How To Make A Ninja Turtle Cake For Your Child's Birthday

Who doesn't love superheroes?

Back when we were kids, we used to perform all sort of stunts to imitate the moves and style of our beloved superheroes. They're well known for having special powers, battling the most menacing villains, fighting crime and saving the universe in general.

There's a team of iconic 80's turtles who do just that: the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The Italian Renaissance artists inspired the names of the famous four mutant ninja turtles. Each turtle has distinctive personality traits that everyone can connect with.

There's the ever calm, dependable and bright Leonardo and the tech-savvy and studious Mutant Ninja Turtle Donatello. Michelangelo is the outgoing and fun-loving turtle that doesn't take things seriously. Finally, there's the somewhat grumpy Ninja Turtle, Raphael, who has a caring and laid-back side.

Fans of the Mutant Ninja Turtles would love to see them on their birthday cake. Why don't you take a look at our easy Ninja Turtle birthday cake recipe so that you too can create a brilliant Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle cake?
 

Ingredients

Serves 12 people.

For The Teenage Mutant Ninja Chocolate Cake:

110g dark chocolate, broken into pieces.

240ml boiling water, boil first then measure.

225g granulated sugar.

195g plain flour.

1/2 tsp salt.

3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda.

225g light brown sugar.

120ml sunflower oil.

110g sour cream.

2 large eggs.

1 tsp vanilla extract.

For The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Cake Buttercream Filling:

250g icing sugar.

80g unsalted butter, at room temperature.

25ml milk.

1/4 tsp vanilla extract.

Decorating Your Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Cake

Before you buy the coloured fondant to create your Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle cake, you'll need to decide which character to make. Here's a quick reminder:

Raphael is the red Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.

Leonardo is the blue Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.

Michelangelo is the orange Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.

Donatello is the purple Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.

You'll need a large pack of green ready-to-roll icing for this turtle cake, along with a small amount of black and white icing, as well as plenty in the colour of your chosen Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.

Equipment For The Ninja Turtle Cake

A 10-inch round cake board.

Baking paper.

Two 8-inch or 9-inch round cake pans.

Short spatula.

Mixer.

Rolling pin.

Plastic piping bag.

One plain nozzle.

Palette knife.

How To Make The Ninja Turtle Birthday Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 180C, then line and grease two 8-inch cake pans. If using 8-inch pans, there will be a little cake mix leftover - perfect for making some accompanying small cupcake style Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle cakes.

2. Place the pieces of broken chocolate in a large bowl and then pour the boiling water over the chocolate. Leave to the side whilst you mix the sugar, flour, salt, and bicarbonate of soda in a separate bowl.

3. Then return to the chocolate and water. Whisk this mixture until the consistency becomes smooth.

4. Next, add the brown sugar, oil, sour cream, eggs and vanilla one by one to the chocolate and water mixture. After each addition whisk until smooth.

5. Add a third of the flour and sugar mixture to the chocolate mixture and whisk until smooth, repeat this step until all of the dry mixture becomes incorporated into the wet mix.

6. Pour the cake mixture into the prepared pans until they are about 3/4 full and bake for 30-35 minutes. Try not to overfill the cake tins as they will not bake thoroughly and the mixture will spill over the sides.

7. Leave the cakes to cool in the cake tins for at least 10 minutes before putting them onto a wire rack. Ensure both cakes are completely cool before icing and decorating the Ninja Turtle birthday cake.

8. To make the buttercream, beat the butter until soft and fluffy. Then add the icing sugar, milk, and vanilla essence. Beat the mixture until it becomes smooth and creamy.

Assembling Your Mutant Ninja Turtle Cake

Once the cake has cooled, sandwich the top and bottom layers together with buttercream. Leave a little buttercream on top of the cake to use as a 'glue' for the fondant facial features of your chosen Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.

Decorating Your Mutant Ninja Turtle Cake

Use white fondant to make the Ninja Turtle's eyes and teeth. The black fondant is for detailing, and the red for the Ninja Turtle's tongue. The large green fondant will cover the cake, looking like the skin of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.

Method:

1. Sprinkle your work surface with icing sugar to prevent the fondant from sticking.

Roll it to the thickness you desire, be sure it is large enough to cover the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Cake. Gently pick up the fondant with the rolling pin and drape it across the cake. Smooth it over and gently press down around the edges of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cake.

2. Re-dust the work surface with icing sugar and roll the coloured fondant for the Ninja Turtle mask. You can make one freehand or go online and print out a turtle mask to use as a template to trace.

3. Once more, re-dust and roll out the white fondant to create the eyes. If you choose to do it freehand, you can use circular cutters to get the right shape, alternative use a printed template found online.

4. Cut out a smile shape from the black fondant and use the red to form a tongue.

5. Roll out a few long strands of black icing and use these to outline the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle eye mask.

6. Place your amazing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cake on the cake board!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Cake Tips And Alternatives

Sifting flour into the mix will ensure a light and airy Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cake.

Children aged one and over can eat this cake, from the age of two they can help you bake it and from the age of seven, they can help decorate.

To create a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle birthday cake with a message, simply use an icing pen to write on the cake board.

To make this Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle cake suitable for vegans, simply swap the dairy items for vegan substitutes. Remember to check that the fondant icing is also vegan friendly. For those with gluten allergies, replace the flour with gluten free flour.

This Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle cake will freeze well for up to three months, wrap it tightly with clingfilm and defrost fully before consumption.

Second image credit: Lauren Elisabeth / Shutterstock.com