How to Make a Spongebob Cake

Co-authored by Maha Mohamed

Last Updated: December 12, 2022 References

SpongeBob SquarePants is an animated character from a television series for children. The main character is SpongeBob, who is a rectangular yellow sea sponge who lives at the bottom of the ocean. A SpongeBob cake is a fantastic way to decorate a cake for a kid’s birthday party or other celebration. While this style of cake requires a number of small components, it’s actually quite simple to make.

Ingredients

The Cake

Makes 3 cakes

1 cup (227 g) butter, room temperature
2 cups (450 g) sugar
4 eggs
3 cups (375 g) self-rising flour
1 cup (237 ml) milk
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract

Frosting

6 tablespoons (85 g) butter, softened
2⅔ cups (333 g) powdered sugar
½ cup (59 g) cocoa powder
⅓ cup (79 ml) milk
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract

Fondant

4 cups (500 g) powdered sugar
2 tablespoons (30 ml) water
3½ cups (175 g) mini marshmallows
⅔ cup (151 g) white candy melts, chopped

Decorations

2 pieces of candy-coated chewing gum
Red gel food coloring
Blue gel food coloring
Yellow gel food coloring
Black gel food coloring
Brown gel food coloring

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Baking the Cake

1
Gather your supplies. To make a SpongeBob cake, you start with three basic rectangular cakes. You then layer the cakes to create the main shape, and use fondant to decorate the cake and make the defining SpongeBob characteristics. To make the cakes, you'll need your ingredients and some kitchen supplies, including:
- An oven preheated to 350 F (177 C)
- Large and small bowl
- Hand mixer
- Sifter
- 3 rectangular cake pans, 7 by 11 inches (18 by 28 cm) each, greased
- 3 wire cooling racks
2
Cream the butter and sugar. Place the butter in a large mixing bowl and beat it on medium speed with the hand mixer for one to two minutes. Add the sugar and continue beating for another seven minutes.
- You can use a stand mixer if you don’t have a hand mixer, or a whisk.
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3
Add the eggs. Crack one egg into a small bowl, and remove any pieces of shell if they fall in. Then add the egg to the butter and sugar mixture. Beat the mixture on medium speed until fully incorporated. Repeat for the remaining eggs, adding each individually.
- It’s always a good idea to crack eggs into a separate bowl first, because that way pieces of shell don’t get lost in your batter.
4
Add the flour and milk. Sift half the flour into the bowl with the eggs, butter, and sugar. Beat the mixture on medium speed until all the ingredients are just incorporated. Then add half the milk, and continue beating to bring the ingredients together. Sift and beat in the remaining flour, followed by the rest of the milk.
- To make your own self-rising flour, add 1½ teaspoons (6 g) of baking powder and ¼ teaspoon (1.5 g) of salt per cup of all-purpose flour.^{[1]
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5
Add the vanilla. Beat the mixture for one more minute, or until all the ingredients are combined. Stop as soon as all the lumps are gone and everything is fully mixed.
- Overmixing the batter will develop the gluten in the flour, and this will result in a cake that’s tough and dense.
6
Pour the batter and bake the cakes. Divide the batter equally among the three greased cake pans. Tap the cake pans against a flat surface to level the batter. Transfer the cakes to the preheated oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. The cake is ready when a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.^{[2]
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- If you only have one rectangular cake pan, cook the three cakes in separate batches.
- You can also use 9-by-13-inch (23-by-33-cm) cake pans if that’s the size you have. The cake will be slightly larger and a little shorter.
7
Cool the cakes. When the cakes are ready, remove them from the oven and set them aside to cool for 10 minutes. Then turn the cakes out onto the wire cooling racks, and let them cool to room temperature, about one to two hours.^{[3]
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- While you're waiting for the cakes to cool, you can make your frosting and fondant. If you try to frost the cake when it’s still hot, the frosting will melt.

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Making the Frosting and Fondant

1
Melt the marshmallows. Make a double boiler by setting a large glass bowl into a medium saucepan filled with 1 inch (2.5 cm) of water. Add the marshmallows and water to the bowl and heat the double boiler over medium heat. Stir regularly as the marshmallows melt, continuing until they're fully melted and smooth.
- You can also use a proper double boiler if you have one.
- Make sure the water isn't touching the bottom of the glass bowl. If an inch of water is too much, pour out some water, otherwise the marshmallows may burn.
2
Add the candy melts. Once the marshmallows are fully melted, remove the double boiler from the heat. Place the bowl onto a heat-proof surface or mat. Pour in the candy melts while the marshmallow is still warm, and stir until they're completely melted and incorporated.^{[4]
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- The candy melts will make the fondant firmer and more elastic, and will prevent it from drying out too quickly.
3
Make the dough. Combine the sugar and marshmallow mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon until all the sugar has been incorporated. Then turn the dough out onto a flat surface dusted with powdered sugar. Knead the mixture until it comes together as a soft, sticky dough.
- When you're first mixing the sugar and marshmallows, you can use a stand or hand mixer fitted with a dough hook instead of stirring it by hand.
4
Rest the dough. Cover the dough in a thin layer of vegetable shortening. Wrap the dough tightly in a layer of plastic wrap. Place the dough into a sealable plastic bag, push out all the air, and seal the bag. Then transfer the dough to the fridge and let it rest for at least four hours.^{[5]
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- Let the dough rest for as long as possible, ideally overnight.
5
Divide the fondant. After the dough has had time to relax, remove it from the fridge and allow it to warm to room temperature for 30 minutes to an hour. Then, with a sharp knife, divide the fondant into five sections:
- Cut the fondant in half and set one half aside for the yellow body.
- Divide the other half of the dough into three equal portions. Set two of those aside for the brown and white accents.
- With the remaining portion of dough, divide that in half again. This will be for the red and blue accents.
6
Color the fondant. Place the largest portion of fondant onto a flat surface dusted with powdered sugar. Add 10 drops of yellow gel food coloring and knead the color into the dough to distribute it evenly. Add more color as necessary to achieve the desired shade of yellow.
- Repeat with the smaller sections of dough and the remaining colors, adding food coloring in five-drop increments. Be sure to wipe down the counter between colors to avoid cross-contamination.
- For the white portion of dough, simply leave it the color of the original fondant.
7
Make the frosting. Place the butter into a medium mixing bowl and beat for one to two minutes with a hand mixer on medium speed. Add half the sugar and cocoa and beat to incorporate. Add half the milk and beat, followed by the remaining sugar and cocoa. Pour in the last of the milk and beat for three to four minutes on medium speed.
- Finally, add the vanilla and beat for one more minute.^{[6]
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8
Color the frosting. Most of the frosting will be used to layer the cakes and to act as a glue for the fondant, but you also need some black frosting for different accents on the cake. Remove one-quarter of the frosting and place it into a separate bowl.
- Add five drops of black food coloring to the small portion of frosting, and beat to distribute the color. Add more color as necessary to achieve a black frosting.

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Assembling and Adding Decorations

1
Assemble the layers of cake. With a long cake or bread knife, cut off a thin layer from the top of each cake to level the surface. Place one cake on a cake platter or serving plate. Spread a layer of brown frosting on top of the cake. Place a second cake on top of the first cake.
- Spread a layer of frosting on top of the second cake. Place the third cake on top of the second cake.
2
Frost the cakes. When you’ve assembled the three layers of cake, spread a layer of frosting over the top and sides of the cake. Smooth out the surface of the frosting so the fondant will have an even surface to stick to.
- Place the cake into the fridge and let the frosting rest for about 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, remove the cake from the fridge and orient it so the rectangle is lengthwise (vertical) in front of you on your work surface.
3
Make the yellow SpongeBob body. Turn the yellow fondant out onto a flat surface dusted with powdered sugar. Use a rolling pin to roll the fondant out into a rectangle that’s one-eighth inch (0.3 cm) thick.
- Carefully pick up the fondant and lay it over the top three-quarters of the cake. Starting at the center of the cake, gently press the fondant down, molding it to the top and sides of the cake.
- When you get to the base of the cake, use a pizza cutter to trim off the excess. Then press the edges of the fondant into the base of the cake.
- Set the remaining yellow fondant aside for the nose and cheeks.
4
Make the brown pants. Roll out the brown fondant in the same way that you did the yellow. Use a pizza cutter to trim the top edge off the fondant in a straight line. This will be the waistline on SpongeBob’s pants.
- Pick up the fondant and lay it over the bottom 2 inches (5 cm) of the cake.
- Gently press the fondant down, molding it to the top and sides of the cake. Trim the excess from around the base and set it aside.
5
Make the white shirt. Roll the white fondant out into a rectangle like you did with the yellow and brown. Make sure the rectangle is at least 10 inches (25 cm) long by two inches (5 cm) wide. Use a pizza cutter to cut a 2-inch (5-cm) lengthwise strip from the white fondant. Leave the rest of the fondant rolled out.
- Lay the white strip onto the cake in between the brown and yellow fondant. Don’t worry if the white overlaps the yellow.
- Press the white fondant down into the cake gently, and press it into either side of the cake. Trim off the excess and set it aside.
6
Punch the dimples. Using a round cake tool, a large marble, or a golf ball, punch some dimples all over the top and sides of the cake. These are meant to replicate the holes in the sponge.^{[7]
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- Make the impressions about a half-inch (1.3 cm) deep into the fondant.
7
Make the eyes. Use a round cookie cutter with a 2-inch (5-cm) diameter and cut out two circles of white fondant. Then roll out the blue fondant into a circle (one-eighth inch thick) and cut out two 1-inch circles.^{[8]
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- Place one blue circle into the center of each white circle, and press the blue down gently to secure it in place.
- Position the eyes about 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) from the top of the cake. Place them on top of the yellow fondant, side by side in the center of the cake.
- To make the pupil, place a pea-sized dab of black icing at the center of each blue circle.
8
Make the nose and cheeks. Break off enough yellow fondant to make three balls with half-inch diameters. Take one ball and roll it in your hands to elongate it into a 1-inch (2.5-cm) tube for the nose. Place the tube below and in between the two eyes.^{[9]
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- To make the cheeks, place a ball of yellow fondant at the bottom outer corner of each eye.
9
Create the mouth. With a sharp knife, carefully make a slit in the fondant to create the mouth. The slit should be a concave semicircle at the center of the cake that connects the two cheeks.
- To make the teeth, slide two candy-coated chewing gums into the slit that you made for the mouth. Position the candy-coated chewing gums near the center of the mouth, about 0.5 inches (1.3 cm) apart.
10
Create the tie. Roll out the red fondant into a square. With a pizza cutter or knife, cut out a diamond shape with an elongated top that’s about 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) long. Lay the tie down lengthwise on top of the white and brown fondant, in the center of the shirt, with the elongated section at the top.^{[10]
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- Cut off any excess from the top so the tie doesn’t overhang the white fondant.
11
Outline the features. Place the black frosting into a pastry bag, and fit the bag with a small round tip. Use the pastry bag to pipe black lines to outline SpongeBob’s eyes, waistband, tie, and teeth.
- You can also use the black frosting to create additional features, including the belt and the collar. To make the collar, pipe one upside down triangle on either side of the tie.

Community Q&A

Question

Where do I get fondant?

Qamar

Top Answerer

You can find some at your local grocery store or cake shop, or learn to make your own by reading this wikiHow article on making fondant.