Easy Shoe Cake (Sneaker Cake)

Easy shoe cake or sneaker cake with step by step tutorial and template. This fondant baby shoes topper is perfect on round cake decorated with fondant and gum paste. Serve at baby showers or kids birthday parties.

Based on my research, there are two types of shoe cakes. The first one is carved and decorated to look like a shoe. The second one is a round or rectangle cake with fondant sneaker toppers. Between those two, the second one is definitely the easiest because there is no carving involved, which requires a lot of practice. These toppers ended up looking very similar to Converse sneakers. If you found this cake cute, then you need to check out this Crying Baby Cake and this Twins Cake and even this Gender Reveal Cake (Baby Shower).

How to make shoe cake (sneaker cake)?

1. Bake cakes– Green pistachio cake was perfect for this color theme.
2. Let them cool- Until room temperature.
3. Make icing- American buttercream frosting was the classic pairing.
4. Assemble- Place cake on cake stand or cake board, ice it, place other cake on top, ice entire cake smoothly.
5. Decorate- Cover cake in yellow fondant and stick green polka dots and green rope around the base.
6. Make edible gum paste/fondant shoes- Use a template.
7. Let it dry- Until firm.
8. Final decoration- Place toppers on top of the cake.

How to use fondant baby shoes template?

1. Print template on thick paper.
2. Use scissors to cut out all the individual pieces. 
3. Use them as a guide to cut out relevant gum paste/ fondant pieces.
4. Assemble the pieces into the shape of a shoe, using corn syrup as glue. 
5. Please note that you can save this template on your computer, resize it and print it it to your size requirements.

Variations

Use other colors- This cake had a neutral theme with two shades of green but you can use any colors you like.

Turn this into a gender reveal cake- Make pink sneakers for girls and blue sneakers for boys. You can also color the cake batter and frosting in the relevant colors.

Try other cake flavors- Such as Easy Rainbow Cake or Moist Red Velvet Cake.

Try other frosting flavors- Such as Mango Frosting or Orange Frosting.

Flavor fondant- Use extracts. Make sure the extract compliments the cake and frosting flavors. Also, use clear extracts if you are coloring white fondant to prevent discoloration.

Decorate with jumbo sprinkles- Instead of cutting out fondant polka dots, use store-bought jumbo sprinkles. Stick them to the cake with frosting or melted white chocolate.

Make a tiered cake- Add a larger tier at the bottom. Be sure to use dowels for support.

Fill cake- With jams and preserves, Homemade Caramel Sauce or Dulce De Leche or nut butters. You can also add fresh berries or chopped up nuts or candy bars.

Make mini shoes- To decorate cupcakes. Just resize the template to the relevant size. The rest of the steps are the same.

Tips and Techniques

Do you use fondant or gum paste to make shoes?- Use 50/50 (combination of half fondant and half gum paste) because it does not dry as fast as gum paste. You can even make 70/30 (70% gum paste and 30% fondant). If you use gum paste only, the pieces start drying quickly, which means you will have to work quickly and and it's really difficult to fix mistakes. I don’t like using only fondant because it takes very long for the shoes to dry. Also, fondant is softer than gum paste, which makes assembling the shoe very difficult because the pieces don't hold their shape well.

Don’t frost or decorate warm cakes- Because the warmth will cause the icing and fondant to melt and make a sticky mess.

Homemade fondant vs. Store-bought fondant- Both work well. Store-bought fondant is obviously convenient and it can also be bought pre-colored but homemade version tastes amazing.

Use gel colors for coloring fondant and gum paste- This works much better than liquid colors because gel colors are thicker and more concentrated and will not make the fondant or gum paste wet and sticky.

Use very little water for sticking pieces- Because if a lot of water is used, it can cause the dark colors to bleed into the light colored fondant and make it messy. It can also make fondant very sticky.

Use support for sneakers- If they are heavy, they will dig into the cake. You can use bubble tea straws for support.

Use wax paper- Make this entire shoe on a sheet of wax paper because it prevents the pieces from sticking to your work surface.

Drying time for shoes may vary- Because this depends on the humidity and moisture in the air of where you live. Too much moisture and humidity = Slower drying time. Speed up the drying time by place a table fan pointed directly on the shoes.

Use thick scrapbook paper when printing template- Because it's firmer and holds its shape better when you use it as a guide to cut out relevant fondant/ gum paste pieces.

Storage

Room temperature- Decorated cake can be left at room temperature for 24 hours as long as there is no perishable filling that requires refrigeration.

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 and frostings can be stored separately 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

• Erupting Volcano Cake (With Dry Ice Smoke)
• Easy Monster Cake
• Peacock Cake
• Butterfly Cake
• Bumblebee Cake (Spring Cake)
• Fondant Basket Cake (Basketweave)

Recipe