Fake Cake Tutorial

So you’re looking for a one-of-a-kind craft that is fun, easy, and low cost– you’ve found it!

Fake cakes are one of my favorite crafts to do because it is a low-effort high-reward craft meaning that this craft looks great with low effort. When I first discovered fake cakes I was immediately obsessed and luckily as a baker I had some extra piping bags ready for this craft.

So, what do you need to begin? Well, let’s start off with the materials; you’re going to need a jewelry box or small cardboard box, plaster, plaster knife(you can use a popsicle stick in a jam), piping bag and tip, air dry clay, acrylic paint and a bowl.

Getting Started

So to recap you’re going to need the following materials.

-Wooden Jewelry Box or Cardboard Box (I recommend buying these, but if you can’t find them or want to make your own ,check out this tutorial).

-Offset Spatula (or as a last resort, large popsicle stick, although I highly recommend the offset spatula)

-Plaster (I recommend these)

-Plaster/Clay crafting tool(s)

-Piping Bags and Tips

-Acrylic Paint

-Air Dry Clay (To make cherries, strawberries, etc.)

-Bowl (to mix acrylic paint with plaster)

-Charms (Optional)

TBD: URL to YouTube Tutorial

Directions

1. Set up a location where you will be doing your craft, prepare all materials, and put down a newspaper, plastic sheet, etc where you will set aside your cake to dry.
2. Once you have your craft station ready, this can be anywhere, there is no pressure to have an amazing picture perfect setup, all you need is a small space where you can lay out your materials, scoop out some of your plaster from the container and put about 4 oz (~63 g) into a bowl.
3. This plaster bowl mix will become your cake’s base layer. So once you have some plaster in the bowl, add small increments (0.2 ounces,~1.5 g) of acrylic paint of your choice to the plaster. Please note that once the paint mixes with the white plaster the color will automatically lighten, so if you want a darker finish, use a darker shade of the acrylic paint.
4. Once you have your base mixed, grab your cake box and start adding small increments of your base mix (plaster and acrylic paint) onto the exterior of the box, smoothing it out with the plaster knife as you go.
5. Once you have finished the exterior sides of the box, move onto the bottom part of the box, this will allow you to place the box upside down to dry, without damaging your finished base. When you finish with the bottom base layer, place the box to the side to dry.
6. Using the same base mix, you are now going to do the top part of your cake box. Applying the same method as before, add more of the base mix to the top part of your cake box and smooth it out with the plaster knife. Once the base is smoothed to your liking, keep in mind that it won’t be perfectly smooth and that’s okay, set aside the top to dry.
7. Optional: While your plaster cake box dries, I recommend using air-dry clay to create some fun cake toppings such as: strawberries, cherries, blueberries, etc.
   • Creating air-dry clay cherries is a straightforward task. You’re going to grab a small ball of clay, around 0.5 ounces (~15 g), roll it in the palms of your hands, and then make a slight indent on one end of it, you can use your nail, pencil, or plaster knife, this is where we will put the cherry stem.
   • Once you have created an indentation on your cherry, put in the cherry stem, this will ensure that the stem stays when the clay dries. For my cherry stems I cut some red paperclips into small pieces and then bent it slightly to give it a more realistic look.
   • I recommend setting aside the cherries to dry before painting them, but you are welcome to paint them even though the clay isn’t dry.
   • Use this time to create as many other toppings as you would like, including strawberries, blueberries, kiwis, etc.

8. Once your plaster is done drying (check your plaster container for specific times and details), the really fun part begins. Grab your plastic piping bags and a piping tip, preferably an open or closed star, you will be using this for the cake “frosting” so we want to make sure it looks cute.

9. Open up your piping bag and insert the piping tip into it, pushing it down to the bottom. Once it fits snugly use scissors to cut a small opening where the tip will come out of.

10. Using your plaster knife, (please clean off the base mix, if you haven’t already), add some plaster into the piping bag. Using your plaster knife or hands push the “plaster frosting” down to the bottom of the bag and then seal the bag with a rubber band or string.

11. Now for the fun part, using your piping bag, add frosting onto your dried plaster cake! The “wet” plaster frosting automatically sticks to your cake, no glue needed. Add as much “frosting” as you would like, I recommend putting frosting on the top, middle and bottom part of your cake. If you’re going to put clay cherries on your cake, make sure you take the dried clay cherries and use them to make an indentation onto the wet plaster (this will make it easier to glue them onto our “frosting” once it dries). If you are adding charms to your frosting, do so now as the wet plaster will act as an adhesive for the charms.

• Optional: Add acrylic paint to your frosting plaster to change the color of your frosting.

Final Step (Optional): Decorate your cake with clay sprinkles, cherries, strawberries, beads, jewels, etc to get a cuter finished look.

CONGRATULATIONS! You have finished your first fake cake. This is the moment where you pat yourself on the back for a job well done!

*Please make sure you are reading the instructions and information on your materials, this will ensure that you use the product accurately and safely. It is important to note that you should be closing your air dry clay and plaster containers after use as leaving them unsealed may cause them to dry out.