How to Make a Leap Year Cake
Leap Year only happens so often gang, so let’s freakin’ party! Ryan and I were trying to think of some cool way to celebrate Leap Year and we were like, “Let’s go ALL out.” After all, what happens on Leap Year stays on Leap Year… or something like that? But seriously, if there’s one day to celebrate like it ain’t gonna happen again for a while, it’s Leap Day! So obviously the way to celebrate is a cake covered from head to toe in gorgeous candy. We teamed up with the gang at Sugarfina, who sent over the most INSANE collection of candy you could ever imagine. It’s like someone saw inside of my candy-obsessed brain and made my wildest dreams come true. Here’s how you can make your own Leap Year Cake to celebrate the day that barely exists!
How to Make a Leap Year Cake
Materials
- white boxed cake mix
- any additional ingredients required (eggs, etc)
- white frosting
- cake stand
- cake rounds
- icing spatula
- serrated knife
- neon food coloring
- a selection of pretty candies
- small mixing bowls
- spatula
Make Time: 2 Hours (Plus Baking Time)
1: Mix your cake (we are alllll about the box mix around here, it’s foolproof!) according to the instructions.
2: Decide how many layers you’d like your cake to be. We made 5 layers of cake using a 6-inch round cake pan. Bake your cakes according to the instructions on the box.
3: After all cakes are cooled, carefully level off the top of each cake using the serrated knife. Hold the knife horizontal to the ground and carefully saw across the top, being sure the knife is level. The goal is to remove the domed section on the top of each layer.
4: If you wish, color the frosting you’ll use in between each layer. Put a few tablespoons of frosting into your small mixing bowls and color with food coloring as desired. The colors we used were as follows:
- dark green = 3 drops neon blue, 1 drop neon green
- light blue = 1 drop neon blue
- light green = 1 drop neon green
- lilac = 1 drop neon pink, 1 drop neon purple
5: Place a dollop of frosting on the center of the cake stand and place the first layer down on it; I prefer to place the trimmed side down.
6: Spread one color of frosting in a thin, even layer over your first layer of cake.
7: Repeat Steps 5 and 6 until you have reached the top layer of your cake.
8: Add a crumb coat to your cake. This simply means ice it with a very thin layer of frosting so that all of the crumbs are contained. Once you’ve got a smooth crumb coat, place the cake in the fridge for an hour.
9: Remove from the fridge and add a thicker layer of white frosting, smoothing it as best you can.
10: Start decorating! Place larger candies first, scattering them to your liking. If you’re adding large candies to the sides of the cake, be sure they’re not so heavy that they’ll fall off.
11: Continue in the same manner, placing smaller candies in between larger ones to cover the whole surface of the cake.
And if you’re interested, take a peek at the goodies we used from Sugarfina! You should probably definitely snag some of these for your own Leap Cake. Or maybe just to hoard and eat yourself.
Bubbly Bears. Chocolate Confetti. Chocolate Sparkles. Champagne Bubbles. Confetti Dolci. Ice Cream Cones. Kyoto Blossoms. Mama & Baby Piglets. Matcha Green Tea Caramels. Pale Ale Pints. Piccolini. Sugar Cookies. Sugar Lips. Dark Chocolate Marshmallow Eggs.
Booooom! I dare you to bring this bad boy out for dessert at your next party. In fact, I’m pretty sure you have to throw a Leap Year party just so you can serve this cake. It’s a force to be reckoned with! And I must recommend you serve sparingly to children, lest they be bouncing off the walls for the next week and a half with all of the sugar in their systems. Hey, Happy Leap Year! xoxo
P.S. You can print out the recipe card below to add to your stash! Also, find more fun baking ideas here.
Leap Year Candy Cake
A fun, festive, candy-covered cake with a suprise inside!
Instructions
- Mix your cake (we are alllll about the box mix around here, it’s foolproof!) according to the instructions.
- Decide how many layers you’d like your cake to be. We made 5 layers of cake using a 6-inch round cake pan. Bake your cakes according to the instructions on the box.
- After all cakes are cooled, carefully level off the top of each cake using the serrated knife. Hold the knife horizontal to the ground and carefully saw across the top, being sure the knife is level. The goal is to remove the domed section on the top of each layer.
- If you wish, color the frosting you’ll use in between each layer. Put a few tablespoons of frosting into your small mixing bowls and color with food coloring as desired. The colors we used were as follows: Dark Green = 3 drops neon blue, 1 drop neon green. Light Blue = 1 drop neon blue. Light Green = 1 drop neon green. Lilac = 1 drop neon pink, 1 drop neon purple.
- Place a dollop of frosting on the center of the cake stand and place the first layer down on it; I prefer to place the trimmed side down.
- Spread one color of frosting in a thin, even layer over your first layer of cake.
- Repeat Steps 5 and 6 until you have reached the top layer of your cake.
- Add a crumb coat to your cake. This simply means ice it with a very thin layer of frosting so that all of the crumbs are contained. Once you’ve got a smooth crumb coat, place the cake in the fridge for an hour.
- Remove from the fridge and add a thicker layer of white frosting, smoothing it as best you can.
- Start decorating! Place larger candies first, scattering them to your liking. If you’re adding large candies to the sides of the cake, be sure they’re not so heavy that they’ll fall off.
- Continue in the same manner, placing smaller candies in between larger ones to cover the whole surface of the cake.
THIS IS GORGEOUS !!!!! I LOVE IT !!!!
Jesus, this cake is insane!
My birthday is two days before Leap Year, and this might be my choice of cake 😉
Wonderful pictures, by the way! It’s almost sad how the cake seems to be right in front of me but isn’t , hehe.
Cheers!
Wow, I feel like I just discovered a real treasure, this cake and your blog! Windlasse
http://www.windlasse.com
well isn’t this just ALL KINDS OF FUN!!!!
We’ve never celebrated Leap Year before and aren’t sure why since we celebrate all other holidays. Definitely celebrating this year! Thanks for the inspiration!
This is fabulous!
This cake is fantastic. I love everything about it — from the candy on the outside to the lovely colored icing on the inside.
This is insane. Which means I need to make it NOW. Thanks for sharing!!! <3
This is so AMAZING! Though it’s almost too pretty to eat… well, ALMOST 🙂
Yes! Love it!!!! My birthday is on Leap Day – think I might need to make this to help celebrate!!
This is so crazy fun! Definitely needing a leap day party now
This is so awesome and definitely not helping me with my goals to stay away from sweets haha! Thanks for sharing !
You already know how much I love this!!
This looks amazing – so colourful! My sister’s birthday is the day before Leap Day – she would love this as a birthday cake!
This fits great with the “30 Rock” interpretation of how to celebrate Leap Day. “Candy for your tears!”
Worth a watch of the clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcRYnmYJNHc
How many small cubes of candy would you say you used on this cake?
Love this cake! Will be making it for my daughter’s Candyland Birthday party. Question…how many boxes of each type of candy did you need to cover the cake??? Thanks! ?
Very fine cake ? Want to try this in cocolate cake instead to my sons 13 theen bhirstay . With boys candy ? Thank you for inspo ?
I will have 37 slices of that Leap Year Cake, please!!! ?????