3D Finding Nemo Birthday Cake Makes A Splash

I made this 3D Finding Nemo birthday cake for my son.  I am very passionate about making my children’s birthdays very memorable and special, and one of the ways in which I try to make them memorable is to make cool birthday cakes for them. It also helps that I find cake decorating very enjoyable, though.

I made my first 3D birthday cake two years ago for my son’s 2^nd birthday party, and the guests, and most importantly my two year old, were in awe.  That was when I decided I would always attempt to make my birthday cakes 3D.

My second son just turned two, and because he has yet to talk much and expresss/request what cake he wants, I got to choose for him!

I decided a Nemo cake would be fun, as it is summer, my son loves to swim, and we’ve also watched the movie so he is familiar with Nemo.

I got a lot of ideas on how to pull off a 3D Nemo cake from this website, Google, and Pinterest.

3D Finding Nemo Birthday Cake Instructions

• I used the Wilton football pan that I already had (although anything oval shaped would work the same) and baked two cakes. I made pound cakes, as they are better for carving and for crumb control. 
• Once the cakes were cooled, I leveled and stacked them together with a layer of frosting between, of course.
• Next, I began carving.  This was the first cake that I had attempted carving, and it wasn’t too bad!  I simply carved the cake to look like a fish shape (tear drop shape).
• After I was satisfied with the shape, I did a crumb coating.
• I placed the cake in the fridge and let the frosting harden a bit before moving forward.
• Once the cake had chilled, I removed it and began the final decorating.
• I used a toothpick to trace out where the stripes should be (it helps to look at a picture of Nemo for more precision).
• I started with the black frosting, and did a straight line (small circle if using Wilton decorating tips) that separated the orange and white stripes.
• Next, I used the Wilton star tip and did the white sections.
• Then I used that same star tip to frost the rest of the cake in orange.
• I used fondant for the fins (remember to make one fin smaller aka Nemo’s “lucky fin”), eyes, décor, letters in my sons name, and also to cover the cake board.  I did all my fondant work ahead of time, to allow enough time to dry out and stiffen.
• I used food coloring mixed with a tiny bit of water to paint on the black and orange detail on Nemo’s fins.
• To make the eyes rounded (to give them the appearance of “popping out” like Nemo’s do), I placed them in a shallow, rounded dish while drying.
• I crushed up Nilla wafers to give the appearance of sand.
• The fondant décor (i.e. sea shells, starfish, etc.) were made from a mold I purchased at Michaels’.

I had SO much fun making this cake and it was a total hit with all.  My little two year old’s eyes just sparkled as he looked at it and we sang “Happy Birthday” to him. It was definitely a birthday our family won’t forget!

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