Holiday Chocolate Gift Ideas

How To Create A Ben 10 Cake

Ben 10 is a very popular cartoon character these days and lots of kids want a Ben 10 cake for their birthday. You make the cake yourself, without much cake decorating experience, by using an easy technique to copy a picture you select.

You can always draw a picture on the cake freehand in buttercream, piping gel or royal icing if you\’re artistic. If you want your picture to come out as close as possible to the original picture you select, here are a few things you can do:

The internet is a great place to find a Ben 10 picture. Just search for an image you like and save it to your computer. Open up the picture file with your photo editing software. Turn the picture into a mirror image. You can also resize the picture to print however big or small you need it. Remember to leave room for the birthday message and the top border of the cake.

Tape your picture down on top of either the back of a cookie pan, a chopping board, a piece of cardboard or any other flat surface. On top of your picture, tape plastic cling wrap so it is completely flat and secured to your work surface on all sides.

Ben 10 in Royal Icing: Use either black or white royal icing in a thick consistency to outline the entire picture using a #2 cake decorating tip. Set it aside to dry for hour. The remaining royal icing must be thinned to do what is called \”flooding.\” Add water, 1 teaspoon at a time and stir into the icing until it is the consistency of cream. In separate cups or bowls, place the thinned royal icing and color each portion according to the colors you need for the picture. Use food coloring paste, found in most craft supply stores. Liquid food coloring will make the icing watery by the time you achieve the shade you want. Place each color in its own cake decorating bag. Tip #4 is good for filling in the picture. Do one color at a time. To set it quickly, you can place it under a heat lamp. If not, allow at least 24 hours drying time. When completely dry, carefully remove the plastic wrap and place your royal icing Ben 10 on the cake.

Ben 10 in Buttercream Transfer: Set up is the same as with royal icing, only you will outline the picture with buttercream icing using the number 2 tip. Fill in each area of the picture, beginning with the smallest details first. When the entire picture is filled in, spread a thick coat of buttercream icing over the whole thing. This should be the same color as the icing on your cake. Also, pipe that same color around the outline of the whole picture. This will make the design look better when you put it on the cake. Place the buttercream transfer into the freezer until hard. When hardened, turn the buttercream transfer over, place it where you want it on the cake and peel back the plastic wrap.

Viola! Either way, you will end up with a proportionally accurate replica of your original Ben 10 picture.

Theresa Happe is a baker, cake decorator, and author of Cake-Decorating-Corner.com, where you will find Ben 10 cakes and other cake decorating tips.