How to Decorate a Cow Birthday Cake

Cows make an appealing theme for a cake if your child is having a farm-themed birthday party. Once you bake the necessary components and have the icing at hand, the cow cake is simple to create as long as you have basic cake decorating skills.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Baked 10-inch round cake
• Serving platter
• Baked dome-shaped cake (baked in either a Pyrex bowl or the Wilton Ball pan)
• 3 baked cupcakes
• White buttercream icing
• Pastry bags
• Star icing tip
• Chocolate buttercream icing (or white icing tinted brown)
• Pink gel food coloring
• Malted milk balls

1. Place the cooled round cake on the serving platter. This will create the body of the cow cake. Crumb coat the round cake by spreading a thin layer of white buttercream icing over it.

2. Place the cooled domed cake in the center on the round cake. This is the head of the cow cake. Crumb coat the domed cake with a thin layer of buttercream icing.

3. Place two of the cupcakes at the bottom of the round cake pan to form the cow’s legs. Cut the third cupcake in half to make the ears. Place the ears on the round cake near the top of the domed cake. You may find it easier to ice the cupcakes before putting them in place.

4. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a star icing tip with the chocolate or brown-tinted buttercream icing. Pipe stars to make the cow's brown spots on the cow's body and legs. There is no right or wrong way to add the spots. Put as many or as few brown spots on your cow cake as you want.

5. Tint a small amount of the white buttercream icing with the pink food coloring. Place the pink icing in another pastry bag and pipe the inside of the ears and a mouth on your cow cake.

6. Place the remaining white buttercream icing in a pastry bag fitted with a star tip. Fill in the rest of the cow cake with the white icing.

7. Place malted milk balls on the cow cake for eyes. Cut a malted milk ball in half to use for the cow's nostrils.

Tips & Warnings

• To add a grassy background, tint 2 cups of coconut with green food coloring. Sprinkle the coconut around the cow.

• Use icing instead of malted milk balls to create the cow's nose and eyes.

References

• Family Fun: Cow Cake