4 Rad Retro Game Cakes
It's always fun to get a little bit nostalgic and think back to the good ol' days. Some of our favorite parts about being a kid were all of the amazing games we had growing up! There's nothing quite like staying up all night to play video games at home, or going out to the arcade and trying to beat those impossibly high scores. Playing was an important part of childhood, so we thought we'd bring the fun from those classic old games into the culinary world with these 4 retro game cakes! From arcade classics like Pac-Man and Tetris to analog games like tic-tac-toe and the Rubik’s Cube, we've found a way to bring the spirit of the game (and the '80s and '90s) straight into your dessert. Plus, now we finally know what Pac-Man is eating!
1. Rubik's Cube Cake
Yield: 1
Prep Time: 2 hours
Cooking Time: 3 hours
Inactive Time: 2 hours
Difficulty Level: Moderate
You'll Need:
- 18 egg whites
- 3 cups sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1½ cups milk
- 7 cups flour
- 2 cups chocolate frosting
- 6 oz each of white, yellow, green, blue, red & orange chocolate candy melts, tempered
Extra:
- silicone ice cube tray
- 6 x 6-inch cake pan
Here's How:
1.1 Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 6 x 6-inch square cake pan. Beat 6 of the egg whites until light and fluffy, then gradually add in 1 cup of sugar, beating continuously, until a stiff meringue forms. Stir in 2⅓ cups flour, ½ cup of milk, and ⅓ cup of vegetable oil until combined, then pour the batter into the cake pan. Transfer the cake pan to the oven and bake at 350°F for 40 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool completely, then remove it from the cake pan. Repeat this process 2 more times so that you end up with 3 square cakes. Cut the top off of all 3 cakes so that each cake is about 2 inches tall. Cover all 3 cakes with a thick layer of chocolate frosting and stack them on top of each other at different angles.
1.2 Temper 1 of the 6 types of colored chocolate candy melts and dip the bottom of the silicone ice cube tray into it. Let any excess chocolate drip off, then flip the tray over so that the chocolate-covered side is facing upwards. Use a popsicle stick to trace the edges of the bottom of the ice cube tray in order to designate straight edges for each of the colored chocolate squares.
1.3 Transfer the ice cube tray to the refrigerator and let the chocolate solidify. Once the chocolate squares have chilled and set, carefully remove them from the ice cube tray. Repeat this process for all 6 of the chocolate colors. You need 9 squares in each color and 54 chocolate squares in total. Once all of the colorful chocolate squares have hardened, use them to decorate the outside of the cake.
2. Tic-Tac-Toe Cake
Yield: 1
Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 50 minutes
Inactive Time: 45 minutes
Difficulty Level: Moderate
You'll Need:
- 3 egg whites, chilled
- ½ cup sugar
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 cup flour
- 2 cups chocolate frosting
- 1½ cups sugar cookie dough
- icing for the cookies
- rainbow sprinkles
Extra:
- 8 x 8-inch square cake pan
- X & O cookie cutters
Here's How:
2.1 Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease an 8 x 8-inch square cake pan. Beat the egg whites until light and fluffy, then gradually add in the sugar, beating continuously, until a stiff meringue forms. Add in the flour, milk, and vegetable oil and mix until combined, then pour the batter into the cake pan. Transfer the cake pan to the oven and bake at 350°F for 30–40 minutes. Once the cake has baked, remove it from the oven and let it cool completely. Keep the oven warm and set to 350°F for the next steps. Roll out the cookie dough and use cut it into X's and O's using cookie cutters. Place the cut-out cookie dough on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, transfer the baking tray to to the refrigerator, and let the cookie dough chill briefly. Once it has chilled, transfer the baking tray to the oven and bake the cookies at 350°F for 10–12 minutes. Once the cookies have baked, remove them from the oven and let them cool completely.
2.2 Decorate the cookies with icing and rainbow sprinkles.
2.3 Cover the cake with chocolate frosting and transfer the icing to a piping bag. Pipe lines of icing onto the cake, drawing a tic-tac-toe board with 9 even squares. Place the cookies on the cake, and you're ready to find out who the tic-tac-toe master is!
3. Pac-Man Cake
Yield: 1
Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 40 minutes
Inactive Time: 50 minutes
Difficulty Level: Moderate
You'll Need:
- 6 egg whites
- 1 cup sugar
- 1½ cups flour
- ¾ cup cocoa powder
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup milk
- 2 cups chocolate frosting
- 4 oz each of pink, yellow, green, blue & orange chocolate candy melts, tempered
- 6 mini cupcakes
- 10 candy ropes
- candy eyeballs & chocolate pearls
- yellow M&M's
- cherry gummy candies
Here's How:
3.1 Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a rectangular 10 x 15-inch cake pan. Beat the egg whites until light and fluffy, then gradually add in the sugar, beating continuously, until a stiff meringue forms. Add in the flour, milk, and vegetable oil and stir until combined, then pour the batter into the cake pan. Transfer the cake pan to the oven and bake at 350°F for 30–40 minutes. Once the cake has baked, remove it from the oven and let it cool completely.
3.2 Cover the cake with chocolate frosting and use the candy ropes to create the outline of the playing board. Temper each type of chocolate candy melt. Cut the mini cupcakes into the shapes of Pac-Man and the ghosts and dip them into the tempered chocolate, then decorate them with candy eyeballs or chocolate pearls.
3.3 Now place the ghosts, Pac-Man, cherry gummy candies, and yellow M&M's on the cake.
4. Tetris Cake
Yield: 1
Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 40 minutes
Inactive Time: 45 minutes
Difficulty Level: Moderate
You'll Need:
- 6 egg whites
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 cups flour
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup milk
- 2 cups chocolate frosting
- wafer cookies
- 4 oz each of pink, yellow, green, blue & orange chocolate candy melts, tempered
- 8 candy ropes
Here's How:
4.1 Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9 x 12-inch cake pan. Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a rectangular 10 x 15-inch cake pan. Beat the egg whites until light and fluffy, then gradually add in the sugar, beating continuously, until a stiff meringue forms. Add in the flour, milk, and vegetable oil and mix until combined, then pour the batter into the cake pan. Transfer the cake pan to the oven and bake the cake at 350°F for 30–40 minutes. Once the cake has baked, remove it from the oven and let it cool completely. Cover the cake with chocolate frosting and use the candy ropes to create the outline of the playing board.
4.2 Cut the wafer cookies into small squares and temper the colored chocolate candy melts. Dip the wafer squares into the colorful tempered chocolate, then let the chocolate set. Place the wafer cookies on the cake so that they look like falling Tetris blocks.
These colorful retro cakes aren't just for '80s and '90s kids, they're fun at any age and they make the perfect sweet treat for any occasion. After all of this gaming talk, we're really in the mood for a round of Pac-Man – and this time there's a yummy piece of cake to go with it!
Get the recipes for the Fun & Creative Birthday Cakes featured in the bonus video.