Vintage Birdcage Cake Tutorial

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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.

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.

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.

Vintage Birdcage Cake

Author: Veena Azmanov

5 from 1 vote

Print Pin Rate

Category - Desserts

Project - American

Prep Time: 1 hr

Active Time: 2 hrs

Additional Time: 2 hrs

Total Time: 5 hrs

Calories: 298kcal

$50

Makes: 20 servings

Description

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.

Recipe Video

Materials

• ▢ 2 7-inch Moist Strawberry Cake round cakes
• ▢ 1 7-inch Vanilla Cream Cake dome cake
• ▢ 1 kg Marshmallow Fondant
• ▢ 500 grams Velvet American Buttercream Frosting

Conversions - Switch between Metric & US for other measurement options

Instructions

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 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 dividin(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.

Equipment /Tools

Ball Cake Pan

Cake Board

Off-set spatula

Pizza wheel for cake

Nutrition Information

Calories: 298kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 138mg | Potassium: 147mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 43g | Vitamin A: 1IU | Calcium: 6mg | Iron: 1mg

Keywords - cake decorating, Cake Decorating Tutorial, novelty cake

Did you make this recipe? I'd love to hear how it was.Mention @veenaazmanov or tag me on Instagram #veenaazmanov

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