Image © prostooleh, under a Creative Commons license.Ever since the first My Little Pony toys were invented in 1981, this bright, sweet brand has captured the imaginations of kids everywhere.Whether your kids love playing with the My Little Pony dolls, or enjoy the more recent television show, they will certainly be delighted by this My Little Pony Rainbow Dash birthday cake. Check out this great guide to making a My Little Pony cake below, complete with a list of ingredients, all the equipment you’ll need, and some fabulous ideas for My Little Pony cake decorations.IngredientsFor The Birthday Cake:600g self-raising flour500g caster sugar500g butter4tsp baking powder8 eggsVariety of food colouring (optional)For The Icing:225g butter675g icing sugar3 tsp of orange juiceReady-rolled blue fondant icing or blue food colouringMulticoloured decorations e.g skittles, smarties, or rainbow lacesImage © UnsplashEquipmentElectric mixer or large bowl and spoon/whiskBaking paperWire cooling rackLarge rectangular cake tin, about 35cm by 22cmRainbow Dash template (you can easily print this out or sketch it from an image online, just ensure it fits inside your cake tin)Cake knife or sharp regular knifeMethod1. Heat the oven to 180C or 356F.2. Line your cake tin with baking paper, and grease well with some extra butter.3. Mix the butter and caster sugar together until you have a creamy mixture. This may take a while if you are using a bowl and spoon to make your cake, so it is a good idea to soften your butter before you start making your cake.4. Whisk in the eggs gradually, and then sift or simply pour in the flour and baking powder. Stir into your mixture of butter and sugar, until a fairly thick and smooth batter has formed. If you want to make a simple vanilla cake, pour your mixture into the baking tray.Top Tip: If you want to add an extra touch to your My Little Pony birthday cake, you could make it a My Little Pony rainbow cake. Separate your batter out into different sections (about 3 layers is ideal for this size of cake, but you can always alter the amounts listed to make more) and add a few drops of food colouring to each one. If you have 3 rectangular trays of the same size, you can bake all your layers at once. Otherwise, you can always bake one layer and then reuse your tray.5. Bake your cake or cakes in the oven. The time this takes will depend on whether you have made one cake or have gone for rainbow layers. One large cake will take around 45 minutes to bake, while each layer (depending on thickness) should take about 25 minutes.6. Remove your cake from the oven. You can check if it is fully cooked by sticking a fork in it, and ensuring no liquid batter comes off on the fork. Leave your cake to cool for 10 minutes, and then move to a wire cooling rack for a further 30 minutes.Image © artroomstudio, under a Creative Commons license.7. While your cake is cooling, mix up your butter icing using the orange juice, butter and sugar. This should only take a few minutes. If only using buttercream and not fondant for your icing, add a few drops of blue food colouring.8. Once your cake has cooled completely, place it on your cake board. Place your Rainbow Dash template on top of your cake and cut around it using a cake knife. If you have made a rainbow cake do this stage separately with each layer.9. If you want to, you could slice your cake in half so there are two layers and add some of your buttercream in between the two. If you have made a rainbow cake spread a thin layer of your icing on each layer, then place one on top of another. Ice the sides and top of your My Little Pony cake with your buttercream too. If only using buttercream for your icing, skip straight to step 10.10. Roll out your blue fondant icing till it is about 1/8 of an inch thick. Spread this on top of your My Little Pony cake and press down from the centre until it is firm and even. Tuck any excess icing underneath your cake, or remove with a knife.11. It is now time to decorate your My Little Pony cake:One simple yet effective idea to decorate your Rainbow Dash My Little Pony birthday cake is to use multicoloured sweets such as skittles or smarties for the Rainbow Dash’s rainbow coloured tail and the tuft of hair on her head. You can use some tube icing to stick these on if necessary. Looking up an image of Rainbow Dash online to see the order of these colours is also a good idea. You could also use sweets such as rainbow laces for Rainbow Dash’s tail and hair.Alternatively, you could use shop-bought tube icing to decorate your My Little Pony cake, using different colours.For a classic cartoon-like My Little Pony eye, you could use different coloured fondant ovals placed on top of one another. If you don’t have many different colours of fondant, you can always paint a white icing sheet with food colouring using a paintbrush.My Little Pony Cake TopperIf you want to make a My Little Pony birthday cake in a different style, a Rainbow Dash cake topper is a brilliant addition. Simply take some blue fondant and roll out four tube shapes for the pony’s legs, an oval shape that rises at one end to form a neck, and a round ball for the head. You can attach these together using toothpicks or some cut up dowel sticks. You can use different colours of fondant for Rainbow Dash’s hair and tail, too.Image © Eldriva under Creative Commons LicenseExtra Tips And InformationThis My Little Pony cake alone can be frozen for up to three months once baked and should be consumed within five days, during which it should be kept in an airtight container.Kids of all ages can help eat and make this cake. However, process of slicing the cake around the template should not be done by young children.For those with allergies, margarine can replace butter, a teaspoon of oil mixed with two tablespoons of oil per one egg is a great egg substitute, and coconut flour can be used for anyone with wheat allergies. It is a good idea to check the packets of all these ingredients if this cake is to be served to anyone with allergies or specific dietary requirements.
Image © prostooleh, under a Creative Commons license.
