Unicorn Ice Cream Cake Food

UNICORN ICE CREAM CAKE

Steps:

• Line an 8 1/2-inch metal bowl with plastic wrap, leaving a 4-inch overhang on all sides. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment. Put the bowl and baking sheets in the freezer until chilled.
• Have a bowl of warm water on the counter to warm the ice cream scoop for smoother scooping. Working quickly with a 1/4-cup scoop, make smooth scoops of the vanilla and strawberry ice cream and raspberry and mango sorbet, rinsing the scoop well between each pint to keep the colors distinct. Arrange the scoops on the chilled baking sheets flat-side down and freeze until hard, about 30 minutes.
• Make the ice cream bomb: Line the chilled bowl with the ice cream and sorbet scoops, rounded sides facing the plastic lining, alternating colors and keeping the scoops distinct. Repeat with more scoops until the inside of the bowl is completely lined with ice cream and sorbet. Return the bowl to the freezer and freeze until firm, 30 to 45 minutes.
• Soften the remaining scoops slightly at room temperature, about 5 minutes. Place 1/2 cup of the cake cubes and 1/4 cup each of the marshmallow cereal and marshmallows in the bottom of the bowl. Fill with half of the softened scoops of ice cream and sorbet. Evenly spread another 1 cup cake and 1/4 cup each of the cereal and marshmallows over the ice cream and sorbet, then top with the remaining softened scoops, firmly pressing down to fill any holes. Top with the remaining cake, then wrap with the overhanging plastic wrap and freeze until set, about 1 hour.
• To make the chocolate sauce, put the white chocolate and coconut oil in a microwave-safe bowl and heat, stirring every 30 seconds, until the chocolate is melted and smooth, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Invert the bowl onto a serving platter, lift off the bowl and discard the plastic wrap. Drizzle the white chocolate sauce over the cake and immediately sprinkle with the sprinkles and remaining 1/2 cup cereal and marshmallows before the chocolate hardens. Decorate the bottom with a ring of cotton candy. Slice with a hot dry knife and serve immediately.

UNICORN CAKE

Steps:

• For the unicorn decorations: First, make the horn and ears. Put the marshmallows in a large microwave-safe bowl and sprinkle with 2 teaspoons water. Microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring in between each, until the marshmallows are melted, about 1 1/2 minutes total. Add 1 1/2 cups of the confectioners' sugar and stir to make a stiff mixture. Grease your hands and a work surface with some shortening. Knead the mixture, adding up to 1/2 cup more confectioners' sugar and greasing your hands as needed to keep it from sticking, until the mixture is very smooth and pliable, 4 to 5 minutes. (The mixture should form a tight but very smooth ball. If you poke a finger into it, the indentation should remain.)
• Break off three-quarters of the marshmallow mixture, add 1 drop blue gel food coloring and knead it into the mixture until evenly distributed. Remove one-quarter of the blue mixture and roll out to a thickness of a little less than 1/4 inch. With a sharp paring knife, cut two 2-inch-tall triangles for the inside of the unicorn ears. Roll the remaining blue mixture into a thick, tapered strand, about 2 feet long. Brush an 8-inch lollipop stick with water. Starting about 3 inches up from the bottom of the stick, roll the strand around it, starting with the thickest part first, into a tapered horn. Press gently all around to adhere it to the stick. Stick the horn upright in a jar filled with dried beans or rice to dry.
• Roll out the remaining plain marshmallow mixture to a thickness of a little less than 1/4 inch. With a sharp paring knife, cut two 3-inch-tall triangles for the outside of the unicorn ears. Brush the larger ears on one side with a small amount of water. Stick on the smaller blue ears. Drape the ears, with the smaller pieces face down, over the rolling pin to dry.
• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat four 8-inch round cake pans with cooking spray and dust with flour, tapping out the excess. Prepare the cake mixes according to the package directions. Stir in the sprinkles. (If you don't have 4 pans, make 1 box of cake mix at a time and use half of the sprinkles in each).
• Divide the batter among the 4 prepared pans and bake, rotating the pans from top to bottom halfway through baking, until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 25 to 28 minutes. Let cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then remove from the pans and cool completely.
• For the buttercream: Beat the butter and salt in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and light, about 1 minute. Add the confectioners' sugar and beat on low to incorporate, then increase the speed to medium high and beat until fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Beat in the vanilla and then the milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the frosting is easily spreadable.
• Cut the domed tops from the cakes to make them flat. Frost the top of one cake layer with about 1/2 cup frosting. Set another layer on top and frost again. Repeat with the third layer, then end with the last layer bottom-side up on top. Coat the cake with a very thin layer of frosting to crumb coat, then chill until set, about 15 minutes. Set the cake on a cake stand and spread all but 1/2 cup of the remaining frosting on the cake in a smooth layer.
• Cut two 3-inch strands from the licorice and stick to the cake about halfway down in wide U shapes for the eyes. Cut ten 1/2-inch licorice pieces and press 5 along the bottom of each eye for eyelashes. Wrap the rainbow candy belt around the base of the cake. Spread the remaining 1/2 cup frosting in a strip along the base of the cake to adhere the candies. Stick the candies around the cake in a decorative fashion. Pull the cotton candy apart to make it fluffy and stick on the top and sides of the cake as a mane. Add the horn and ears and serve immediately. (Most of the cake can be decorated in advance; the cotton candy needs to be added at the last minute.)

MAGICALLY EASY UNICORN CAKE

Steps:

• Coat the outside of the sugar cone with an even layer of corn syrup using a kitchen paintbrush. Roll in the gold sanding sugar. Set aside to dry, about 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, examine the cake and designate which side will be the front. Place the white frosting in a piping bag fitted with a large French decorating tip. Pipe a large circle of frosting on the front top edge of the cake. Continue piping circles connecting the first circle to the top center of the cake, and then down the right side of the cake. Place the cone on the front top edge of the cake in the piped frosting circle. Arrange half a package of the candy ropes across the front of the cake to create fringe (or bangs), trimming with scissors if needed.
• Twist half a package of the candy ropes and place them around the base of the horn. Continue to place groups of candy ropes around the horn and down the piped side of the cake, creating a mane. Braid a few candy ropes together and work them into the mane, if desired. Pipe four large swirls of frosting over the candy ropes, traveling from the horn to the top center of the cake; cover with the rainbow sprinkles.
• Using a 2-inch round cookie cutter, gently score a half-circle in a dark chocolate melting wafer. Move the cutter back and forth until the wafer is cut into two pieces. Use a half-moon piece to create a winking eye to the left of the mane, pressing it into the frosting. Dot a tiny amount of frosting on the backs of the white confetti sprinkles and adhere them to the remaining dark chocolate melting wafer, arranging them parallel to each other. Place the wafer in the frosting to the right of the mane on the cake. Place the two pink candy melts on either side of the cake for blushing cheeks.
• Snip the marshmallow in half diagonally with kitchen scissors. Immediately dip the sticky edges in the blue sanding sugar. Pipe two mounds of frosting on either side of the rainbow candy mane and stick the marshmallow pieces upright into the frosting mounds for two ears. Serve immediately.