Number cakes weren't something we made often because buying a pan for one use becomes rather a waste, right? Here's a simple and easy method to carve numbers, alphabets, or shapes whether you use cake or cookie dough.

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Number and alphabet cakes are a trendy way to celebrate birthdays these days no matter what age. I made this cake for a 50th birthday celebration. But, of course, you can make a number 5 cake for a five-year-old too!
And you can make them in two ways: a cake base as we did in our letter cake, or cookie-based (icebox cookie style) as we are doing here today. These are sometimes also called cream tart cakes because the base is made with shortcrust dough similar to what we use to make a tart.
Of course, you can buy a cake pan shaped in the number or letter you want. But then you are stuck with a pan you probably won't use again. The other simplest way is to use a number template and just trace around to get a full number.
Why make this number cake?
- This is taking monogram cakes to the next level!
- It's trendier to make this crisp shortbread-almond based dough than a cake batter.
- The dough is similar to making a tart crust using a food processor, but you can also make a rich shortcrust pastry with creamed butter.
- You don't need to buy a specific number cake pan or alphabet cake pan. All you need to do is find the shape you want. You can even draw a letter or number on a piece of paper and cut the shape.
- There is almost no waste! You cut the cookie into the number, alphbet or shape you want. Then, you can gather the excess dough into a ball and reuse it or store it in the freeze for another time.
- I am making a number 50 cake but you can make any abstract shape or size. Make a small or big number cake becuase you are not restricted by the size of your pan! Try, a clock cake for the new year!
- Timeline for making this cookie cake?
- Prepare the dough - 20 mins (up to 4 days ahead)
- Chill the dough - 30 mins
- Cut and bake the cookie shape - 20 mins (up to 2 days ahead)
- Prepare the frosting - 20 mins
- Assemble the cake - 20 mins

Ingredients and substitues
- Flour - I am using a combination of all-purpose and almond flour. Almond flour gives the cookie that sandy crumby texture. You can replace the almond meal with other nut meals or use more all-purpose flour to make a nut-free cookie.
- Butter - It is important that yo do not use soft butter. The texture of the cookie comes from using chilled butter that cuts into the flour giving it that crumbly flakly texture.
- Sugar - We use powdered sugar or icing sugar in the cookie as well as frosting because powder is easier to incorporate into these.
- Egg - We use one large egg to help bind the ingredients together. If you prefer to make this an eggless recipe, replace the egg with milk or cream.
- Decorations - Fresh fruits such as strawberry and blueberries. You can also use Oreos, macarons, sprinkles, meringues, and marshmallows.

How to make number cakes
Cookie crust (up to 2 days in advance)
- Food processor - Add the flour, almond meal, salt, and powdered sugar to the food processor. Pulse for 30 seconds. Then, add the chilled cubed butter. Pulse for 30 seconds at a time until you have a breadcrumb consistency. Add the egg and combine well but do not overmix.
- Pour the crumbly mixture on a floured surface and gather it all into a ball. Divide the dough into two, flatten each portion into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Pro tip - We need to chill just until it is firm enough to roll. This dough can be kept in the fridge for 2 days, thaw a few minutes if it is too hard to roll.

- Preheat the oven to 375°F / 190°C / Gas Mark 5
- Using a rolling pin, roll the chilled dough on a lightly floured parchment paper to about ¼-inch thickness. If the dough is too soft to cut chill in the fridge for a few minutes again.
Pro tip - Cut the dough when it is well chilled. This way, you will get clean edges. Otherwise, you will need to scrape the raw edges after baking. - Using your template, cut out the number, letter, or shape you desire and place them on the sheet pan. Gather the excess dough and re-roll to make more shapes. If necessary chill the dough in between rolling and cutting.

- Then, bake on the baking sheet for 13 to 15 minutes or until they are slightly golden around the edges. Cool on the pan for 10 minutes. Then, transfer to the wire rack to cool completely.
Pro tip - The baking time will depend on the thickness of the cookies. So, keep an eye starting at about 12 minutes. These are very delicate and can break easily. So, use cardboard to transfer them.

Assemble ( up to 8 to 10 hours ahead)
- Whipped cream - Whip the heavy cream in a chilled bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Gradually, add half the powdered sugar followed by half the vanilla extract. Continue to whip until stiff peaks form. Transfer half the whipped cream to a piping bag with a star tip (or a large round tip).
Pro tip - We save the other half of the whipped cream to fold into the mascarpone cream. - Mascarpone cream - In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the mascarpone cream with the remaining powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Then, fold in the other half of the whipped cream. Transfer to a pastry bag with a star tip (or a round tip) for piping.
- The first level - Place the first cookie crust on a cake board, cake stand, or serving platter. Pipe the line of whipped cream stars all around the edges of the cookie. Then, pipe or flood the mascarpone cream in the center of the cookie.
Pro tip - You can also pipe the mascarpone cream, but since it won't be seen, I prefer to flood it. - The second level - Place the second cookie crust on the first layer. Pipe with the remaining mascarpone cream all over the cookies.
- Decorate - Decorate as desired. I used strawberries, blueberries, and colored candy.

Variations
This is the fun part of making this cake. It is very versatile, so you don't need to rely on special instructions. You can keep it simple with just fresh fruits and flowers such as fresh berries, strawberries, blueberries, or a dusting of icing sugar. But, you can also use other pretty things like:
- Frosting - I've used mascarpone and whipped cream but you can also use chocolate ganache, buttercream, pastry cream, dollops of ice cream in summer!
- Decoration - Oreos, macarons, sprinkles, meringues, and marshmallows.
- You can also use a stencil for the top of the cake instead of frosting!
- Cake decorators often use gum paste flowers, silicone molded cut outs for particular character cakes. A chocolate drip around the cake is now trendy with specks of gold leaf.
- You can also make chocolate sails or chocolate sharps by simply pouring melting chocolate on a silicon or parchment mat. Then, cut the chocolate at an angle with a sharp knife.

Tips for success
- Use chilled butter so it crumbles into pieces and not cream into the flour.
- The mixture will appear crumbly but do not add water. Knead gently to bring it all together. Adding water will cause the dough to spread.
- Chill the dough until firm as it is easier to roll. Also, cut the dough when chilled as it gives neat edges.
- Cut the circular shape with a pizza cutter and use a ruler to cut straight sides.
- Add the frosting into the pastry bag as it makes it easier to work.
- The cookie shapes can be made up to 2 days in advance.
- The frosting must be made on the day you are going to assemble the cake.
More cake recipes and tutorials
- Letter Cakes Recipe Tutorial
- Buttercream Mermaid Cake
- Burger Cake Tutorial
- Fault Line Cake Tutorial
- SpongeBob Cake
- How to Make a Fire Truck Cake
- Pancake Cake Tutorial
- See all cake recipes or cake tutorials
Frequently asked questions
This cake will keep in the fridge for up to 2 days. The whipped cream will start to lose volume in about 24 to 36 hours. Alternatively, you can use stabilized whipped cream which will hold better.
Yes, you do not need to buy any cake tin or baking pan for these cakes. You can either print the shape of the number, alphabet, or abstract shape from the internet, trace it from a book or draw a freehand with a pencil on paper.
Ideally, when you use whipped cream on cookies it is best to make the cake a few hours before serving so the cream does not soak into the cookies too much. However, you can make the cookie shapes up to 2 days in advance.
Absolutely, you can bake a cake in a sheet pan as we did in our letter cake recipe and tutorial. You can use that cake recipe and cut the shapes as shown in the video. Then frost and decorate similar to this cake.
The planning and process are simple.
- First, decided what cake you want to make. The cookie-based recipe is below or cake-based as we did in our letter cake.
- Choose the number and print it to the size you want.
- Read the ingredients and instructions correctly, especially the timeline given above.
- Then bake the cake, frost, and decorate as directed in the timeline.
I printed my numbers on A4 size paper. And rolled the cookie dough to about ¼ inch thick. You should be able to make 3 layers of thick cookie shapes on A4 size paper.
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Printable Recipe
Number Cakes
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Video
Conversions Used
1 lb = 453 grams, 1 cup = 240 ml, 1 stick = 113g, 1 tbsp= 15 ml, 1 tsp= 5 ml,
Ingredients
Cookie Crust
- 2½ cups (310 g) All-purpose flour
- 1 cup (110 g) Almond meal (or almond flour)
- ¾ cup (90 g) Powdered sugar
- 8 oz (226.8 g) Unsalted butter (chilled, cubed)
- 1 large Egg
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon Salt
Mascarpone & whipped cream
- 1 cup (225 g) Mascarpone cheese
- 1 cup (240 ml) Heavy cream
- 2 tablespoon Powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
Plus
- 6 medium Strawberries
- 12 - 15 Blueberries
- ¼ cup Colored candy
Instructions
Cookie crust (up to 2 days ahead)
- Food processor - Add the flour, almond meal, salt, and powdered sugar to the food processor. Pulse for 30 seconds. Then, add the chilled cubed butter. Pulse for 30 seconds at a time until you have a breadcrumb consistency. Add the egg and combine well but do not overmix.
- Pour the crumbly mixture on a floured surface and gather it all into a ball. Divide the dough into two, flatten each portion into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.Pro tip - We need to chill just until it is firm enough to roll. This dough can be kept in the fridge for 2 days, thaw a few minutes if it is too hard to roll.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F / 190°C / Gas Mark 5
- Using a rolling pin, roll the chilled dough on a lightly floured parchment paper to about ¼-inch thickness. If the dough is too soft to cut, chill in the fridge for a few minutes again. Pro tip - Cut the dough when it is well chilled. This way you will get clean edges. Otherwise, you will need to scrape the raw edges after baking.
- Using your template cut out the number, letter, or shape you desire and place them on the sheet pan. Gather the excess dough and re-roll to make more shapes. If necessary, chill the dough in between rolling and cutting.
- Then, bake on the baking sheet for 13 to 15 minutes or until they are slightly golden around the edges. Cool on the pan for 10 minutes. Then, transfer to the wire rack to cool completely.Pro tip - The baking time will depend on the thickness of the cookies. So, keep an eye starting at about 12 minutes. These are very delicate and can break easily so use cardboard to transfer them.
Assemble ( up to 8 to 10 hours ahead)
- Whipped cream - Whip the heavy cream in a chilled bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Gradually, add half the powdered sugar followed by half the vanilla extract. Continue to whip until stiff peaks form. Transfer half the whipped cream to a piping bag with a star tip (or a large round tip). Pro tip - We save the other half of the whipped cream to fold into the mascarpone cream.
- Mascarpone cream - In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the mascarpone cream with the remaining sugar and vanilla extract. Then, fold in the other half of the whipped cream. Transfer to a pastry bag with a star tip (or a round tip) for piping.
- The first level - Place the first cookie crust on a cake board, cake stand, or serving platter. Pipe the line of whipped cream stars all around the edges of the cookie. Then, pipe or flood the mascarpone cream in the center of the cookie. Pro tip - You can also pipe the mascarpone cream, but since it won't be seen, I prefer to flood it.
- The second level - Place the second cookie crust on the first layer. Pipe with the remaining mascarpone cream all over the cookies.
- Decorate - Decorate as desired. I used strawberries, blueberries, and colored candy.
Recipe Notes & Tips
- Use chilled butter so it crumbles into pieces and not cream into the flour
- The mixture will appear crumbly but do not add water. Knead gently to bring it all together. Adding water will cause the dough to spread.
- Chill the dough until firm as it is easier to roll. Also, cut the dough when chilled as it gives neat edges.
- Cut the circular shape with a pizza cutter and use a ruler to cut straight sides.
- Add the frosting into the pastry bag as it makes it easier to work.
- The cookie shapes can be made up to 2 days in advance.
- The frosting must be made on the day you are going to assemble the cake.
Nutrition Information
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
Olga
How would you store the cookie shapes if I want to make them a day before?
Veena Azmanov
Wrap them well and keep them on the counter until ready to frost.
Jannelien
Hi, I am trying out the recipe but it is not clear how much vanille extract is needed in the mascarpone since no sugar by then if u follow the above... Also vanilla extract is not mentioned in the recipe of the dough but is only mentioned in the ingredients... Next to that, is the recipe for 2 nummers or 1?? I kept doughting about it throughout the recipe...
Thanks 4 ur recipe and hope to bake more of ur recipe!
Veena Azmanov
Hey Jannelien. Thanks for the feedback. You whip the heavy cream with 1 tbsp p.sugar and 1 tsp vanilla. Then add whip the mascarpone with the remaining 1 tbsp p.sugar and 1 tsp vanilla extract.
Then combine half the whipped cream with the mascarpone cream. This lightens the mascarpone cream.
The recipe makes 2 numbers - I made a 5 and a 0.
Hope this helps. Thanks
Moop brown
This number cake looks really tasty and seems like a nice and festive way to celebrate ones birthday. Can't wait to try.
LaKita
This is such a cute cake idea and your directions made the process so simple and easy to follow!!