Baby Shower Unicorn Cake

Mar 7

I was on my way our town for a ski weekend when I received at text from a friend asking if I could make a unicorn cake. Then she sent this picture. It was a sleeping unicorn. The picture clearly had you using a horn mold, as well as realistic gold - presumably edible - paint. The ears were glittery AND white so I wasn't so sure if the ears were even edible? Not like anyone is going to actually eat the gumpaste adornments, but it is nice if they could be eaten.

I spent some time searching for horn molds only to discover they ran from $8-15 plus shipping. Did I really need a mold to make a unicorn horn? I thought not. I asked my friend if it was okay if I free-formed the horn and took some liberties and she agreed. It was a plan! I'd be making a unicorn cake for her friend's baby shower.

Make the unicorn horn and ears

Make two ropes of gum paste
Twist your ropes together
Taper your top
Use royal icing to fill in the seams
Two ears ready for shaping
Indent the ears and shape

What gold paint to use?

I searched around for different options for painting. I am really bummed that my airbrush seems to be fully broken. I have tried to fix it with no success. In the meantime I've tried using spray cans of edible paint and they are "gold-ish" at best. Luster dust is nice, but it can be challenging to get full coverage, even when mixing it with alcohol. This horn needed to be a pretty solid gold.

I found what looked to be a pretty good option. They sell it both on Global Sugar Art and Amazon. It costs more on Amazon but with the "free" shipping it is a wash. I ended up buying it from Global Sugar Art because I needed a few other things and they had a free shipping deal if you spent over $75. The reviews on both sites were generally good so I thought I'd give it a try. I painted the horn, ears and eyes after giving them a few days to dry. The paint spread well and dried nicely. A day after painting the fronts, I went back and painted the back of everything. I think the color is a bit on the yellowy side, not quite the brilliant gold I was looking for, but far better than anything I've tried before. I also bought silver, hoping to have a reason to use it at some point soon!