting recipe for you try.
To make the My Little Pony Cake you will need
Serves 35 people.
If you would like it to serve less people make half the quantity of cake and only make it one layer high.
Cake
1 1/2 quantities of chocolate cake baked into 3 trays 15inch (38.1 centimetres) x 10inch (25.4 centimetres) x 1inch (2.54 centimetres)
Jello frosting recipe
2 packets jello (jelly) 85g (3 ounces) each preferably blue for this cake but can be any flavour.
750millilitres (25.36 fluid ounces) cream (35% fat) (what type of cream should I use)
700g (24.69 ounces) compound white chocolate
Here is a brand new frosting recipe that I invented for you.
Place the powdered jelly into a saucepan and add the cream. Give it a good stir and leave it unheated for around 5-10 minutes for the gelatin to bloom.
Turn on the heat and stir until all the gelatin and the sugar are dissolved and it just starts to boil.
Turn off the heat and add the compound white chocolate, stir until melted.
Pour into a bowl and place in the fridge for a couple of hours to chill. Whip it up and you’ll get a beautiful smooth fluffy frosting in the colour and flavour of your jello.
M&M’s
360g (12.7 ounces) pale blue M&M’s
270g (9.52 ounces) blue and 75g (2.65 ounces) blue mini M&M’s
90g (3.17 ounces) yellow and 15g (0.53 ounces) mini yellow M&M’s
90g (3.17 ounces) red and 15g (0.53 ounces) mini red M&M’s
90g (3.17 ounces) green and 15g (0.53 ounces) mini green M&M’s
135g (4.76 ounces) orange and 15g (0.53 ounces) mini orange M&M’s
90g (3.17 ounces) purple M&M’s or smarties
Cover the cake board in foil and add one and a half tray cakes, cover in a thin layer of frosting and then another layer of 1½ cakes.
Print out a picture of rainbow dash cake size. Place it on the cake and cut around it using a serrated knife.
Cover the whole cake in a thin crumb coat of frosting and then once that has set add another layer of frosting over the top.
Add the M&M’s starting with mini m&m’s for the outline
Make the eye and rainbow on the hip from fondant, see video for instructions. Add into place on the cake.
by Ann Reardon How To Cook That
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.
Can you make this cake the night before and leave in the fridge? My daughters party is at 9.30 am.
Thank you
I would also like to know the answer to this! My daughter’s party is at 3PM this Saturday, though.
Hi Loretta, I have refrigerated this cake without issue. I do know that some people have found that the color can bleed from their chocolate beans into the frosting if left too long or if there has been too much condensation on the cake. It all depends on the beans and your fridge. If you are concerned, you might want to bake and frost the day prior and then add the beans on the day of.
Thanks so much.
I just want to use a box cake mix like Betty Crocker super moist. I used two boxes and it came out smaller than expected split three ways. What do you suggest? Thanks!
Hi Bethany, If you want to use a boxed cake mix, then you will need more than 2. How many you will need will depend on the brand and you will need to experiment, but knowing that Ann’s cake recipe is very generous it would probably be about the equivalent of 6 or 7. If you want to a shortcut, order an un-decorated cake slab from a your supermarket or baker and then shape and decorate at home.
Hi,
I have multiplied the cake recipe by 1.5 and used the 3 x size tin that was recommended and the cake came out fudgey / almost like a brownie. Where did I go wrong?
Hi Laura, This chocolate cake recipe is definitely not brownie like, so it suggests that something went awry with your ingredients. The cake should be chocolatey and moist but not dense like a brownie.
Hi, can you please tell me where to get the pale blue m&ms?
Hi Cindy, Ann actually purchased mixed packets of M&M’s that were available at the time, which included pale blue m&m’s. You can get bulk quantities of similar candies from online cake decorating or candy stores..
Hi!
I just made the cake and it turned out great for about 30 minutes until the color from m&m’s started running down the frosting. Is there a fix for this? Am I using too much or not enough about something? Otherwise a great cake!
Hi Julia, Are you sure tou used M&m’s?? They are known for not running!!
Could the icing be used like buttercream to ice a tiered cake? Love the blue color without using gel color… how much icing would be needed for a two tier cake?
Hi Val, Yes you can use this to frost a tiered cake but how much you would need will all depend on the size of your cake tiers. If the surface area would be similar to this cake then use the quantity above.
Hello, I am planning on making this cake very soon! 🙂 what I would like to know is…. The rainbow dash cake templet find in this recipe…. I have printed this out on A4 paper. Is that the correct size? Would this size make a cake that serves 35 pieces? It looks quite small to me…
I am really looking forward to hear from you. 🙂
Kind regards, Janneke
Hi Janneke, Yes you print the template out on a4 paper. It should easily make 35 serves once it is finished. Of course it all depends on how big the serves are!
Hi there, I have printed out the template on A4 paper, but it is substantially smaller that the one used in the video, comparing it to the size of the sheet cakes as measured. I thought perhaps you might just have tiny hands, but no, I got out the tape measure and the pattern measures just over 10 inches wide by 9 inches high, and the top right hand piece of the pattern only goes to about the middle of the piece of A4. I might just try to size it up myself freehand as I need a bigger cake for a party I’m planning, but if you could recheck your pattern and files and post the correct sized version, that’d be amazing!
Hi Kitty, I have just printed off the template from the web page to check it and it prints as 4 x A4 pages where the image overlaps in the middle when the pages are joined together making the image about 12 inches long and 12 inches high. The finished cake ends up a little larger and of course with several layers, but the sizing is correct. Just check your printer isn’t scaling the image and is printing it at 100%. If you need a larger cake you could try doubling the size, though be away you will need lots more M& M’s!
My cake
Looks great Michelle! Well done. I hope that the recipient loved it too!
Hi Michelle, your cake looks awesome! Did you use the printable template from this website? If so what size paper did you print out the rainbow dash?
Looking forward to hear from you 🙂
Kind regards, Janneke
Thanks Ann, made a “dumbed down” version of the cake for my daughters bday. I got a sponge cake and cut it in half (to put cream and jam in) and then put the icing on top. I traced around a print out of rainbow dash with glitter icing, filled in with m&m and just used a brown m&m plus white glitter icing for the eye. I didn’t cut around rainbow dash – she was just on top of the cake. The jello icing was extremely popular and delicious and so easy! As you can see from my short cuts I’m a fairly lazy cake maker and this ticked all the boxes, thank you so much 🙂
Hi Ann,
Thanks for the recipe, I made the rainbow dash cake for my daughters birthday over the weekend! I have never used fondant before and this is the first cake I have ever made 🙂 Everyone loved the cake but I was more impressed than anyone
Hey Ann!! My daughter really love this cake! She wants it on her birthday which is in two weeks! I wanted to do this for her but im not sure i would like the jello frosting.. Im planning to use buttercream frosting instead but im REALLY REALLY worried that the m&m’s wont stick and just fall off, especially the ones on the side.. Please help 🙂
Hi Mia, If you use Ann’s buttercream or a mixture of buttercream and ganache it should set firm enough to hold the m&m’s. Obviously if the cake is sitting in the sun for too long you will find it all softens up.
hi my daughter really wants this cake,but am struggling to find a printable template. The one in this link is not in one piece or even pieces that join. can anyone help? Thank you
Hi Hannah, The template comes in overlapping pieces so you can join them to make one image.
I could not cover the sides of the cake with the MandMs as they kept slipping and sliding off! I live in India, so i am not sure whether it was the weather. So for sanity sake i just placed the MandMs on top. The hair on the head and the hoofs alone got the candy on the sides.
Hello Ann! Just to show you how my Hello Kitty cake turned out.
Your cake looks gorgeous Rose Mary Joseph!
Hello Ann! I have been following your blog since 2015 when I found the Hello Kitty Cake video. Since then I have kept my eye on the Rainbow Dash Cake and I made it this year for my daughter’s 7th birthday! She loved it as did everyone at the party! My 2 year old son fell in love with it too I think as every time I mention the words ‘Birthday Party’, he starts talking about the pony cake!!! Infact after my daughter’s party he had told me that he was sad that it had not been his party. I didnt realise what he really meant. But now I think he was soo impressed with the cake that he was wishing it had been his birthday party!!!
And all the thanks goes to you! Cause I am no baker or cook for that matter. Your blog has been a blessing to me!!! I have even tried out the ice cream recipe using Xanthum gum. And I made it with fresh mango pulp. Very Yummy!
Coming back to the Rainbow Dash cake, could you tell me how you thinned out the jello frosting for the crumb coat? I did spend alot of time applying the crumb coat. The final coat was no problem. And I could not have poured the crumb coat through as I had made a white cake for the sake of contrast (following Mrs. Billet’s White Cake recipe). But I would like to know how you did it just in case i make jello frosting again. By the way I loved the jello frosting as did everyone who ate it.
Hi Rose Mary Joseph, Thanks for all the great feedback. We are so glad you are finding the tutorials helpful. Ann heated the jello frosting for the crumb coat to get it to spread thinly. If you didn’t do that you would fine it tricky and crumb coats usually are on 3D cakes.
Do you know where you can buy individual coloured m&ms??
What state do you live in? If in Adelaide you can get them at blackeby’s lolly store in the city on James Place
Hi Erica, You can buy them online from candy suppliers or in cake decorating stores. Ann just bought the mixed packets and sorted the colours for this recipe.
Thanks, I live in the UK and they seem harder to find. I’ll buy the mixed bags, do you know how many mixed bags were needed for the recipe?
Hi, I’m just wondering if the frosting can be made and left in the fridge the night before to decorate the cake on the morning of the party?
Hi Rae, this frosting is better made and used fresh because of the jelly component.
Hi Ann
I am going to make this cake for my daughters birthday this weekend and I know I’m going to have to make 1 1/2 of the chocolate cake recipe you have above, my question is, do you know about how much cake mix needs to be poured into each of the 3 pans?
Thank you so much!
Hi Ros, for this recipe you just need 3 slab or sheet cakes, so roughly dividing the batter into 3 will be sufficient. You are aiming for 3 cakes of roughly the same size and depth.
Silvia D’Errico2 minutes ago (edited)
Made my little pony Rainbow Dash cake and my grandchildren loved it !!! Thank you so much for your tutorial !!! Tried to send a picture but I don’t know how. I have a question. If you want to make a white cake I loved your chocolate icing but there is no white jello so how much gelatine do we use instead of an 80g box of jello?
Hi Silvia, If I have understood your question correctly, you would like to make a vanilla cake instead of chocolate and make a vanilla frosting to match. We would recommend this cake instead of the chocolate: https://www.howtocookthat.net/public_html/sponge-cake-recipe/ using one and a half quantities. For the frosting, rather than make a jello frosting, make a vanilla buttercream (https://www.howtocookthat.net/public_html/buttercream-cupcake-frosting-recipes/) to coat the cake and then add your M&m’s to suit.
Absolutely love your work Ann. Just wanted to show u my rainbow dash cake that i made for my daughters 2nd birthday, she absolutrly loved it
wonderful!!! I’m sure your daughter loved this 🙂