No special expensive pans are needed to make this impressive snake-shaped cake. Easy to put together and super fun to decorate, much of it can be made ahead and assembled right before the party. Because it’s created from two full-sized bundt cakes, it feeds a large crew easily, and two different flavors like homemade vanilla cake and chocolate cake can be offered.
Recommended Reading: Get started with baking by reading our Ultimate Guide to the Best Baking Equipment for Beginners!
How to Make a Snake Cake for a Child’s Birthday
Ingredients:
- Sturdy cardboard large enough to hold cake
- Aluminum foil
- Homemade or box chocolate cake mix
- Homemade or box vanilla cake mix
- 2 Bundt cake pans
- 3 containers vanilla buttercream frosting
- Colored mini chocolate candies
- Hard lifesaver-shaped candies
- Cherry fruit roll-up
- Decorative icing pens
- Candles
Directions:
- Cover a large piece of cardboard with aluminum foil. Make sure it’s big enough to write a birthday message on after the finished cake is placed in the center.
- Using a favorite homemade cake recipe or a box mix, make two bundt cakes. These cakes can be made ahead and frozen. It will actually be easier to ice them if they are very cold or frozen.
- When it is time to construct and decorate the birthday cake, cut each bundt cake in half to form four C-shaped pieces of cake.
- Arrange the four pieces of cake on the foil covered cardboard so that they make a curvy snake shape (see picture).
- Decide which end will be the head and use a knife to gentle carve that part into a triangular reptilian shape (see picture).
- Frost the entire cake with buttercream frosting.
- Use the lifesaver-shaped candies to form the eyes and cut a tongue from the fruit roll-up and place it coming out of the snake’s mouth.
- Decorate the rest of the cake with the colored mini chocolate candies.
- Use the frosting pens to write a birthday message on the foil-covered board.
- Place candles and serve, cutting pieces off from the tail end first.
How To Make a Worm or Lizard Cake from the Snake Cake
With a little more cutting and crafting, the basic outline of this snake cake can be used to make a worm cake or a lizard cake.
For the worm, carefully cut each of the four quarter pieces of cake in half lengthwise so that there are eight more slender C-shaped pieces of cake. Then piece them together in a longer, thinner squiggly worm shape before frosting and decorating. This will take a very long cardboard base, but it makes quite an impression and looks especially cute when gummy worms or other bugs are used to decorate.
For a lizard, lay out just like the snake cake and then use a knife to make the tail thinner. Using pictures as guides, cut reptile four reptile legs from the fruit roll-ups and then position them correctly at the base of the body. A lizard head will also be rounded and not as angular as the snake’s.
While you’re here, be sure to check out our kitchen product reviews!