*** update – I have a tutorial for a standing lego cake you can use to create a standing Anakin now***
Last week I had a really fun cake order! I’ve always wanted to create a Lego character, but not just a laying down one, how boring. So when this order for a sitting up Lego Anakin cake up I was SO excited. Next time I’d love to do a STANDING Lego character cake.
The birthday boy is just a few month older than Lego boy, which is fun. His sister ordered his favorite Lego character for a fun birthday surprise! I love delivering cakes, especially surprise cakes. He LOVED it!
So the cake plan… The first thing I do when starting a cake is sketch it out. For this one I also had to get EXACT measurements as I sized it up! I started by taking pictures of an ACTUAL Lego figure then took each 1/2 inch on the Lego and turned it into about 8 inches on the cake. This cake has an 8 inch by 8 inch base tier and ended up almost 19 inches tall, that’s as tall as some newborns!
Legs – I started with a two layer 8 inch square, then I carved the side so that the back. If you look at a lego you’ll see their legs narrow a bit. Then I carved out between the legs and the leg shape. I ended up need a bit of extra height for the toes. Luckily I had plenty of extra cake leftover from the other carving!
Body – I stacked 8 inches x 4 inches layers four high so the body was about 8 inches tall. Then I angled the body out
Head – you can see more at my Lego head tutorial, I just did a smaller version of that.
Arms – I created the arms out of pvc pipes and a corner angle for the elbow. Then I wrapped them in rice crispy treats, shapped them and let them set and covered them with a rough layer of ganache to hold it all together.
Then I frosted them all in ganache, and smoothed them all out and let it set.
I covered all the pieces in fondant and added all the detail work. This will change depending on which Lego figure your making, do the base work, simple enough, then roll out the detail colors very thin and use a sharp knife to cut the design. Then use clear vanilla or vodka to stick them all together. Now all the fondant work is done!
Base – To help such a tall narrow cake stay up I created this really sturdy base! A 12 inch square cake board with a PVC pipe attached and screwed to the board. Then I covered the board with some marbleized grey fondant, to go along with our “space” theme.
Now it’s time to start STACKING. Started with the legs, then the body, then the head! I delivered it that way with the arms still off. Once I got the cake delivered it was time to attach the arms. Since they were so light, with the pvc pipes and rice crispy treats, they were easy to attach. I used toothpicks, yup, just toothpicks! Then I attached the black and ivory hands I had made days before.
I’m SO pleased with how he turned out. He looked JUST like the image the sister sent me, I’m in love! The birthday boy recognized Anakin at once and enjoyed showing him off to his party guests. One of my favorite deliveries, I love what I do!
More Lego Cakes:
- Pistachio Dessert Lasagna Recipe - April 18, 2020
- Homemade White Bread Recipe - April 17, 2020
- Easter Egg Pinata Cake with Chocolate Nest – recipe and video - April 8, 2020
Gwen @ Gwenny Penny
Awesome, Ashlee!
Ashlee
Thanks! And it was great to meet IRL this weekend!
Rachel
You are majorly talented! What a great cake!!
Ashlee
Awww thanks so much!
chelsea
This ended up fantastic!
Ashlee
Thanks sweetie!
J. Hill
AMAZING!
Ashlee
Thank you so much!!!
Jules
My 10 yr old thought this was awesome! He let me know that he had that mini figure. Then he said he wanted some chocolate cake, it looked so good… He’s not a sweet tooth kind of guy either! Great job!
Ashlee
Thanks so much! I’ve been known to win over non sweet lovers!
Ruth
brilliant! thanks for the cutting plans. have been trying to getb my head around something similar!
Ashlee
our welcome! I hope it helps!
kayla hartzell
Amazing cake! How did you get the arms to attach to the body?
Ashlee
I used toothpicks to attach the arms to the cake!
Alison
I can’t begin to imagine all the work that goes into a cake like this. All I know is it’s ah-MAZ-ing!! So excited to see you at SNAP!!
Ashlee
Thanks! It is time consuming for SURE, but so much fun! It was great to see you, although not for long enough!
Sharon
Hi Ashlee!
Would you mind sharing or letting me know a good cake recipe for carving? The one I have is for “wedding” cakes and not suitable for making any topsy turvy or carved cake. I have to make a Ninjago cake and he wants a character cake just like your Star Wars cake. Thanks a bunch!
Ashlee
I don’t share my cake business recipes at the moment. I’m working on getting a book published that will have them. I like moist dense cakes, pound cakes work great. Sour cream cakes are good as well. Just stay away from box mixes, and other sponge cakes, they are simply too weak.
Sharon
Hi Ashlee! Thanks so much for your reply!!! You saved me from using box mixes. jaja! I was going to try a recipe that everyone swears by @ CakeCentral…Instead, I will look now for a Sour cream (sounds yummy) or pound cake. Thanks so much for your advice. And hurry up with your book. I want it!
Ashlee
your welcome! As long as it’s pretty moist and/or dense and doesn’t crumble and fall apart easily you can use it!
Paula
Ashlee- thanks for such a wonderful tutorial! Have you tried doing a standing lego Anachin? Would love to know how to adjust for the standing cake rather than sitting.
Ashlee
I havn’t done a standing lego figure yet, but as long as you have a good base built it shouldn’t be very hard.
jesica
hi,
i was wondering if you could tell me how you attached the arm and also how did you get his body body on the pvc? did you precut a hole in the cake board? thanks im new at making cakes 🙂
Ashlee
I used toothpicks to attach the arms, and yes I predrilled a hole in the cake board! good luck and have FUN!