So, your child is crazy about pirates and loves to dress up like one? Well, then, what better theme for his birthday party this year than a pirate theme? All the kids can dress up like pirates and you can decorate the place with skull and cross-bone banners and fake coin table decorations. Oh, and don’t forget about the cake. You’ll need a cake which goes along with the theme of the day – like a pirate face cake. You can make one, you know; you can make one with no special skills.
Use a boxed mix or favorite recipe to make a cake of any color/flavor. Rather than bake it in traditional pans, bake it in a large bowl. Bake according to package or recipe instructions, allow to cool completely, then turn it out onto a plate.
When you use fondant to make the features for the pirate face you can use it like play dough. Knead it, roll it out, tint it – follow the package instructions on the fondant if you prefer to create the features with it. Otherwise, you can create the features with regular frosting.
Frost the cake with white or butter cream frosting. Or, when you mix all of the colors of a set of food coloring together you can create a brown color. Stir in just a drop of the brown to make a tan color for the pirate’s face.
Draw a single eye onto the pirate face using black decorator’s gel. Or, use a single, flat candy, like a Nekko, to make the eye. For the other eye, cut fruit leather to make an eye patch. Use a piece of shoestring licorice to make a twine piece to hold the eye patch.
Use a gumball or a round blob of frosting to make a nose. Draw on a mouth, moustache, and beard with the black decorator’s frosting. Spread red or another color of frosting across part of the cake, and down over that side, to make a bandana. You can create a knot for the bandana by just adding frosting onto the plate, right beside the cake.
There are other features you can give the pirate, including polka dots or other designs on his bandana or even a gold earring. The finished cake looks so impressive that the boys at the birthday party will be thrilled. And, of course, it tastes great so that’s just an extra plus.