How to Make Butterfly Cake
Use this step by step cake decorating tutorial to learn how to make an easy butterfly cake. It requires simple supplies and is great for Spring/ Summer birthday parties.
*Thanks Mona Lisa® for sponsoring today’s post so that I can show you how to make a this decorated cake. As always, all opinions are mine.*
Today’s cake tutorial is perfect for this time of the year with Spring in full force and Easter around the corner. It’s just as fun as this Back to School Pencil Cake. Kids and adults are both going to be in awe when you bring it out to them.
To be honest, some versions of this cake that I have seen are so complicated and perhaps very intimidating for most people to even attempt. So, I tried to simplify the process as much as possible.This means even if you have not decorated too many cakes in your life, you can make this cake. It’s absolutely “do-able.”
How to make butterfly cake?
- Start off by baking round cakes.
- Cut the cakes in half.
- Arrange them in the shape of butterfly wings and place them on your serving dish.
- Fill and frost the cakes.
- Cover them smoothly in fondant.
- Decorate them with leaf or petal-shaped fondant pieces and black sprinkle balls.
- Draw details with edible marker.
- Make the butterfly body out of black and yellow fondant. Let it dry and then, stick it on the center of the cake.
*Step-by-step pictures are included in a collage below.*
My favorite thing about this cake is that you don’t need any special tools or pans. All you need is a round cake, which can be decorated with fondant, black edible marker and black sprinkle balls. They are all products that you can easily find online.
This cake turned out so cute that I almost didn’t want to slice into it (hehehe!) but I couldn’t resist showing you the inside. It’s a moist lemon cake with creamy white chocolate buttercream frosting. I chose these specific flavors because they work so well during the Spring season. However, you can use whatever cake flavor and frosting flavor you and your family likes.
Various butterfly birthday cake ideas/ Butterfly cake decorations
Use a butterfly cake design/ template– Print a picture of a butterfly or draw one on a sheet of thick craft paper and use that as a template to cut the proper cake shape and then decorate it any way you like.
Use butterfly pan- You can buy these pans online and the batter will bake in the relevant shape, which means you won’t have to cut or carve.
Make butterfly cake toppers– Rather than doing what I did, you can make a tiered round cake. Then, decorate the top with a big fondant butterfly topper and numerous smaller butterflies.
Butterfly cupcake cake– This one requires you to bake lots of cupcakes. Then, they are arranges in the shape of a butterfly and it can be decorated with frosting and fondant to created the desired look.
I used Mona Lisa’s® white fondant and made various colors, using gel coloring.
The fondant was:
- Easy to use
- Very pliable
- Smelled great
- Tasted great
- Didn’t dry, tear or crack during my entire cake decorating process and I was able to work at my regular pace.
- Came in vacuum-sealed packaging, which prevents it from drying out on edges and top. This means you won’t be discarding any portions because it’s too hard and unusable.
- The white color was super white and not “off-white,” making it perfect for wedding cakes. Also, it doesn’t use the additive, Titanium Dioxide.
Mona Lisa® also has beautiful decorative chocolate products that are made from PREMIUM chocolate and totally edible.
There are various designs of chocolate cups like tuxedos, eggs, hearts and flowers that can be filled with frosting, mousse or even candy balls. They even have chocolate curls, sprinkles, rolls in beautiful patterns and colors. Can you imagine all the possible ways you can use them?! My goodness… I have SO MANY ideas.
All the chocolate decorations come in very secure packaging. Nothing broke for me. The quality of chocolate as well as the flavor was excellent.
I used these gorgeous chocolate flowers to decorate my cake base/cake stand. It was so much fun!
Storage
Refrigerate- Leftovers can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days. However the fondant decorations will become slightly sticky and tacky from the moisture in the fridge.
Freeze- Unfrosted cakes can be stored in a sealed container for up to 1 month. When you are ready to enjoy it, let it thaw in the fridge overnight and then, decorate as per instructions below.
Make ahead instructions- This cake can be baked and decorated 1 day in advance and stored at room temperature until you are ready to serve.
More decorated cakes
Easy Butterfly Cake
Ingredients
- 4 Lemon cake, Round, Dimensions: 8×2 each
- 4 cups White chocolate buttercream frosting
- 4 cups Fondant, Blue, red, pink, black, yellow
- 1/4 cup Corn syrup
Instructions
- Bake the cakes and prepare the frosting.
- When the cakes cool down completely, cut each cake in half.
- Arrange 2 cakes in the form of wings.
- Spread frosting on top of each cake.
- Place the other 2 cakes on top of the frosting and fully frost these "wing" cakes.
- Roll out blue fondant and spread it over both the cakes and cut off excess with a sharp knife.
- Roll out pink fondant and cut out various sizes of fondant leaves.
- Roll out red fondant and cut out various sizes of fondant leaves.
- Stick these pieces on top of the wings with corn syrup in a beautiful arrangement.
- Draw "veination" details on the leaves with a black edible marker.
- Roll black fondant into a cone shape.
- Push a toothpick through the top.
- Roll out a yellow fondant ball and push that into the toothpick and stick it together with some water or corn syrup.
- Stick the stamens and eyeball sprinkles on the yellow ball.
- Let this butterfly body dry.
- Once it's fully dry, place it in the center of the two wings and stick it into place with corn syrup.
- Stick black sprinkle balls with corn syrup, randomly, on the wings and enjoy!
Notes
- Read all my tips above.
- Leftovers can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
This is so adorable! And it looks so easy to make!