How to Make a Ying and Yang Birthday Cake

Get as creative as you like while designing this cake.

A yin yang cake is a perfect birthday cake for twins, or for someone who has a passion for martial arts and the far east. While there are many creative ways to make a cake like this, the basic elements are the same. Get as creative with your colors and flavors as you like. Either bake the cakes with a yin-yang cake ring or cut them in the shape of the symbol once the cakes have cooled. Another option is to line the middle of the pans with a piece of aluminum in the shape of an "S." Does this Spark an idea?

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Vanilla cake mix
Chocolate cake mix
White fondant
Black fondant
Buttercream frosting
Cream cheese frosting
Dark chocolate frosting
Spatula
2 round cake pans

Instructions

Quick and Easy
- 1
  
  Set aside two round cake pans. By following the directions on the package or your recipe card, bake a chocolate cake in one pan and a vanilla cake in the other.
- 2
  
  Cut both cakes in half after they've cooled. Stack the two chocolate halves on top of each other and do the same with the two vanilla cake halves.
- 3
  
  Add a layer of frosting in between the two layers. Use cream cheese for the vanilla cake and dark chocolate for the chocolate, then slather the rest of the two cakes with the remainder of your frosting. Fit the two sections together.
- 4
  
  Place a dot of cream cheese frosting on the chocolate side, and a dot of dark chocolate frosting on the vanilla side to create the eyes of the yin yang symbol.
Fondant Yin Yang Cake
- 5
  
  Prepare your cakes as discussed in the first section. Instead of using flavored icing, cover the entire cake with a thin layer of homemade buttercream icing. This process is called crumb coating. The icing will keep the fondant -- available at craft and grocery stores -- in place.
- 6
  
  Knead your fondant, both the black and the white, as you would bread dough. Dust your work area with corn starch to keep the fondant from sticking. Don't take your fondant out directly from the refrigerator; it is most pliable at room temperature.
- 7
  
  Roll out the fondant with a rolling pin until it is 1/4 to 1/8 inch thick.
- 8
  
  Carefully lay the black fondant over your chocolate cake and your white fondant over your vanilla cake, or vice versa. Use a pizza cutter to cut off the excess. Add a dot of opposing colored fondant to finish up your yin yang cake.