If you’ve got a little girl, chances are she’s obsessed with unicorns. Unicorns clearly made a comeback this year. I’m in my 40s and I remember having a unicorn Trapper Keeper in 4th grade! Anyone else remember those beloved Trapper Keepers?? So it’s cute to me that my daughter has an equally fond obsession with the mythical creatures. When it came time for her 8th birthday party, she wanted a unicorn birthday cake and decorations!
I’ll start by saying, I’m not a baker. I make cakes from boxes and my frosting comes from cans. And it doesn’t bother me one bit. There are some skills I’ll never learn and baking homemade cakes is one of them! But every year for my kids’ birthdays I attempt some kind of cake that they love and decorating has become one of our favorite things.
We won’t mention the time that I attempted a castle cake and all my princesses were drowning in the icing because it was too hot in my kitchen. And the time I accidentally put the moat in the wrong place. Kids don’t care about all those details – they love it because you made it! It doesn’t have to look professional or cost a crazy amount of money.
Unicorn Birthday Cake and Decorations
When she said unicorn cake, I immediately turned to Pinterest. And quickly became discouraged. I don’t know how to use fondant and my skills aren’t quite as good as they need to be to pull off a unicorn cake. But we figured it out and it was simple. Truth be told, my daughter did most of the decorating herself just the way she wanted it! Most of the cakes we saw were very tall and elaborate, but we chose a simple unicorn cake design with only 2 layers.
Unicorn Cake Supplies
- 1 box of cake mix
- 3 cans of frosting
- black gel icing tube
- 8 inch cake pans (2)
- ice cream cone
- plastic gems – we used inexpensive gems from a party supply store
- silver display tray – you can find these at any party supply store or craft store
- gold edible dust
- pastel food coloring
- cake decorating set
Bake your cake in two 8 inch round pans. Let cool completely and then stack the layers on your decorative platter and frost. Put in the refrigerator for a few hours to let the icing harden a bit. It’s easier to fix mistakes when the icing isn’t so gooey.
Cover one ice cream cone in white frosting and then use the gold spray dust to “paint” it gold. Or silver – whichever you prefer. Add it to the middle of your cake. The dust got a little smushed when I added it to the cake, but it’s ok. No one noticed but me.
Use pastel food coloring to tint icing pink, blue, and purple and then add each color to a disposable decorating bag.
Test out a few of the tips to see which one you prefer. We ended up making a few different styles in varying sizes. Just use a piece of wax paper to test on before you add to the cake.
My daughter did all the decorating of the “unicorn hair” herself. She added different colors in a sort of side ponytail design and then topped it off with some pastel colored gems. Just add varying sizes of each color with your preferred tip and swirl it around the side of the cake. I wish I could show you some of the actual decorating shots but we did it the night before her party and she had just showered, so she didn’t have enough clothes on for blog pics! One day she’ll see the importance of wearing clothes!
Draw a mouth and eyes with lashes with the black gel. No worries if you mess up. Just scrape it off, add more white frosting and try again.
Unicorn Birthday Party Supplies
- plates/napkins/cups
- plastic table cloth – we used a combo of two different colors
- pastel streamers
- unicorn headbands
- party/photo props
The decorating part can get out of hand if you aren’t careful. There are so many cute unicorn birthday party accessories. We didn’t buy matching everything. But, the photo props were a big hit with the girls. Tape some pastel streamers to a wall or tall piece of furniture for their backdrop and let them go crazy with the props.
Add a few unicorn birthday props, confetti, and call it good! We did simple finger foods like fruit and fruit dip, cheese puffs, and pizza. I didn’t make elaborate “unicorn poop” or fairy dust favors, but we did buy some of the $1 cups from the party supply place for each girl.
This was my favorite cake we did for her so far. It was much easier than I expected, especially since she did a lot of the decorating work! The girls loved it and it was delicious!
More Unicorn Birthday Ideas from Around the Web:
Unicorn Birthday Party Ideas
Unicorn Party Food
Easy and fun unicorn-themed party snacks, desserts, and treats.
Add extra sparkle and magic to your birthday party with these over the top homemade Unicorn Cupcakes!
These rainbow unicorn dessert cups are a showstopping unicorn party dessert.
These White Chocolate Rainbow Unicorn Treats are fun to just make and eat, but they also make fantastic party favors for a Unicorn Party!
These unicorn cream cheese mints are your answer to a magical birthday party, baby shower or bridal shower!
These water color painted unicorn sugar cookies are super impressive, but so easy to make.
These homemade candies are the perfect party treat or favor for a unicorn-themed party.
Turn ordinary cupcakes into a magical unicorn masterpiece in a few easy steps.
Unicorn popcorn is an easy to make and colorful treat that is perfect for your unicorn themed birthday party or unicorn sleepover!
These are fantastic and fun treats that are perfect for any unicorn themed party.
How to make unicorn rice crispy treats of your own. It’s so easy. We hope you love it.
This unicorn cheesecake not only looks magical, but it tastes magical too. This funfetti-cheesecake combo is the perfect cake for a unicorn themed party!
How to make fantastical edible unicorn horns from ice cream cones. The perfect party treat!
These Unicorn Pancakes are not only the most adorable breakfast you’ll ever eat, but they also taste as good as they look!
Kids will go wild for these “Unicorn Poop” Rainbow Donuts! Easy baked donut recipe with sugar glaze – a guaranteed hit for any occasion!
This unicorn party snack mix recipe is a wonderful success for any type of magical gathering.
These Unicorn sugar cookies are perfect for a Unicorn party or Rainbow party. Of course, these are not made from real unicorns but from a Vanilla cake mix, which makes these party cookies so easy to make.
These cute and trendy unicorn cake pops are a little girl's dream, and perfect for parties and sleepovers.
Unicorn sugar cookies are an easy way to make magical decorated unicorn cookies. Learn how to decorate these adorable treats with homemade royal icing.
Homemade unicorn cookies with painted on gold.
It’s simple to make and looks so cute too! Just think of it as tasty Unicorn fluff!
These unicorn hot chocolate bombs make ordinary hot chocolate even more special. Here is how to make them!
Unicorn Crafts, Activities, and Decor
Fun unicorn-themed party inspiration, including decor, activities, and gifts.
Easy homemade unicorn hair accessory with free printable instructions.
Make your gift even more magical by giving it in a unicorn gift bag. It also makes an amazing unicorn party favor bag. It's made with just a few craft supplies and a plain white paper bag.
This simple-to-make sparkly unicorn rag wreath is an adorable and whimsical take on a unicorn wreath. Follow the step-by-step instructions of this detailed tutorial to make this fun homemade wreath.
This unicorn notebook is so magical and really easy to make. Don’t wait anymore, make one (or two) today!
Have a little unicorn lover at home? Learn how to make this beautiful borax-free, glittery and fluffy unicorn slime at home. The kids will love it!
These homemade unicorn crayons are a fun party craft, activity, and favor for kids.
This DIY Party Pail is perfect for a Unicorn themed party. The pail is easy to decorate and they make great Unicorn party decorations.
This printable unicorn matching game is the perfect party activity for little girls
This easy unicorn banner is the perfect party decoration or wall decor for a little girl's room.
These boxes are great crafts for kids or you can pre-make this box for your guests.
This unicorn inspired art and craft project is easy enough that kindergarten and preschoolers will be able to follow along. However it is still cool enough that older kids, tweens and teens may enjoy making too.
If your little girl is having a Unicorn party then this Unicorn Printable sheet is a wonderful way to start the party off.
These Indoor Birthday Treasure Hunt Cards are perfect for any party, but in particular they would suit a Unicorn party - pretty pinks, and blues, rainbows and all things beautiful!
Have you ever tried scratch art? It’s SO colorful and one of my favorite projects to do with kids, who always seem to love scratch-off anything.
Read on to find out how to make this super fun Unicorn slime recipe. It’s one you won’t want to miss!
This unicorn headband craft is the perfect craft for little girls who can’t get enough of unicorns.
For a magical game that your unicorn fan will always remember, print and play this free printable unicorn bingo game for kids.
Pin For Later!
Kay
Friday 6th of May 2022
I love this idea, I am not good at cake decorating but think I might be able to do this cake. Thanks so much for sharing!!
create and find
Thursday 19th of May 2022
I'd love to see if you make it!
Joanna Milich
Saturday 12th of December 2020
Thank you for this! I have a little girl turning 7 next month and is obsessed with unicorns! She requested a unicorn cake. I always make their cakes and look for blogs like this to help me figure it all out. :)
create and find
Tuesday 15th of December 2020
I can't wait to see how it turns out!