11 Cartoon Cake Ideas with Comic Book Cake Trend

by: Jo

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11 Cartoon Cake Ideas with Comic Book Cake Trend

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We can't help but love the latest cartoon cake decorating trend where the cakes look just like 2D cartoon drawings. We've seen comic cakes on Tik-Tok and just couldn't get enough, so we've pulled together a list of our favorite 10 cartoon cake ideas.

What is a comic or cartoon cake?

Comic cakes or cartoon cakes are regular cakes that are decorated to look like 2D cartoons. The resulting look is very whimsical and looks more like a drawing than a cake. The key to the comic cake look is a very limited color palette of only two or three colors, usually pastel, which are then outlined in black.

Most cake decorators use extruded black fondant or thinly piped black icing for the outlining so that it looks the shapes are outlined in black ink. Some cartoon cakes even go further by using only black and white, making the cake look like a line drawing.

Cartoon cakes are showing up everywhere, including a recent episode of Food Network's Summer Baking Championship, where contestants had to create "Sweets For Barbie" toy cakes fit for Barbie's Dreamhouse.

Comic cakes are such a fun way to add charm to your party. Here are our favorite 10 cartoon cake designs.

1 Slice of birthday cake

This whimsical slice by Tigga MacCorkmack looks like it came straight out of a Simpsons episode.

2 Whole birthday cake

Here's a whole cake, instead of just a slice, created by Yummy Bakes. We think the candle on this is just amazing.

3 Icing swirled cake and slice

We think Party with Grazer did a great job making the swirls of icing on top of this masterpiece even look like a comic strip. And that cut slice with the layers outlined is such a fun touch.

4 Trio of slices

Zeina's Cakery is knocking it out of the park with this trend. These three perfect cake slices are show how easy it is to change the look just by swapping out the colors.

5 Comic cookies

As if cakes weren't enough, Zeina's Cakery has even ventured into comic cookies, which look just as adorable.

6 Rainbow layers

This rainbow cake has the cartoon outlines on the layers, making it look like a vibrant cartoon inside and out. The bright rainbow layers are a perfect complement to the whimsical outside.

7 Black and white cake

The simple black and white outline of this two-tiered cake by I Love Cakes looks just like a line drawing, and we can't get enough of it.

8Oversized sprinkles

We adore the oversized sprinkles that The Cake Dresser added to this tiny little cake. The contrast in sizes really caught our eye.

9 Winter cake with cookies

This cartoon cake with matching cookies on top by Amy's Little Cakery might make this our favorite winter cake ever. The adorable snowman and pretty candy cane are perfection.

10 Three-tiered cake

This three-tiered comic cake by Georgia's Cakes made for her own birthday is stunning in its size and simplicity.

11 Retro boombox cake

Tigga Mac does it again with this 80s boom box cartoon cake. What a great cake this would be for a GenXer celebrating a 50th birthday.

Beginner tips for making comic cartoon cakes

If you aren't confident in getting a super smooth finish on your cake's frosting base, order a plain cake from your local bakery and add your decorations to that.
Cut thinly rolled fondant in pastel colors into freeform shapes to place on top of your cake to create the drippy icing.
Use cookie cutters to cut shapes out of fondant to put on the sides of the cake. Simple shapes such as hearts, stars, and sprinkles all work well.
If you aren't comfortable with piping those black outlines on, try using a fondant extruder instead. It will help you make long strings of black fondant to outline all the cake features.
Less is more with this cake style. Use just a few colors when decorating and lean towards the pastels.