How to Decorate a Popcorn Cake

Theme birthday parties are popular for both children and adults. One of the most important elements is to have a birthday cake that matches the party theme. If you've decided to throw a movie premier party or circus party, create a birthday cake that looks like a giant tub of popcorn. This tasty treat will tie-in with the rest of your party decorations. While a popcorn cake looks very complicated to construct, it can be finished by older school children and other novice cake decorators. Add this to my Recipe Box.

Mix up a batch of cake batter according to the package directions. Divide the batter between the two halves of a giant cupcake pan. Bake the cake layers according to the package directions. Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool.

Center the bottom layer of cake in the middle of a serving plate. Frost the top of this layer with a 1/4 inch coating of the frosting. Center the top layer of the cake on top of this frosting.

Frost the entire outside of the cake with white frosting. Make the surface of the frosting smooth without any extra swirls or stripes.

Cut 3 1/3-inch strips of red fruit rollup. Slice the strips in half lengthwise to create thin red stripes. Press the fruit stripes onto the surface of the bottom layer, creating vertical stripes all around the bottom. This makes the bottom of the cake look like a popcorn tub.

Pile mini marshmallows onto the top of the cake, pressing them gently into the frosting. Place the marshmallows in random order, making them look piled up. Make sure the entire top of the cake is covered in piles of marshmallows.

Place about one inch of water in the bottom of a clean spray bottle. Drop in yellow food coloring, shaking the bottle between drops, until you have a bright yellow color. Replace the spray top on the bottle.

Spray yellow-tinted water in random spots all over the marshmallows. This colors the surface of the marshmallows and makes them look like popcorn with butter coating.

Tips

- Spray the yellow coloring very lightly, so you don't make the marshmallows soggy.