A birdcage cake makes a fun cake for a vintage celebration such as a 50th or 60th milestone. This vintage birdcage cake tutorial shares how to make this cake simple, easy and effortlessly with detailed instructions, the recipes as well as a video tutorial from start to finish. Use my tips to ensure you have a perfect flawless cake whether you have a beginner or advanced cake decorating skill level.

A close up of a birdcage cake. — Vintage Birdcage Cake Tutorial - How to make a Vintage Birdcage Cake

I made this beautiful birdcage cake and was quite happy with how it turned out. The cake was very well received and such a joy to make. I also managed to make a video on how to make a birdcage cake. It has been on my list of requested tutorials for a long time now.

The cake is time-consuming and can take a few hours to make so if you have an order for a birdcage cake I highly recommend you plan ahead of time. Those black bars are one of elements that can be a test of time as well as patience. So deep breaths. (not so bad but it's at the end and I was kinda getting anxious to finish the cake)

Step by step instructions (Save/Pin)

You will need

Three layers of cake stacked on one cake circle plus one dome /half circle cake on one cake circle.
Today I have used my moist strawberry cake. You can see the video and full recipe on this blog. You will need one and a half of that recipe for this birdcage cake
A larger cake board to put the birdcage cake on as well.
I've used my velvet American buttercream. If you live in hot and humid weather you may prefer to use chocolate ganache instead.
This is my marshmallow fondant recipe but you can use any of my five fondant recipes on this blog here. I used about 1 kg fondant for this cake.
Airbrush colors - I used turquoise and metallic blue.
Metallic Gold - You can also use metallic silver.
Fondant /Clay extruder.
The Basics - rolling pins, cornstarch pouch, ruler, pizza wheel, knife, brushes.

A vintage birdcage cake on a cake stand. — How to make a Birdcage Cake, Birdcage Cake Tutorial, Bird Cage

Prepare cake

Bake cakes cool completely.
Torte and stack three cake layers on one cake board using frosting of your choice. Use a leveler to make sure the cake is leveled.
Do the same with the dome - on its own cake board with frosting.
Chill the cakes well the dowel and stack the dome on top.

Measure and divide the cake

Measure the height of the cake - mine was 10 inches tall
Decide how much you need for the dome and how tall you want the cylinder to be
I divided the height as 6 inches for the cylinder and 4 inches for the dome.

Cover the cake with fondant

Roll about 600 grams of fondant into a long strip measuring the height of the cake cylinder. (6 inches)
Roll and unroll the fondant as shown in the video.
Cut excess - by overlapping the fondant. The seams can be hidden in this cake so don't worry too much
Next, roll more 400 grams of fondant into a circle - cover the dome.
Cut the excess with a scissor first then use an exact-o blade or sharp knife to trim the top fondant flush with the edge of the bottom fondant.
Smooth the whole cake again with a fondant ball or smoother.

Measure and mark the cake

Measure the circumference of the cake - then divide that into 5 (mine was 22 inches = 4.4 inch each)
Mark the cake on the bottom circumference at every XXX (measure you got after dividing) (4.4 for my cake)
Then mark the cake on the top circumference -
Draw a line from the bottom to the top at each mark. This will be where you place the rods

Airbrush the cake

Decide which two complimenting colors you want the cake to be in - I used turquoise and metallic blue
Airbrush a light coating of the first color.
Highlight the dividing lines with the second color.
Add more shades as you go to create a vintage look.

Decorate the cake

Use a border mold or similar and cut the exact measurements you got above (4.4 for my cake).
Make 10 of these and place them on the cake as shown in the video - using water to stick.
Use an extruder and ivory or similar color to extrude long ropes.
You will need enough to make the first rods around the cake as shown in the video.
Use the extruder again with the spaghetti disc to make the black bars. You want them thin and long.
These are delicate so work slowly and carefully. You need water to stick them to the cake but too much water will smear the airbrushed cake and leave black marks.
So very carefully place them in place. Making sure you secure them because these can fall off when dried if they are not stuck to the cake.
Use metallic dust with vodka to paint the gold elements on the cake.
Lastly, make a door for the cage. I made this one freehand but, you can use any of your templates from online or fine cutters in your toolkit that helps cut the desired shape.
Watch the video to make the bird free-hand. You can also look for a bird silicon mold.
Don't forget to decorate the cake board - I kept mine simple with white fondant.

And voila..!! you have a Birdcage Cake - hope you liked this birdcage cake tutorial. If you do let me know in the comments below. I love getting feedback, positive or constructive.