Man oh man. If there’s one cake I don’t mind doing over again it’s the Hamburger Cake Classique. It kills me every time!
Marissa asked me if I could do a burger cake for her husband Steve’s birthday… her excitement and enthusiasm for the cake was matched by my own hyperness — I love the magic of cake! Colour some buttercream, trick the eye with squiggles of “mustard” and leaves of fresh green “lettuce” and blobs of “ketchup.” Roll out orangey fondant super thin and cut into squares then triangles, and you’ve got a cheeseburger! Personally I like my burgers a little more rare than charred… but you can blame the rich dark cocoa powder I used for the burger patty cake layer…
The cutesville kicker on this cake — SODA AND FRIES! I was just going to make the soda and fries for display and for photos… but they turned out so cute I turned them into their own flags and poked them in to the top of the cake. I did a stripey cake board and matching flag. The cake itself was vanilla cake and chocolate cake, and between the layers of cake there was dark chocolate ganache…
I got a really cute email from Marissa the next day:
“I had to really be careful to preserve as much of its cuteness as possible when cutting it. The first cut was, indeed, the deepest.”
CUTE!!!
I know how much I loved this cake because this was the last cake I made over a painful/delightful/extremely tiring weekend of pure cakeing… but I had so much energy in creating it because I was seriously so stoked on it.
Happy Birthday Steve! You’ve got a super cool wife! ^__^
SweetThingsTO
Lyndsay, wow! You have a way of making cute things even more cute and wow!
marlenedesigner
My husband would love a cake like this!
Alanna S.
I luv it! So cute, perfect!
lyndsay
thank you juanita!! ^__^
marlene, you should go for it! :)
thanks alanna!
Marissa
Haha! Thanks, Lynds! This cake will forever be remembered as the finest cake Steve and I have ever laid our eyes/teeth upon. Heavenly! Also, Steve really loves mayo and was delighted to see the mayo on the bottom. Apparently that’s a Canadian thing!?
Jan | Poppytalk
oh my GOSH! that’s amazing Lyndsay!!!! wow!
emily.marie
ack! that is AMAZING! I can’t wait for the next burger-loving person in my life to have a birthday so I can try this! I like how you made the meat layer in a bigger pan so you can get a good look at the toppings.
kickpleat
I had a betty crocker 1970s kids cookbook when I was a kid and the page with the cake burger was the one I wanted so badly! Great job!
lyndsay
@Marissa, not sure if mayo is Canadian — ?? Love it that Steve was into it… ! Thank you so much again, what a blast! ^__^
@thank you Jan!!!
@thank you emily-marie! a big old delicious “beef” patty!!
@oooh jeannette, do you still have that book? i would love to see it. i love vintage baking books!!! maybe we could trade some beautiful project stuff for a cake? ;)
Marissa
Someone once told me that mayo on a burger is a Canadian thing.
lyndsay
marissa! heehee! oh yes, i knew what you meant — i was thinking about how white spot slops on mayonnaise on their burgers, that’s a pretty quintessential “BC” type of place — this is definitely worth a little investigating/surveying… !
why do i want a burger right now with mayo? i better eat breakfast… ^__^
Mallory
You’re right Lyndsay – I do love this. I dare say I couldn’t possibly love it any more! It’d definitely be hard for me to make the first cut too… but after that first one – I’m sure I’d devour it oh so fast, haha.
lyndsay
haha! thanks mallory!!! wish i could send you a cake in the mail… ^__^
Half Baked
Very cute cake! And your photography is very nice as well. :o)
Peggy
LOVE this cake! Now I know what to make for my husband and our youngest son’s birthday!! I am getting hungry just LOOKINg at it! Great job!! If I was local I would definitely order one but it is a bit of a hike from Vancouver to Indiana… ha ha!
And mayo on a burger is definitely NOT just a Canadian thing!! I’ve lived all over the US and found burgers with TONS of mayo in different locales. My husband loves nothing better than a big burger done medium to medium rare with lots of mayo, ketchup, mustard, lettuce, and tomatoes! The sloppier the better! :)
Rosy
So glad I found your blog through Poppytalk. Love the cakes they are beautiful. I’m still cake decorating challenged but I’m trying…
Jello
i love this! perfect birthday cake for my husband… Poppytalk was talking about you on her post… thought i would stop by and share the love. Thanks!
lyndsay
@Half Baked thanks so much!!!
@Oh thank you Rosy! your star wars cookies look great!
@thanks so much for stopping by Jello!! ^__^
stacey
LOVE LOVE LOVE this idea!! Your amazing!!
kendal croix.
Just way too cute. I love it so much.
Jan | Poppytalk
come to think of it – i had a really cool kids cookbook too – i think it was also betty crocker. oh where is that book – must ask my mom. it had fun things like food that looked like faces – pizza with faces and things like that. and i never had a burger without mayonnaise – that i can remember.
lyndsay
@stacey… thank you!!
@kendal croix … thank you!!
@jan … egads i think i need to build a collection of kid cookbooks from the 1960s, 1970s even 1980s… bet there’s so many hilarious vintage look ideas in there!
if you ever find the book, let me know, i would love to look at it!! ^__^
Julie
This is so fun! I have seen cheeseburger cakes before-but nothing that even compares to this!
Jennifer Squires Ross
I’ve made a few burger cakes in recent years. I bake the top bun in a bowl so it gets that nice dome shape. And I break up the biscuit parts of oreo cookies and stick it to the sides of the patty, giving it a nice ground beefy look. I’ve never done cheese though, that’s a nice touch!
Great work! Hamburger cakes are always a hit!
lyndsay
@Peggy! i missed your comment earlier… MAYO! nice!
@Julie! thanks so much!
@Jennifer — nice idea on the domed top! mine is more of a sourdough jack in the box sandwich i guess, heehee!
i like the idea of groundbeefiness (is that a word??) with the oreo cookies too! thanks for stopping by!
Brandy L
Awesome cake Lyndsay! I would have a hard time eating it since it looks so good!
McKenzie
Ah! This is AMAZING. I’m totally going to try and make this for my boyfriends birthday. Hopefully it turns out even half as cute as this one.
lyndsay
thanks brandy!!!
thanks mckenzie! good luck, you’ll do a fantastic job!
Printabelle
This is so fun! I love it! I featured it in my Father’s Day round up at:
http://printabelle.com/?p=4849#
If you would like a featured button, I have one on this page: http://printabelle.com/?page_id=724
ghbarrs
Some friends are hosting a cookout for my husband’s birthday this weekend and I am going to try my hand at this cake. Going to use red velvet for the burger layer and try the tip about chocolate wafers. Wish me luck and thanks for the inspiration!