How to Make an Exploding Bomb-Shaped Cake

Exploding a cake with fireworks leaves nothing left to eat.

Anyone can stick fireworks in a cake to blow it up, but there won't be much cake left for guests to eat. A cartoon-style, bomb-shaped cake that pops up enough to startle the unsuspecting cutter without exploding completely provides the element of surprise without rendering the cake completely inedible.

Things You'll Need

• 4 1/2 cups of cake batter (pound or firm-textured batter works best)
• 1 Wilton sports ball pan set
• 1 12" cardboard cake board
• 1 sharpened, non-serrated knife
• 1 frosting knife
• 3 cups butter cream frosting
• 1 rolling pin
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 3 cups refrigerated black fondant
• 1 air compressor with nozzled hose attached
• 1 rubber band
• 1 water balloon
• 1 candle wick or silver pipe cleaner
• 1 serving table with a whole in the center (such as an patio table with the umbrella removed)
• 1 disposable plastic table cloth

Instructions

Making the Cake

1. Bake the 4 1/2 cups of batter in the sports ball pan set. Be sure to follow the recipe for the batter as well as the instructions that come with the pans. Let the cake cool.

2. Attach the two halves of the ball cake together using the butter cream frosting and the frosting knife per the cake pan instructions. Spread two thin coats of the butter cream frosting across the entire outer surface of the ball cake. This creates a crumb coat to prevent the fondant from catching on the rough cake surface.

3. Refrigerate the cake for at least 2 hours to set the frosting. After the frosting has set, hollow out a small cavity in the bottom of the cake.

4. Cut a 1-inch hole in the cardboard cake board using the sharpened knife. Set the cake on the cake board, making sure to line up the opening of the cavity in the bottom of the cake with the 1-inch hole in the cake board. Fasten the cake securely to the cake board per the cake pan instructions.

5. Roll out the refrigerated black fondant into a 1/4-inch thick sheet on a counter top sprinkled with a portion of the 1/2 cup of powdered sugar. Sprinkle more of the powdered sugar on top of the black fondant. Rub some on the rolling pin prior to rolling to prevent the fondant from sticking.

6. Drape the sheet of black fondant across the cake, making sure to cover the entire surface. Press the fondant firmly down onto the cake and trim away any excess edges with the sharpened knife.

7. Form the leftover black fondant into a 1-inch thick rounded disk. Insert the candle wick or silver pipe cleaner into its center to create the fuse. Fasten the fondant fuse to the top of the cake using the leftovers of the butter cream icing.

Set up & Explosion

1. Fit the water balloon over the nozzle of the air compressor hose, fastening it solidly into place with the rubber band.

2. Cut a hole in the center of the disposable tablecloth directly over the hole in the patio table. Set the cake onto the covered patio table, making sure to line up the hole in the bottom of the cake with the hole on the table.

3. Run the air hose up under the table. Insert the water balloon-covered nozzle up through the hole, wedging it into the center of the cake.

4. Stretch the air hose out from under the cake table, making sure to hide it from detection.

5. Turn the air compressor on just as the unsuspecting guest of honor begins to cut into the cake. The balloon will expand, forcing the cake to puff out and pop in a small explosion.

Tips & Warnings

• To keep the surprise, make sure the air compressor is well away from the cake so the hissing sound it produces doesn't alert or distract the guest of honor from the cake before it explodes.

References

• Wilton: Sports Ball Pan Set