Rocket Cake for a Space Party : Toddler Tuesdays

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Have a little one at home that loves space?   Make this super easy but adorable Rocket Cake for a Space Party!  You’ll be amazed by how easy it is to make this cake.

When J turned 2 I really had no idea what type of cake to make him.  We did a big Little Blue Truck party for his first birthday but we didn’t have a big party for his second birthday so I didn’t want to go with some crazy theme.  After putting some thought into it I decided to do a space theme because that’s how his room is decorated.  

I’ve already shared the Space Cake I made for his small family party which was a little more complex than this cake.   I made this Rocket Cake for his actual birthday when it was only the three of us at home so I wanted something simple especially since I was already back to school.

The great thing about this Rocket Cake is that you can use your favorite cake base.  Whether you make it from scratch or from a box mix it doesn’t matter.  This cake is all about the decorations. 

I whipped up a homemade yellow cake with buttercream frosting.  J doesn’t actually like cake but he does like my buttercream so I figured he would at least eat some of the frosting.  I whipped up a batch of my buttercream and dyed it blue to cover the cake.

So basically all you need is a baked cake, a lot of frosting, and sprinkles.  You need to be able to pipe a rocket ship onto the cake with your frosting.  This may seem hard but I’m a terrible artist and I was able to pipe an easy rocket onto a cake.

Then you simply use the sprinkles to be the “fire” coming from the back of the rocket.  It’s super cute and really easy to do.   That’s it!  J loved it and I have to admit so did I.  It was such a fun idea and easy to execute.

Pro Tips & Substitutions:

• While I always advocate for homemade frosting you certainly can use canned frosting for this recipe.  Make sure you buy at least one can of white frosting so you can dye it to make the rocket.
• Any color of sprinkles can be used or make your own combination by combining several containers that only have a tiny bit left in them!  This is a great way to get rid of the sprinkles that only have a few shakes left in them.
• If you really don’t think you can “draw” a rocket on your cake get a pack of rocket ship paper paper at the dollar store, cut out the rocket, and stick it on top of the cake for an easy decoration.

Yield: serves 12

Rocket Cake for a Space Party : Toddler Tuesdays

Print

A delicious vanilla cake decorated with vanilla buttercream frosting and a rocket ship blasting off in sprinkles.

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 2½ c. flour
• 1 t. baking powder
• ½ t. baking soda
• 1 t. salt
• 3 sticks butter (1 cup)
• 1½ c. sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 T. vanilla
• ¾ c. milk

For the frosting:

• 3 sticks butter (1 1/2cups), softened
• 5 c. powdered sugar
• 2-3 T. milk
• 1 T. vanilla
• blue and black food coloring
• 1 c. sprinkles

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spray two 8 inch cake pans with baking spray and line the bottom of the pans with parchment paper. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix and set aside.
4. In another large bowl cream together the butter and sugar. Add in the eggs and vanilla and mix well.
5. Add half of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until combined.
6. Add the milk to the butter mixture and mix until smooth.
7. Add in the remaining flour mixture and mix until just combined, do not over mix.
8. Divide the batter between the two prepared pans and put in the oven.
9. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool 10 minutes. Run a butter knife around the edges and remove the cakes from the pans. Cool completely on wire racks.
10. To make the frosting place the butter in a large bowl. Beat with a mixer until smooth.
11. Add in the powdered sugar a cup at a time until the mixture is smooth.
12. Add in the milk and vanilla and mix until smooth.
13. Remove 1 cup of frosting and dye it black. Dye the remaining frosting blue.
14. Place one cake layer on a cake round and top with 3/4 cup of the blue frosting. Spread over the top.
15. Top the first cake layer with a second layer and cover the cake with the blue frosting.
16. Using the black frosting draw a rocket ship on top of the cake.
17. Using the sprinkles, make it look like the rocket is blasting off by starting narrow then widening the sprinkles off the side of the cake as pictured.
18. Enjoy!

Notes

A Hezzi-D Original recipe

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