Hello, my unicorn-lovin’ friend! Or maybe you actually despise them. Regardless, EVERYBODY and their mama want one AND you’re scouring the internet searching for the successful unicorn “must-haves”. You, my friend, are in the right place. And if you’ve been living under a rock -- it’s time to peek out and join the rest of the world -- unicorn cakes are all the rage! And for good reason -- they are so stinkin’ cute! Be real, most of us wouldn’t hate it if a unicorn just magically appeared in our kitchen one day, right? Well, that’s not going to happen, so you best get to baking

So, we’re here to the rescue with some of the tips & tricks we use to make sure our little unicorn babies look incredible from their cute cake body all the way to the tip of their horns.

LET’S START AT THE BOTTOM! But, really.

Now, before you start digging into all the fun parts of creating your unicorn, remember it’s important to start with a sturdy cake. So what exactly do I mean by that? Well, we don’t want something fluffy with a loose crumb, but rather, we want a nice dense crumb. A gooey, squishy base cake might have your unicorn looking a little, well...floppy and no one wants that, right?! You can use my favorite Kara’s Perfect Vanilla Cake Recipe to get that perfectly dense, yet delicious and moist, cake. Having a solid base is the canvas for your epic masterpiece, don’t fall short!

Speaking of short...while you might see some unicorn cakes that are short & stubby, we highly suggest your base be at least 5 inches tall. We want her slender and tall, kinda like a supermodel unicorn.

Tip! Make those layers COLORFUL for a fun little surprise for your guests...because unicorns are magical inside toooo.

Now that you’ve got your cake perfectly made, we’re going to share some of our favorite decor to help you create the cutest unicorn ever!

SPRINKLES

What better to adorn your precious unicorn with than some fun colorful sprinkles?! Grab your favorite sprinkle colors and mix those babies together to give your unicorn cake some instant PA-ZAZ (everyone knows unicorns to be all about the paaaa zaz.). And if you’re not sure of the colors you want to use, check out our friends at Sprinkle Pop because they have created the MOST PERFECT unicorn sprinkle mix!

If you still aren’t convinced of the colors, you can also work with Liz at Sprinkle Pop to create a custom sprinkle mix order that is exactly to your liking! Warning: These sprinkles are highly addictive. #Sorrynotsorry, to your hubby, in advance for you spending all of your cake moolah there!

COLOR

One of the best parts of a unicorn cake is picking fun colors! If you’ve picked your sprinkle mix from Sprinkle Pop, use those colors as your color guide! And remember that you don’t want to stray too far from those colors in order to keep your cake harmonious. Because, duh, unicorns are the most harmonious of them all.

If you’re feeling stumped on color choice, try pulling out your color wheel! Mix complementary colors (opposite sides of the color wheel) to get the perfectly paired shades! Or maybe try analogous color shades (any three colors which are side by side on the color wheel). And, no, you don’t need to go super bright, any shade of that color will do! Love purple? Maybe try a more pastel purple for a softer appeal.

Also, peruse through Pinterest as they’ve got loads of inspiring color combos. And if all else fails, do what Skittles suggests and use (ok yes, we know they say taste, haha!) the rainbow!

MAKE THAT MANE MARVELOUS

The mane is like the MAIN thang to bring it all together (see what I did there?). That mane needs a little flare! A few ways to do that?

Change up your icing tips! Start with your chosen colors in different icing bags and use a coupler on them so you can switch out the tips easily. Use different sizes, different teeth, giving your unicorn an OH-so-fresh straight outta the hairdresser kinda look. 😉 Yeah… I said that. Here are some of my favorite icing tips for this job.

@whippedcakeco

Add some MANE accessories. Make your unicorn all boho fresh with some buttercream flowers or even little fondant cut-outs! Easy, and really, just such a sweet touch. Or add some macarons, meringues, candies, the options are endless when it comes to customizing your Unicorn!

@sugarbitesthebakery

@luciacake215

GLITTER

Ok, ok, you had to have known this was coming! What is a unicorn cake without glitter?! Answer: just a cake. Perhaps you want to lightly glitter the base of your unicorn cake or maybe add some glitter to the horn. Whatever it is you want to do, go all out!  Because really, glitter makes everything better. Despite what “he” says when he finds it in random places the next day.

But, what’s the point if the glitter isn’t edible? In fact, why would you even use inedible glitter, right? So here you go, a tutorial for EDIBLE GLITTER. Which you can make AT HOME. You’re welcome, friend.

Go... glitter all the things! And if your significant other tries to find out where you got this insane idea, don’t tell them it was my fault, mkay?

@withloveandconfection

THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX

Try and change things up a bit! As Ashley Holt says from Sugar Monster Bakery, "Don't be afraid to stand out!" as she shows us her awesome rendition of a different kinda unicorn cake.. a, not so alive, one. 🙂

@sugar_monsterr

Or maybe switch up the features with COOKIES... cookie horn, cookie ears, even cookie WINGS (if you want to make it a Pegasus!)!

@prettyyummycookieco

@biscut.nn

UNICORN HORN

Okay, so this just might be the most important factor! The unicorn horn is meant to be magical and yet, it’s so easy to mess up! Surely you’ve seen some of the unicorn horn fail pictures on Google. No? That’s a rabbit hole worth going down! 😉 Instead of taking that risk, let us help you out! Check out this snippet on how to make a Unicorn Horn from our Chibi Unicorn tutorial :

And there you have it, lovelies! Now that you’re armed with these tips and tricks for creating the most magical unicorn cake, go out and conquer it! You’re going to absolutely nail this cake so be sure to share your creations!

If you’re looking to bring your unicorn cake to the next level, you are definitely going to want to check out this Chibi Floating Unicorn Cake Tutorial! It’s a total game-changer and you don’t want to miss it!

Well, I hope you feel a little better armed to create a kick-ass Unicorn cake! Be sure to share with us your creations, we'd love to see them!