Burger Cake Hamburger Cake Decorating Tutorial

Almost everybody loves hamburgers and cheeseburgers, so the idea of making a cake based on this food is not just fun to eat but also to make. I made this cake for my daughter Rhea’s birthday. Her favorite food is hamburgers, so it made the perfect theme for her. Of course, everyone in school was thrilled and fascinated with the idea of a food cake.

About this cake

The cake is very simple and easy to make with not as many tools and special equipment needed. The cake as a whole looks very intimidating but when you break it down into sections you will see that each section is easy to make. Like any novelty cake, this is not a cake you make in one day, from start to finish, so plan accordingly. You will need to make a few things in advance and keep enough chilling or drying time in between steps. The cake is very versatile and almost everything is optional and easy to substitute.

Timeline for this burger cake.

Day 1 – Make veggies and leave them to dry (approx. 1 hour).Day 2 – Bake the two cakes. Wrap and chill overnight (approx. 1.40 mins).Day 3 – Carve, fill and frost the cake – chill then airbrush the cake (2 hours).Day 3 or 4 – Assemble the cake (15 minutes).The cookie French fries can be made on Day 2, 3, or 4 (1 hour).

You will need

Cake – You will need 3 x 7-inch round cakes. One for the beef patty and two for the burger buns. I am using two types of cakes. The vanilla-based funfetti cake for the burger bun and my chocolate cake for the burger patty. Of course, you can use one cake recipe for all three layers of cake because they will be covered with fondant. Here are over 50 layer cake recipes that I have on this blog that you may like to try.

Frosting – I am using a combination of vanilla buttercream, chocolate buttercream, and white chocolate ganache. But you can also use just one frosting for the whole cake. Here are my other frosting recipes that you may want to check out. Fondant – I am using my marshmallow fondant for this cake. But, any fondant, homemade or commercial would work just fine. We will need ivory fondant for the burger buns Chocolate fondant for the burger patty Gumpaste – Because I live in hot and humid weather I chose to use some gumpaste and some fondant with CMC for the veggies. Unless you have similar conditions to mine, I highly recommend using fondant with CMC as well. Cookie dough – I think French fry cookies are so much better than fondant French fries. They are delicious and also hold their shape much better. If you do choose to use fondant, make sure to add CMC to the fondant so it holds its shape.

Plus

Food color gels – You can buy pre-colored fondant in ivory, brown, and others. I like to make white fondant and then color the amount I need for my project with food color gels. That way, I do not buy big quantities and have too much excess on hand. Airbrush colors – I used ivory airbrush colors and a little liquid pearl for that shine on my burger bun. Petal dusts colors – These are powdered food color dusts that help accent sugar flowers, and fondant decorators such as these leaves and veggies.

Step by step instructions

Funfetti cake

Preheat the oven at 325 F / 165 C / Gas Mark 3.Grease and line 2 x 7-inch round cake pans.Dry ingredients – Whisk or combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.In the bowl of a stand mixer, with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract.Pro tip – Ensure the eggs are room temperature and add them gradually one at a time to prevent the batter curdling.Next, add the flour and buttermilk in three batches. Then, fold in the sprinkles with a spatula.Pro tip – Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to ensure you have a smooth batter. Do not overmix at this point to prevent bleeding.Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 45 minutes until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.Cool in the baking pan for 10 minutes. Then, invert onto a cooling rack until completely cold.Pro tip – Chilling the cake in the fridge overnight or in the freezer for an hour will make it easier to carve.

Chocolate cake

Preheat the oven at 325 F / 165 C / Gas Mark 3.Grease and line a 7-inch round cake pans.Dry ingredients – Whisk or combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.In the bowl of a stand mixer, with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract.Pro tip – Ensure the eggs are room temperature and add them gradually, one at a time, to prevent the batter curdling.Next, add the flour and buttermilk in three batches. Then, fold in the sprinkles with a spatula.Pro tip – Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to ensure you have a smooth batter. Do not overmix at this point to prevent bleeding.Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 45 minutes until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.Cool in the baking pan for 10 minutes. Then, invert onto a cooling rack until completely cold.

Frosting

Vanilla buttercream – In the bowl of a stand mixer, with the paddle attachment, cream the butter for a minute then add the powdered sugar, whipping cream, and vanilla extract. Whip until light and fluffy.Pro tip – You must whip the buttercream until it’s light and airy about 2 to 3 minutes.Chocolate buttercream – Take 3 cups of vanilla buttercream and fold in the melted chocolate until smooth and well combined.Pro tip – Make sure the melted chocolate is cooled before you fold it into the buttercream to prevent the chocolate from seizing.Chocolate ganache – Add the chocolate and whipping cream to a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in the microwave for a minute or two stirring every 30 seconds until smooth. Set aside to cool until it thickens to peanut butter consistency.

Veggies – using fondant with CMC

Onions – I rolled sheets of violet and white as shown in the video. Then, rolled them like a jelly roll until I had a 3-inch log. Freeze the log for 30 minutes so it becomes firm. Then, slice into thin slices.Pro tip – Freezing will harden the fondant and easier to cut. Otherwise, onions slices will be misshapen.Tomatoes – Roll red fondant to ¼ inch thickness. Then, cut 3-inch circles and each circle in half. I made a few tomato seeds using yellow fondant. And painted the edges with a deeper red.Pro tip – I made only two slices that were visible with tomato seeds, the rest I kept plain with painted edges.Pickles – Roll lime green fondant into 1/4 inch thickness. Then, cut small circles. Use a thin ball tool to make holes and paint the edges with olive green food gel color.

Lettuce – Roll light green fondant as thin as possible. Cut into quarters, and use a flower veiner to make a leaf impression. Use a ball tool to think and frill the edges. Place the pieces on crunched aluminum foil to dry.Pro tip – Do not dry them too hard, just enough so they hold their shape. Otherwise, they can crack with the weight of the top burger bun cake.

Cheese slice – I rolled orange-colored fondant into a square. Then, cut that square diagonally to get four triangles.Mustard paste – I colored some white chocolate ganache with orange gel food color to make a mustard paste. Ketchup – And added a few drops of red color to strawberry jelly to make ketchup.

Beef patty

Carve the chocolate cake as shown in the video using a sharp pairing or serrated knife. Then, frost it on both sides with chocolate frosting. Chill the cake for an hour or until firm.Pro tip – Chill the cake until the frosting is firm so it is easier to cover with fondant.Cover the cake with brown (chocolate) fondant as shown in the video. Then, take a piece of aluminum foil crunch it into a tight oven. Roll the foil over the brown fondant to create an impression.Using a thick paintbrush and brown food color gel, paint the burger patty as shown in the video. Set aside until ready to assemble.

Burger bun – top

Take one of the 7-inch layer cakes. Carve a dome as shown in the video. I torted the layer in half and frosted it with vanilla buttercream. Alternatively, you can leave the dome without layering it.Frost the outside of the dome with white chocolate ganache. Use a soft plastic smoother to smooth as much as possible. Chill the cake into the fridge until the ganache is firm.Pro tip – Chill the cake until the ganache is firm so it is easier to cover with fondant. I like to leave it in the fridge for a few hours.Then, cover the cake with ivory fondant. Airbrush the cake as shown in the video using shades of Ivory airbrush colors. While still wet sprinkle some sesame seeds. Set aside until ready to assemble.

Burger bun – bottom

Carve the second 7-inch layer cake as shown in the video. Tort into two and frost it with vanilla buttercream in between layers.Frost the outside with white chocolate ganache and chill in the fridge until firm. Then, cover the cake with ivory fondant as shown in the video.Airbrush the cake as shown in the video using shades of Ivory food color gel. Set aside until ready to assemble.

French fries

In the bowl of a stand mixer, with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and airy. Add a few drops of ivory gel food color.Pro tip – Ut is important that the sugar is completely melted during the creaming process otherwise the dough will look grainy.Then, add the egg, followed by the flour and vanilla extract. Transfer the dough to a work surface and divide it in two. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and chill until firm enough to roll.Once chilled, roll the dough to about ½ inch thickness. Cut the French fries as shown in the video and chill again in the fridge for 30 minutes.Preheat the oven at 30°F /177°C/ Gas Mark 4. Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes then on a cooling rack until cooled completely.When cooled, dusted the fried with a combination of red, brown, and gold dust (powdered colors) as shown in the video.Pro tip – It is easy to get carried away with dust colors. So, use a soft thick brush and very few colors at first. Add more if necessary.

Assemble the hamburger

On a 16-inch square cake board, place the burger bun bottom as shown in the video.Pro tip – Use a little frosting on the board to prevent the cake from moving.Pipe some orange-colored ganache (mustard paste) around the edges and fill the center with vanilla buttercream as shown in the video.Place the burger patty on top. Top the patty with fondant cheese slices and veggies – onion slices, tomato, pickles, and lettuce.Finally, place the burger bun top. I used a dowel to ensure the top does not move around. Pipe the ganache mustard paste and strawberry jelly ketchup as neededPro tip – It is best to use straws as the wooden dowels can hurt someone if not taken care of.Arrange the french fries around the cake. Enjoy!