3 Little Greenwoods

Sharing creativity by teaching others how to make wreaths.

by: Ashley Greenwood

How to Make a Little Mermaid Birthday Cake

Today I’m sharing step by step how to make a Little Mermaid Birthday Cake

A Mermaid Birthday Cake {a tutorial} by 3 Little Greenwoods

As I searched Pinterest for cake inspiration for Tootsie’s Little Mermaid Birthday Party, I discovered tons of fabulous images.

There were cakes shaped like Ariel, cakes with sandcastles, cakes with sea creatures but very few tutorials on exactly how to create a one.

So I decided to make one of my own!

Before I begin let me tell everyone that I am not a professional cake decorator. I am simply sharing with you how this Mama made her little sweet girl a birthday cake she gasped over and still talks about.

How to Make a Little Mermaid Birthday Cake

Step One: Bake the cakes

All our cakes always begin with Joyfully Home’s White Almond Wedding Cake Recipe. Kat’s recipe turns a basic cake mix into a moist, delicious cake. Every. Single. Time.

A Mermaid Birthday Cake {a tutorial} by 3 Little Greenwoods

Since I needed lots of layers for Tootsie’s Little Mermaid Cake, I whipped up two recipes to make sure I had enough batter to make five layers. I baked two 8″ cakes and three 9″ cakes.

Ombre layered cakes (where each layer is a progressively darker color) is a big trend right now. As usual I dove right in to begin coloring different bowls of batter.

Turns out ombre is way tricker that it looks so our cake has five layers of various shades of pink.

Pretty and much easier than ombre.

A Mermaid Birthday Cake {a tutorial} by 3 Little Greenwoods

Step Two: Assemble the birthday cake

After the layers have cooled completely, start stacking them onto a large pedestal cake plate. Spread icing about 1/4″ thick in between each layer.

The last two layers I baked stuck like glue to the middle of the pan because I was impatient and did not let the cake bake long enough.

Sigh…

So I did was all good bakers do. I completely pieced together the top layer and gave the children the rest of the stuck cake as an afternoon snack.

A Mermaid Birthday Cake {a tutorial} by 3 Little Greenwoods

Step Three: Ice the cake

Look carefully in the picture above. Do you see my secret weapon for cake decorating?

It’s pre-made icing purchased from the Kroger bakery.

Yes! Grocery store bakeries will sell you icing by the pound. This icing will pipe beautifully. The bakery will dye the icing to any color you ask. And… it cost less than $5 a pound!

Okay. Back to the cake.

After you have stacked your cakes, give the entire thing a thin coat of icing. This is called a crumb coat and will help keep crumbs from the final layer of icing.

A Mermaid Birthday Cake {a tutorial} by 3 Little Greenwoods

Once the crumb coat has hardened, ice the cake with your store bought (dyed to match the ocean) blue icing. Nothing fancy here. Just use an offset spatula to smooth the icing out.

Next you will need to make coral from candy melts. Candy melts can be purchased at Walmart, Hobby Lobby, or any craft store. We had lots of red and yellow candy melts left over from the boys Campout Birthday Cakes {here} and {here}.

Melt the candy in the microwave, spoon into a baggie then snip one corner (small cut) to make a piping bag. Pipe out the candy to make “coral” shapes. While they were still wet one of the girls covered them with hot pink sprinkles. I needed 6 coral pieces to decorate the cake.

Shake all the extra sprinkles out of the way and make some yellow dots from yellow candy melts in a baggie piping bag. These were supposed to be seashells but I couldn’t quite make them look like shells.

A Mermaid Birthday Cake {a tutorial} by 3 Little Greenwoods

Now here is where I got excited and started decorating without taking lots of pictures. Sorry about that. But let me tell you what I did.

While the seaweed dried back into a solid piece of candy I got busy adding fluttery green seaweed to the sides of the cake (top and bottom layers). Using a No. 65 Wilton Icing Leaf Tip in a plastic Wilton Disposable Decorating Bag start from the bottom and pipe up. To add interest I used green food coloring to make two different shades of green.

Press the dried coral carefully into the wet seaweed. On a few pieces I piped a bit of icing on the back of the coral to glue it to the side of the cake.

Then I placed the little yellow dots all over the cake. They add a pop of color and look so pretty with the red coral and green seaweed. Use extra icing as glue if needed.

Use a No. 30 Closed Star Decorating Tip to make a row of blue star flowers around the top and middle layer edges and a bead of green seaweed icing along the bottom of the cake. The No.30 tip was used to create a resting place for Flounder the Fish.

A Mermaid Birthday Cake {a tutorial} by 3 Little Greenwoods

Ariel and Sebastian also needed a spot to sit. I simply piped out a bed of green seaweed and stuck them down in the icing. Yellow dots plus a piece of red coral was added behind them to add interest to the top of the cake.

A Mermaid Birthday Cake {a tutorial} by 3 Little Greenwoods

Whew! Thanks so much for sticking with me through this very long cake decorating tutorial. As you can see, this Little Mermaid Birthday Cake turned out absolutely adorable.

A Mermaid Birthday Cake {a tutorial} by 3 Little Greenwoods

Yes, it would have been easier just to order one from the local bakery but hearing Tootsie gasp when she finally saw the finished cake was priceless.

A Mermaid Birthday Cake {a tutorial} by 3 Little Greenwoods

Tootsie’s Little Mermaid Cake is going to go splendidly with the Fabulously Simple DIY Jellyfish I shared last week!

Fabulously Simple DIY Lantern Jellyfish by 3 Little Greenwoods

Need more Mama-Made Birthday Cake Inspiration? Check these cakes out!

DIY princess cake

Sofia the First Princess Cake

pirate cake

Mama-Made Pirate Ship Cake {plus pinata}

tent cake Collage

Backyard Campout Birthday Cake // Campfire Cake

Full Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links and/or is a sponsored post. I may receive compensation in the form of monetary compensation or product compensation in exchange for my review. I take pride in reviewing only products that fit my brand and will be beneficial to my readers. And while this post is sponsored or contains affiliate links, all the opinions are my own. Why do I do this? It will help me keep this DIY’ing Mama crafting, Party Planning and Cooking for another day! For more on my disclosure policy click here.

Your comments totally make my day! 

They give me huge motivation to keep creating and having fun with my 3 Little Greenwoods! 

~ Ashley

Visit Ashley @ 3littlegreenwoods’s profile on Pinterest.

I link up with these fun parties!

Comments

  2. 3

    Leslie says

    You did a great job! I piece together a lot of the cakes I make too. I make a lot of wedding cakes too. I think it’s relaxing. I love the jelly fish decorations!! I hope she had fun! Happy Wednesday!

    Reply
  12. 23

    Erin says

    What a cute cake, Ashley! I love all of the “under the sea” details. I would have to disagree though…if I didn’t know any better I’d say a professional made the cake 🙂 You did a great job!

    Reply
  13. 25

    Michal says

    So I’m looking at the little mermaid cake and think that it’s very beautiful!
    Then i see the pirate ship cake and campfire cake and they are gorgeous!
    Absolutely loved it!

    Reply
  17. 32

    Leia says

    The cake looks great! I love how you made the red coral and covered it with pink sprinkles. So smart. Thanks for sharing at On Display Thursday, come again!

    Reply
  18. 34

    Ginger says

    I just wanted to stop by and let you know that you are being featured at Gingerly Made today! Love this cake! I wish I had your talent – my cakes look awful. 🙂

    Reply
  19. 36

    Mommy on Demand says

    Ashley, this is beyond cute! Now that im having a daughter I can’t wait to make some fun cakes. My mom always made fun ones and those are the ones I remember the most! Thanks for sharing and cohosting with us!

    Reply
  20. 38

    Diana Rambles says

    Congratulations! This post is going to be featured over at Diana Rambles tomorrow and has been pinned in the Featured at Diana Rambles board at Pinterest, Tweeted, and Recommended on G+. Please grab a featured button off my sidebar or via the link under the features. Thanks for sharing this awesome idea!

    Reply

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