Dragon Cake
Dragon cake - but without the tedious cake-sculpting? Make this cake topped with a Rice Krispie and gum paste dragon!
Servings: 16 servings
Calories: 775kcal
Equipment
- 1 10 inch cardboard cake circle (optional; I find these the easiest way to assemble + transport)
- Baker's floured cooking spray (optional)
- Squeeze bottle (or piping bag or spoon; to add cake drip)
- 1 Small new or food-safe paintbrush (optional; to color cake drip and dragon)
- 1 Small acetate sheet (optional; I used this to smooth the frosting on the dragon)
- 3-4 toothpicks or small skewers (optional; I used these to help hold the dragon head in place)
Ingredients
Dragon Cake Layers
- 3 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 2 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter (or 2 sticks room temperature)
- 5 eggs
- 1 ½ cups buttermilk (room temperature)
- 2 teaspoons clear vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese (one package; softened)
- 1 cup butter (two sticks, softened)
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- 2-4 Tablespoons milk
- 1 T clear vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt (if using unsalted butter)
Cake Drip
- 6 oz white candy melts (I use the Wilton brand Bright White)
- 3 ¾ Tablespoons heavy whipping cream (my favorite brand is incredibly thick; you may need a bit less depending on the thickness of your heavy cream)
- Gold & silver edible paint or lustre dust for the drip (I used the gold and silver airbrush color from this set)
Dragon Cake Topper
- 1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows (for Rice Krispie dragon)
- 2 cups Rice Krispie cereal (for Rice Krispie dragon)
- 1-2 Tablespoons Crisco or butter (Optional – to coat your hands and make shaping the dragon easier)
- Gum paste (linked is the gum paste I used; fondant can work but won't set quite as well)
- Blue gel food color
- 2 Black sugar pearl sprinkles (optional; for dragon eyes)
- Gold and silver sequin sprinkles (I used Wilton’s gold and silver sequins)
Instructions
Dragon Cake Layers
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare three 8 inch round pans with baker's floured spray (or grease and line with parchment rounds).
- Mix together all dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt) in a stand mixer with a paddle (or mixing bowl with a hand mixer or whisk) until fully combined.
- Mix room-temperature butter into the dry mix a tablespoon at at time on a low speed. Continue to mix until no large lumps of butter remain, and the mixture looks crumbly.
- Pour in eggs and mix on low until just incorporated. Mix in the buttermilk on low speed. Add in vanilla and oil, and mix at a low speed until fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, then beat on medium speed for about 30 seconds.
- Divide batter evenly between the prepared cake pans (I find a kitchen scale helpful for this part). This guarantees your layers will bake to be the same height.
- Bake for 35-37 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out clean). Allow cake layers to cool for 10-15 minutes on a wire cooling rack before removing from pans. Cool completely before frosting. Set in the fridge or freezer to accelerate the cooling process if desired.
- Once the layers have fully cooled, they can be leveled and any caramelized bits can be trimmed from the sides / top of the cake using a serrated knife if desired. Be sure the layers are completely cooled or chilled before trimming. If you try to trim the layers while they’re still warm, they will crumble and break.
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.
Assembly
- 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.
- Add your next cake layer on top, and 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.
- Once your crumb coat has set (this takes about 5-10 minutes in the fridge), add your final layer of frosting and smooth. I like to use an offset spatula and bench scraper for this part. Once your cake is covered, place it into the fridge to set the frosting.
Cake Drip
- Place heavy cream and candy melts in a microwave-safe bowl, and microwave on 50% power in 30-second intervals until smooth, stirring in between.
- Allow drip mixture to cool to a moderate temperature - it should feel slightly warm and still be fairly liquid. Transfer to a squeeze bottle or piping bag. (A spoon will work; I’ve just found spoons to be a bit more difficult to work with.)
- Slowly drizzle drip mixture around the upper edge of your cake, pausing every inch or so to let more fall in a drip down the side of the cake. Pour enough on top to cover the cake, and smooth any gaps or bumpy spots with a small offset spatula. Place the cake into the refrigerator to set the drips!
- (Optional): Once drips are set and don't stick with a light touch, color alternating drips with gold and silver paint or lustre dust mixed with a bit of clear vanilla extract (the alcohol will dry more quickly than water).
NOW for the fun part! Dragon time!
- (I'd recommend giving the video a quick watch for this part; it's less than a minute long!)
- Place marshmallows in a large microwave-safe bowl, and microwave on 50% power in 30-45 second intervals until melted and smooth. Add in rice cereal, stirring until evenly coated and smooth. Shape the dragon’s body and tail on top of the cake with rice krispie mix – it helps to coat your hands with Crisco.
- Once you’re happy with the dragon’s shape, cover it in frosting and smooth with a small piece of acetate. (Gum paste or fondant could be used to make a smoother-looking dragon, but none of my recipe testers like the taste so I just used it for the details.)
- I used a sketch as a guide and shaped the dragon head, neck, wings, front legs, and ridge-back from gum paste, and painted them with liquid food color. I made and painted the head, neck, and wings the day before to give the gum paste time to set and dry. I used two black sugar pearls for the eyes, but these could be painted on as well.
- (My tip for the wings is to start with a quarter-circle-shaped piece of gum paste and set it over three skewers – this gives a start to the folds in the wings and will let you crease them more easily!)
- Place the head and neck onto the dragon body, securing with toothpicks if needed for extra support.
- For the ridge-back, roll out a strip or two long enough to run down the back of your dragon. Flatten the strip with your hands, and then use a knife to make a ridged pattern down the strip. Once the frosting feels dry to the touch, paint the dragon body and ridgeback with liquid food color and your paintbrush.
- ALL dragons hoard treasure, so I used some gold and silver sequin sprinkles and added these around the dragon on top of the cake – to make it look like the dragon was sitting on top of a pile of treasure! ;)
- And you’re done! Step back and admire your cake – and enjoy!
Video
Notes
(Please note nutrition information is an estimate and may not be exactly accurate. Nutrition information does not include gum paste.)
Nutrition
Serving: 1slice (1/16th cake) | Calories: 775kcal | Carbohydrates: 110g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 38g