Elephant cakes are a popular themed cake for children’s birthday parties and baby showers for a reason: long-lived, strong, loyal and smart, elephants are powerful symbols of our best qualities— plus those cute ears! Our Blue Ombre Elephant Cake combines bright shades of baby blue with a sweet baby elephant outline, his trunk lifting up as if to say hello to your guests.

Want to try your hand at fondant, cookies or abstract art? We’ve included some unforgettable treat variations below.

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Prepare cake mix following recipe instructions. Bake and cool two round cake layers. Prepare buttercream following recipe instructions. Level, fill and stack layers for 4 in. high cake.
  2. Tint icing. Using Royal Blue icing color, tint 1 cup icing each graduating shades of blue (light-light, light, medium, dark and dark-dark). Reserve remaining icing white.
  3. Prepare template. Using FoodWriter marker, trace printable elephant template onto parchment paper. Cut out template, making sure to cut center of ear as well.
  4. Prep top of cake. Using darkest blue icing, ice top center of cake, only slightly larger than where elephant will be placed. Set aside to crust, about 20 minutes. Reserve remaining dark-dark blue icing.
  5. Ice sides of cake. Prepare five decorating bags separately with shades of blue icing. Cut ½ off tip of each bag.
  6. Ice sides of cake. Prepare five decorating bags separately with shades of blue icing. Cut ½ off tip of each bag. Place cake on turntable. Starting at bottom with dark-dark blue icing, pipe line around bottom of cake. Repeat with dark, medium, light and light-light blue icing, working towards top of cake. Using icing smoother, smooth icing.
  7. Ice top of cake. Using finger, rub small amount of vegetable shortening on back of elephant template. Lightly press template onto blue icing, making sure all edges are adhered to blue icing. Using white icing, lightly ice top of cake, keeping in mind where template is on cake. Using tip of knife, lift pattern straight up and away from cake.
  8. Decorate cake. Prepare decorating bag with tip 2 and white icing. Pipe elephant eye, or use a Sugar Pearl. Add white nonpareils and sugar pearls to top of cake, starting at elephant trunk and following around top edge of cake.

OTHER OPTIONS FOR YOUR HERD:

1. BLUE ELEPHANT CAKE

Our printable patterns, a single-layer square cake and three colors of fondant combine to make this sweet little fellow soar into your party.

2. MOLDED ANIMAL CRACKERS

Press cookie dough into our Jungle Animals Fondant and Gum Paste Mold for elephant, giraffe, monkey and lion cookies. Ice the back in melted Candy Melts candy and press into nonpareils for a snack that is sure to lift spirits.

3. MOSAIC WILD ANIMAL CAKE

Looking for a cake that breaks away from the herd? Handmade stencils and geometric shapes applied to an irregularly-shaped white fondant cake blocks will stop guest in their tracks.

Is one of your elephant-themed treats getting tons of love? Tell us all about it in the comments below, or post a picture and tag us on Instagram @Wiltoncakes.