Pirate Ship Birthday Cake Ideas
Pirates are a favorite character of many little boys (and girls), so don't be surprised to get a request for a pirate-themed birthday party. A creative cake to go with the theme is a pirate ship cake. You can choose to do a model pirate ship, a 3-D pirate ship scene or a 2-D pirate ship picture.
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Pirate Ship Cakes
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To make a 3-D cake that looks like a model of a pirate ship, start with two round cakes and cut each in half down the middle. For this project, firm cakes are best; nothing too fluffy or crumbly. Glue all four pieces together in a uniform stack, using icing to make them stick; the rounded part becomes the bottom of the ship and the flat part is the deck.
Ice your ship hull with chocolate icing, then draw wooden planks horizontally with a knife. Chill until the icing is firm. Use wafer sticks or brown candy sticks as the edge of the deck. Fasten them with icing. Press wafer rolls, Tootsie Rolls, licorice sticks or other cylindrical candies into the side of the hull to be cannons. Attach candles sideways to the ends of these or simply insert the candles sideways into the side of the cake.
Decorate the deck with malted milk balls as the cannon balls. Add some toy pirates to man the ship. Make square or rectangular sails out of paper. Put several sails on each of three wooden skewers, then push the skewers into the middle of the deck in a row from front to back. On the top of one of the masts, add a black sail with a skull and crossbones cutout made from white paper.
3-D Pirate Ship Scene Cakes
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If you want to add a scene around your pirate ship, start with the same basic 3-D pirate ship, but use smaller cakes to make it. Then take a basic rectangular cake, ice it in blue icing to look like the ocean and place the pirate ship cake in one corner.
You can write a message on the "water", or add an upside-down cupcake iced with light chocolate icing to be an island with some plastic palm trees and a treasure chest on it. Use costume jewelry or gold coins to be the treasure. You can also add some gummy fish, plastic sharks, mermaids or other sea-dwelling creatures to the blue ocean.
2-D Pirate Ship Picture Cakes
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If you're not into building model ships, you can also make a flat cake with a picture of a pirate ship scene on it. Cover a rectangular cake in blue icing to represent the water and sky. Using that as your blank canvas, draw your pirate ship on the cake with colored icing, or use colored fondant or fruit roll-ups to make the boat's hull and sails. If working with a fruit roll-up, soften it in the microwave for about 3 seconds. Twizzlers make good masts, too. Add some candy fish in the sea and some icing birds in the sky.
To display any of these cakes, consider putting some gold foil-covered coins and strings of faux pearls and craft jewels around the base as treasure, or place the whole thing on a treasure map. Ahoy, matey!
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