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–+ servings
Hamburger cake on a cake board with cookie French fries.

Burger Cake

Author: Veena Azmanov
Prep Time: 2 hrs
Cook Time: 1 hr 20 mins
Decorating Time: 2 hrs
Total Time: 5 hrs 20 mins
Calories: 489kcal
Adjust Servings Here: 36 servings

Description

A burger cake is the perfect celebration cake at any age because no matter what age you are, five or fifty, who doesn't love a hamburger? Right? This cake decorating tutorial includes recipes, step by step instructions, and videos so you can make this cake easily.

Ingredients 

Funfetti Cake (2 layers)

Chocolate Cake (1 layer)

Vanilla Buttercream

Chocolate Buttercream

White chocolate ganache

  • 8 oz (226 g) White chocolate
  • ½ cup (120 ml) Whipping cream (38% - hot)

French fries - cookie dough

  • 1 cup (227 g) Butter
  • 1 cup (200 g) Sugar
  • 1 egg large
  • 2 cups (250 g) Flour
  • ½ teaspoon Salt
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract

Plus

  • 1½ lb (680 g) White fondant white
  • ½ lb (226 g) Fondant with CMC various colors
  • ¾ lb (340 g) Chocolate fondant
  • 4 oz (113 g) Gumpaste or(fondant with CMC)
  • 1 cup (240 ml) White chocolate ganache with orange gel food color for mustard
  • ¼ cup (60 ml) Strawberry jelly with red gel food color for ketchup
  • Powdered dusts various colors

Instructions

Funfetti cake

  • Preheat the oven at 325 F / 165 C / Gas Mark 3.
  • Grease and line 2 x 7-inch round cake pans.
  • Dry ingredients - Whisk or combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time followed by the vanilla extract.
    Pro tip - Ensure the eggs are room temperature and add them gradually, one at a time, to prevent the batter curdling.
  • Next, add the flour and buttermilk in three batches. Then, fold in the sprinkles with a spatula.
    Pro tip - Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to ensure you have a smooth batter. Do not overmix at this point to prevent bleeding.
  • Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 45 minutes until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
  • Cool in the baking pan for 10 minutes. Then, invert onto a cooling rack until completely cold.
    Pro tip - Chilling the cake in the fridge overnight or in the freezer for an hour will make it easier to carve.

Chocolate cake

  • Preheat the oven at 325 F / 165 C / Gas Mark 3.
  • Grease and line a 7-inch round cake pans.
  • Dry ingredients - Whisk or combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract.
    Pro tip - Ensure the eggs are room temperature and add them gradually, one at a time, to prevent the batter curdling.
  • Next, add the flour and buttermilk in three batches.
    Pro tip - Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to ensure you have a smooth batter.
  • Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 45 minutes until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
  • Cool in the baking pan for 10 minutes. Then, invert onto a cooling rack until completely cold.

Frosting

  • Vanilla buttercream - In the bowl of a stand mixer, with the paddle attachment, cream the butter for a minute then add the powdered sugar, whipping cream, and vanilla extract. Whip until light and fluffy.
    Pro tip - You must whip the buttercream until it's light and airy about 2 to 3 minutes.
  • Chocolate buttercream - Take 3 cups of vanilla buttercream and fold in the melted chocolate until smooth and well combined.
    Pro tip - Make sure the melted chocolate is cooled before you fold it into the buttercream to prevent the chocolate from seizing.
  • Chocolate ganache - Add the chocolate and whipping cream in a microwave safe bowl. Heat in the microwave for a minute or two stirring every 30 seconds until smooth. Set aside to cool until it thickens to peanut butter consistency.

Veggies - using fondant with CMC

  • Onions - I rolled sheets of violet and white as shown in the video. Then, rolled them like a jelly roll until I had a 3-inch log. Freeze the log for 30 minutes so it becomes firm. Then, slice into thin slices.
    Pro tip- Freezing will harden the fondant and easier to cut. Otherwise, the onions slices will be misshapen.
  • Tomatoes - Roll red fondant to ¼ inch thickness. Then, cut 3-inch circles and each circle into half. I made a few tomato seeds using yellow fondant. And painted the edges with a deeper red.
    Pro tip - I made only two slcies that were visible with tomato seeds, the rest I kept plain with painted edges.
  • Pickles - Roll lime green fondant into ¼ inch thickness then cut small circles. Use a thin ball tool to make holes and paint the edges with olive green food gel color.
  • Lettuce - Roll light green fondant as thin as possible. Cut into quarters, and use a flower veiner to make leaf impression. Use a ball tool to think and frill the edges. Place the pieces on crunched foil to dry.
    Pro tip - Do not dry them too hard, just enough so they hold their shape. Otherwise, they can crack with the weight of the top burger bun cake.
  • Cheese slice - I rolled orange-colored fondant into a square. Then, cut that square diagonally to get four triangles
  • Mustard paste - I colored some white chocolate ganache with orange gel food color to make a mustard paste.
    Ketchup - And added a few drops of red color to strawberry jelly to make ketchup.

Beef patty

  • Carve the chocolate cake as shown in the video using a sharp paring knife. Then, frost it on both sides with chocolate frosting. Chill the cake for a hour or until firm.
    Pro tip - Chill the cake until the frosting is firm so it is easier to cover with fondant.
  • Cover the cake with brown fondant as shown in the video. Then, take a piece of aluminum foil crunch it into a tight oven. Roll the foil over the brown fondant to create an impression.
  • Using a thick paint brush and brown food gel, paint the burger patties as shown in the video. Set aside until ready to assemble.

Burger bun top

  • Take one of the 7-inch layer cakes. Carve a dome as shown in the video. I torted the layer in half and frosted with vanilla buttercream. Alternatively, you can leave the dome without layering it.
  • Frost the outside of the dome with white chocolate ganache. Use a soft plastic smoother to smooth as much as possible. Chill the cake into the fridge until the ganache is firm.
    Pro tip - Chill the cake until the ganache is firm so it is easier to cover with fondat. I like to leave it in the fridge for a few hours.
  • Then, cover the cake with ivory fondant. Airbrush the cake as shown in the video using shades of Ivory airbrush colors. While still wet sprinkle some sesame seeds. Set aside until ready to assemble.

Burger bun bottom.

  • Carve the second 7-inch layer cake as shown in the video. Tort into two and frost it with vanilla buttercream in between layers.
  • Frost the outside with white chocolate ganache and chill in the fridge until firm. Then, cover the cake with ivory fondant as shown in the video.
  • Airbrush the cake as shown in the video using shades of Ivory food gel color. Set aside until ready to assemble.

French fries

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and airy. Add a few drops of ivory food color gel.
    Pro tip - It is important that the sugar is completely melted during the creaming process otherwise the dough will look grainy.
  • Then, add the egg, followed by the flour and vanilla extract. Tranfer the dough to a work surface and divide into two. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and chill until firm enough to roll.
  • Once chilled, roll the dough to about ½ inch thickness. Cut the French fries as shown in the video and chill again in the fridge for 30 minutes.
  • Preheat the oven at 30°F /177°C/ Gas Mark 4. Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes then on a cooling rack until cooled completely.
  • When cooled, dusted the fried with a combination red, brown, and gold dust (powdered colors) as shown in the video.
    Pro tip - It is easy to get carried away with dust colors. So, use a soft thick brush and very little colors at first. Add more if necessary.

Assemble the hamburger

  • On a 16-inch square cake board, place the burger bun bottom as shown in the video.
    Pro tip - Use a little frosting on the board to prevent the cake from moving.
  • Pipe some orange colored ganache (mustard paste) around the edges and fill the center with vanilla buttercream as shown in the video.
  • Place the burger patty on top. Top the patty with fondant cheese slices and veggies - onion slices, tomato, pickles and lettuce.
  • Finally, place the burger bun top. I used a dowel to ensure the top does not move around. Pipe the ganache mustard paste and strawberry jelly ketchup as needed.
    Pro tip - It is best to use straws as the wooden dowels can hurt somone if not taken care.
  • Arrange the french fries around the cake. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

  • When planning your cake, keep the taste as much as the design of the cake in mind. While you can use just one cake and frosting, using more than one will give your guests more variety to try. 
  • Use butter-based cakes are these are easier to carve and don't fall apart as easily. 
  • The cakes can be baked up to a month in advance and kept in the freezer. Thaw in the fridge overnight before carving. 
  • If using fresh cake make sure to chill the cake overnight or an hour in the fridge. This will make fewer crumbs when carving. 
  • Use a small serrated knife for carving - this will keep you in control of how much cake you cut. 
  • The veggies can be made up to a month in advance and kept in an airtight container as well. 
  • Make sure the lettuce does not dry too hard as it can break with the weight of the top cake. 
  • I used a dowel in the center of the cake to ensure all the different elements of the cake stays in place. 

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

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