Popcorn Birthday Cake

My son and I saw this cake in Food Network Magazine a while ago and we knew it was the perfect cake for his movie-themed birthday party!  The cake itself can be whatever flavor you like.  Ours is Funfetti!  If you want to go all out you could make the cake from scratch, but a cake mix is fine, especially for a kid party.  I used a 15″ x 11″ cake pan and a classic vanilla buttercream.  For the fondant I used my old standby marshmallow fondant recipe.  Be sure to set aside a couple of tablespoons of frosting to stick the popcorn on.

1 baked 15 x 11 inch cake, cut in half horizontally

For the Buttercream:

• 2 sticks of salted butter, softened
• 5-6 C. powdered sugar
• 2 t. really good vanilla
• 1 pinch of salt
• 3 T. milk, divided

Cream the butter with 4 C. of powdered sugar, the vanilla, salt, and 2 T. of the milk.  Continue to whip until the frosting is light and fluffy, adding more sugar to thicken, or more milk to thin it as needed.

For the Fondant:

• 4 C. mini marshmallows
• 2 T. water
• 4-5 C. powdered sugar
• food coloring drops

2-3 C. popcorn – I used Kettle Corn

Here is a link to the Food Network assembly instructions

Here is a link to the marshmallow fondant instructions

Tips:  I had to use a whole bottle of red food coloring to tint the fondant bright red.  Otherwise it would have been a pink striped popcorn bag.  If I made this cake again I think I would buy the red fondant and make the white.  Why not buy the white too?  You can, but store-bought fondant is why people don’t like to eat fondant.  It tastes terrible.  Homemade marshmallow fondant tastes yummy!  You need  a lot of extra powdered sugar for dusting, to keep the fondant from sticking.  I used a damp pastry brush to clean up the cake and brighten up the red stripes after the whole thing was assembled. This cake can be made the day before, but don’t put it in the fridge.  It will get beads of moisture on it that will ruin the fondant.  The fondant keeps the cake fresh and moist (I hate that word).

The kids loved this cake.  It was fun and tasty.  If you make one, send me a picture and I’ll send you a prize!