Today I show you how to make a Trolls Movie Cake! Making this Poppy cake has been requested so many times, and I’m super excited to show you how to make the edible hair!
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I have to admit I haven’t had time to watch the Trolls Movie yet, so I based this cake off of pictures and trailers on YouTube. I usually try to get to the movie before making the cake, you know, for “research”, but with Christmas so close and live streaming for a third video a week, we’re a little too busy at the moment for such indulgence. Poppy is the main character of the movie and the Queen/Princess of the Trolls. She’s got a amazing pink hair, and that’s what drove me to create her as a cake!
I’ve recently started working with isomalt, and love how easy it is. It’s less tricky than working with sugar, but more importantly it stays clear, unlike sugar. Basically what I end up doing to make the hair is “spinning” it like you can to make cotton candy without a machine. For the spinning sugar tool, I took an old whisk, cut the ends and used it to throw the sugar around. Be super careful when working with isomalt or sugar as it gets extremely hot. Trust me on that. I have the scars to prove it. Spinning the sugar takes a fair amount of time, but it’s something to do while the cake is baking. I kept it laid out flat on a large cake board until I was ready to apply it to the cake.
As far as the other features on the cake go, they’re fairly straightforward and pretty regular for a character cake. Big cute eyes with highlights, nose, mouth etc. I used a ball cake pan to shape her head. If you’re really adventurous, you could carve the cake down to be more oval like in the movie, but I didn’t think it was integral to the cake. To add an extra element to the cake, I created a 3 layer pink cake, covered in blue ombre and flowers to match the dress Poppy wears in the movie.
How to Make a Trolls Movie Cake
Ingredients and Materials:
• Prepared three x 8″ Vanilla cake colored pink
• Prepared two x dome shaped vanilla cake colored pink
• Vanilla buttercream coloured pink, sky blue, light blue and medium blue
• Fondant- pink, green, blue, light blue, light pink, black, white
• Pink luster dust
• White Americolor Coloring
• Fondant/Gum Paste Decorating Tool Kit
• Pink isomalt Buy it here
Procedure:
1. On a large piece of parchment paper, place 2 bread loaf pans upside down, each with small pieces of parchment on top of them. Melt isomalt as per recipe instructions. Using a fork or a cut wire whisk, dip whisk into hot isomalt, and fling it across the top of the bread pans. Long string like pieces will form. Repeat this step until you have enough isomalt hair to cover poppy’s head. Set aside in a safe spot to allow for it to be cooled completely.
2. Fill the 8″ round cakes with icing, and stack the 3 cake layers together. Place into the fridge to freeze. Once frozen, apply the 3 shades of blue buttercream to the outside of the cake, starting with the lightest color on the bottom. Smooth with a cake spatula.
3. Layer the dome cakes together, using pink buttercream in the middle. Cover the entire sphere in buttercream and smooth with a cake spatula.
4. Insert dowels into the round cake, directly underneath where the dome cake will go. Place the dome cake on top of the dowels. Secure with an additional dowel through the top, and down to the cake board.
5. Cut or break pieces of isomalt hair into 6-8″ long pieces and place on the head, covering the back, top and sides.
6. Roll out pink fondant and cut strips for bangs. Etch with fondant tools to add texture. Attach to the front of the head.
7. Roll out green, blue and lime green fondant. Cut a long ribbon/band for the
headband. Cut 3 flowers out and leaves. Place the headband around the forehead and attach at the back. Cut and mold the remaining features for the nose, ears, eyes and mouth. Attach to cake with water and/or toothpicks for support.
7. Dab the cheeks with luster dust, and spot with white coloring for freckles.
8. Cake should be consumed within 2-3 days and kept in the fridge in a sealed container or wrapped in plastic wrapped.
Hi !
What diameter your bowl pan has for the dome cake on top?
6″
I used CK isomalt crystals instead of nibbs, my hair was so thin and brittle I had to prop up against cotton candy.
This was my first ever attempt with isomalt can you tell me what you think the problem might had been? Do you think it was because I used crystals instead of nibbs? Just for future referenc. Thanks for sharing your amazing cakes.
Thanks again,
Kim
If they’re too thin, it just means that you didn’t make enough to build stability, and/or the isomalt was too hot when you “threw” it. Hope that helps.
Hi…..is there something that can be sprayed on the hair?….i made the hair but it seems so brittle..I’m afraid it will have broken off by the time I get it to the destination..thanks
If you’re worried about breakage, I would apply the hair at the venue.
I am not able to get the Isomalt Nibs in time for my daughters party. How else did you say you can make the hair?
You can do it with sugar, but you won’t get the bright pink color that isomalt gives you.
Love this – my daughter loves trolls so making it for her birthday. How to you get the buttercream on the head cake so smooth? Is it just taking time with an offset spatula or is there another trick you can share?
If you heat your spatula up, that helps to smooth. I used a small offset spatula as well.
Question – when you put the dome cake on the 8 inch cakes do you keep it on the 4 inch cake board? If so, how do you put a dowel all the way through the dome cake down to the bottom of the 8 inch cakes? I will be transporting the cake so want it to be as stable as possible. Thanks.
Yes, leave the smaller cake board. A sharpened dowel will push through the cardboard.
Hi,
How long do you freeze your cake for before icing?
How any cake boxes did you use?
How much icing did you make?
Can you prepare the “hair” the day before? Will it keep?
Thank you!
I freeze my cakes solid before icing them, but if I’m just trying to crumb coat, then they only need 30 mins in the freezer. I don’t use box mixes, sorry, so I don’t know. The hair can be prepared the day before, but it’s sensitive to humidity.
Thanks for your response. I thought if a cake was frozen completely, the buttercream would crack when it thrashed? That doesn’t happen to you?
Hi, Could you please advise what diameter the dome canes are ? Thanks
That is the best Troll cake I have ever seen. It’s just what my little girl would love. We are having a party on the 11 th Feb for her achievement of staying in her bed all night for a week. Little darling is terrified of the dark and it’s been a long struggle. This is to celebrate her victory.
Do you ship to Az. Are you able to help make her dream come true?
Happy to hear about your daughters successes! Unfortunately I don’t do cakes for order.
I watched your homemade candy cane video and I would like you to make either peanut clusters or homemade fudge