PJ Masks Cake

Three colors and three toppers are all you need to decorate a fun PJ Masks cake!

I love the idea behind the PJ Masks show - when the characters put on their pajamas, they become superheroes! I'll be honest here - sometimes that's how I feel! I'm 100% sure that I've done some of my best work in my pajamas. Not a dirty joke, just a statement of fact. That's how I assemble most of my cakes with small kids! 😉 

(Quick 'full disclosure' word here though. I had a friend ask me for a PJ Masks cake via direct message. I didn't have little kids at the time. So I definitely had to google 'what is PJ Masks' when I got that request! ) 

Many PJ Masks Cake recipes involve tons of fondant work - which my skill at is limited. Like - severely limited. I struggle with just 'buildings with windows' outlines on a cake. I'm terrified to try faces - all I know is that the tiniest facial details make the difference between 'adorable' and 'haunted.' And if I end up with a haunted face cake I don't know how to fix it!! 

So. My take on this one just involves three frosting colors and three PJ Masks figurines that I purchased online. Easy button, anyone? 

Few quick recipe tips - 

  • Gel food coloring will give you the best bright colors for this cake! Liquid colors will tend to produce more pastel tones.
  • You can get away with using less gel food color if you make and color your frosting a day or two ahead of time. Allowing the colored frosting time to sit lets the color deepen. No idea why, but it does. 🙂 

Chocolate cake layers, one batch of frosting, three figurine toppers and a sprinkle of sprinkles later - DONE! And it was a big hit 🙂 

For being so easy to make (IMHO), it turned out pretty cute! Recipe below!

(Disclosure: As an Amazon associate I may earn from qualifying purchases, and my posts often contain affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you!) 

FAQs - 

"Can you give me any tips on frosting my cake?" 

"Any tips if I want to make this cake ahead of time?" 

  • You absolutely can! When it's protected from drying out, cake freezer + thaws amazingly well. I've frozen and defrosted entire cakes before and it's worked really well! 
  • Wrap cake layers well in cling wrap or place into a freezer bag. Freeze flat - cake layers will keep frozen for up to 4 months. Thaw in the refrigerator. 
  • Frosting can be transferred to a sealable container or a freezer bag - will keep for up to 4 months. Again, thaw in the refrigerator. 

Don't forget to pin this recipe for later!

PJ Masks Cake pinterest pin
PJ Masks Cake

PJ Masks Cake

Sarah H
What could be better for aspiring little superheroes than a fun colorful PJ Masks Cake? Gel colors and figurine toppers make this one super easy!
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Decorating time 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 16 servings
Calories 752 kcal

Equipment

Ingredients
  

Chocolate Cake layers

  • 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour (350g)
  • 2 ¼ cups granulated sugar (450g)
  • 1 ¼ cup cocoa powder (100g)
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ¾ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks/250g, softened)
  • 4 large eggs at room temperature
  • 1 ½ cups buttermilk (350mL; buttermilk powder with water is an option if you can’t find liquid buttermilk at your grocery store!)
  • 2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream Cheese buttercream frosting

  • 8 ounces cream cheese (or 1 package, softened)
  • 16 Tablespoons two sticks butter (or 2 sticks, softened)
  • 6-7 cups powdered sugar
  • 2-4 Tablespoons milk
  • 1 Tablespoon clear vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt (if using unsalted butter)
  • Red gel food color (Save & add later! Linked is the Americolor Red gel that I used)
  • Green gel food color (Save & add later! Linked is the Americolor Leaf Green gel that I used)
  • Blue gel food color (Save & add later! (Linked is the Americolor Royal Blue gel that I used)

Filling & Decorations

  • 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (optional; if you'd like to fill the cake with ganache)
  • 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream (optional; if you'd like to fill the cake with ganache)
  • 1-2 Tablespoons Sprinkles, white stars (I used a seasonal mix from FancySprinkles; linked is the closest equivalent I could find on Amazon!)

Instructions
 

  • Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (180C) or 325 FC (160C) for a convection oven. Grease 3 8-inch cake pans with non-stick or baker's floured spray.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, add the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix on low for a minute to combine dry ingredients. Add softened butter 1 Tablespoon at a time until well incorporated into the dry ingredients and no lumps of butter are visible.
  • Next, whisk eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla together until well combined. With the mixer on low, add wet ingredients to dry ingredients in a steady stream until no dry ingredients are visible. Scrape down the bowl and beat for another 20 seconds.
  • Fill the three pans evenly - I find a kitchen scale helpful for this part, and each of mine weighed out to about 550g. Bake for 30-35 min or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow cake layers to cool for 10-15 minutes on a wire cooling rack before removing from pans, and cool completely before frosting. Set in the fridge or freezer to accelerate the cooling process if desired.
  • (The hang time while you're waiting for cake layers to cool is a great time to start prepping your frosting!)

Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting

  • Beat together softened cream cheese and butter; slowly add in powdered sugar alternating with milk until frosting reaches desired consistency. Add vanilla and salt if needed and beat until well combined.
  • (You can fill and/or crumb-coat your cake with white frosting if you'd like to use less gel food coloring - just wait until the final layer to split and color your frosting! Or you can use colored frosting -100% up to you!)
  • When you’re ready, divide frosting into 3 equal parts and add gel food colors until desired color is reached. (Again; if you have time, making your frosting a day or so ahead and letting it sit overnight lets you get away with less gel color!)

Assembly

  • Once your cakes are cool, level them (if needed/desired). This can be done with a cake leveler or a large serrated knife and a ruler.
  • Place a smear of frosting on your cake circle (to keep the cake from sliding while you decorate it) and center your first cake layer in the center of the circle.
  • Spread the layer with frosting (or - optional - pipe a border if you’d rather fill it with chocolate ganache like I did in the video (1 cup semisweet chocolate chips melted with 3/4 cup whipping cream and cooled to a spreadable consistency). Add the next cake layer on top. Repeat the process with your remaining cake layers.
  • Now you're ready to crumb-coat . If you're unfamiliar with crumb-coating, it's just what it sounds like – spreading a thin layer of frosting over the entire outside of the cake to keep crumbs out of your final layer. I usually do this with an offset spatula.

Decorating

  • Once your crumb coat has set (this takes about 5-10 minutes in the fridge), add your layers of colored frosting and smooth. I like to use an offset spatula and cake scraper for this part – the colors will bleed into each other a bit, but cleaning off the cake scraper between every pass smoothing the cake will help! Once your cake is covered, place it into the fridge or freezer to set the frosting.
  • Transfer your remaining colored frosting to small piping bags (or ziplock bags), and pipe rows of frosting onto a sheet of plastic wrap. Lift one side of the plastic wrap and pull it over the top to the other side of the rows, creating a ‘roll’ of frosting. Trim off the tip of the plastic wrap, and transfer the ‘roll’ to a piping bag fitted with a star-tip nozzle (I used my large 1B nozzle).
  • Pipe swirls around the top border of the cake, and add sprinkles if you’d like! Add your figurines on top – and you’re done!

Video

Notes

Please note nutrition information is an estimate and may not be exactly accurate. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1sliceCalories: 752kcalCarbohydrates: 98gProtein: 9gFat: 36g
Keyword PJ Masks Cake
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