The Happy Buddy turned 5 on the 3rd of July and I really wanted to make him a special birthday cake to celebrate.
I almost gave up and called the Publix bakery after looking on Pinterest and seeing so many intricate, difficult, you-might-need-a-culinary-arts-degree-to-make-it cakes.
But then I saw a few Number 5 cakes and knew I could pull it off without having to buy fondant or 300 special frosting tips.
This cake is SO easy.
Here is a photo tutorial of what I did –
At this point I decided to decorate the cake with M&Ms.
About 10 minutes in to the color sorting and meticulous placing, I regretted this decision immensely.
But I persevered and the finished product was so cute I forgot about the 27 times my hand cramped up.
🙂
Happy How to Make a Number 5 Cake-ing!
*Quick Tip – For crumb-free icing, I recommend freezing your cakes first. Go HERE for a simple step-by-step guide.*
Thankyou so very much for this awesome post! My little girl Natalie is due to turn 5 at the end of the year so it’s perfect timing! Love reading all your posts. You are one super clever mum!
Cheers, Katie
Kind regards,
Katie Hoffman and the Teachers Marketplace Team
http://www.teachersmarketplace.com.au
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Sweet KAtie! THank you for your kind words! I know your daughter will love her number 5 cake. You are an awesome mom!
If you were to freeze these sponges in advance, say a week ahead of time, would you have them cut to shape for the number 5 or freeze as the circle and square.
I referenced your tutorial and it got me to a successful 5 cake! I did a chocolate cake for the round cake and a yellow cake for the rectangle cake. Wish I could post a picture. Thank you!
Hi,
Love the number 5 cake!
A few questions…
1 boxed cake mix?
9 inch round & 9 inch square?
What a great idea! I’ll be making this for my youngest little boy when he turns 5…how did I get to the stage when I would be saying my youngest is turning 5????
Kristie – seriously! I feel the same way! Have fun!
Awe, its adorable… Hope he loved it
Cute! Putting all those candies on must have taken a TON of patience, but I know it was worth it for your little guy! I’m thinking that with a couple of diagonal cuts, you could use the same concept for a 2. Two of my daughters will be 5 and 2 on their next birthdays, so I might have to try this. Thanks for sharing!
You are a good mom! My teenage kids still talk about efforts I made to make their birthdays special. I know your son will love this!
Hey Sweet Friend! I always love reading your posts. Happy birthday to your darling boy.
My daughter’s 5th birthday is on Wednesday and she wanted a number 5 cake – perfect timing!! Thank you for sharing, we love reading your blog ; )
Jennyfer! Woohoo! So happy I could help!!! Happy Birthday to your sweet daughter!
im going to try it tomorrow for my sons birthday! thanks for the ideaaaaaaaa!!
Making this cake this weekend for my soon to be 5 year old happy buddy! Thank you!!!
Such a beautiful cake! Approximately how many did it serve? I want to make something like this for my kid’s upcoming birthday, but worry about not having enough cake for everyone.
Hi Stephanie! I think it served about 12-15 people? I honestly don’t remember how many people ate it and what was left! It sure was fun to make!
Thanks so much!
That’s pretty simple! Just what this mama needs as I’m 39 weeks and 5 days along in 2 days when my second turns 5! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thank you so much for this tutorial! I, too, searched Pinterest! I agree….you have to be a professional to make some of those cakes! My grandson, Ayden, turns 5 on Thursday, and I am so excited to make this cake for him! 🙂
What sizes are your cake pans?
Did you do a separate cake mix for each or just split the mix evenly between the 2?
Ok, so the pans were both an 8″ round and an 8″ square pan. I used only one box of cake mix, separating it between the two. I hope that helps! 🙂
Hi! Looking forward to making this. What were the dimensions of the cake? I’m trying to figure out what size cake board I need to place it on. Would 14×19 be big enough?
Today’s my son’s 5th birthday and I decided at the last minute to attempt a 5 cake. This is gorgeous! Even if your hand cramped up, those M&Ms look AMAZING!! Thanks for sharing! 🙂 Lisa
Which cake mix is the best to use? I don’t want it to fall apart!
Hi Abby! I just used a Duncan Hines mix, I think! 🙂
Hi Julie,
Quick question, what size are the pans? I am sorry if you answered this already. I couldn’t seem to find it. My son’s 5th is on Saturday, October 1 and we will definitely be using your tutorial. Thank you so much for sharing
Hello! I used 9″ cake pans! Hope that helps!!! Have a great birthday!
I’m am trying this with the m&ms but how did u get the color of the m&ms to not run that’s my only fear. My son is turning 5 and we have done some sort of m&m cake the past 2 years it’s always what he wants
Hey! Great question! I decorated the cake pretty close to the time of the party! It all stayed good until later when the cake was half eaten and got put in the fridge… That was the only time the M&Ms started to run! Good luck, mama!! 🙂
To do a number 5 do you use 1 or 2 boxes of cake mix?
Hi Sonya! I used just one cake mix. 🙂
So about how many people did this cake feed ?
When you freeze the cake to avoid crumbs when frosting, do you thaw it first or frost it while still frozen? Thanks! I’ll be making this for the little boy’s birthday next week. 🙂
for the circle did you use a 8 inch or 6 inch pan?
Thank you so much for this easy to do step by step 5th birthday cake idea.
My daughter turns 5 this week and like I have been looking for how to make a number 5 cake and nearly give up, and was thinking about calling a cake shop.
Thank you so much! My daughter will have a number 5 princess/fairy birthday cake
Hi, can you please tell me how many bags of m&ms did you use? Not sure if to buy the 180g or the 380g size or multiple bags! Thank you 🙂
What size is the finished cake? I’d like to make this for a 55th Birthday party and am wondering what size board or platter I’d need.
Used your idea today. Came out perfect. The wife and grandmas were quite impressed!