This Teddy Bear Cake consists of three moist chocolate cake layers with vanilla buttercream filling and a chocolate buttercream on the outside. Easy rolled fondant decorations make the cute bear face.
For my youngest daughter's Golden Birthday, we decided to do a Teddy Bear theme in honor of her two beloved bears: a polar bear named Huggie and a brown bear named Brown Hug.
I designed the dessert table to feature polar bear treats on one side of the table and brown teddy bear treats on the other side. This meant 2 birthday cakes!
I made the cakes 6-inch cakes instead of my go-to 8-inch cake. The Teddy Bear Cake was chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream, while the Polar Bear Cake was vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream.
I kept the design of the cakes super simple. This dessert table ended up being one of the cutest I've done!
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Supplies
- three 6-inch layers of chocolate cake
- 1 batch Easy Vanilla Buttercream
- 1 batch Easy Chocolate Buttercream
- white rollable fondant or gum paste
- black rollable fondant or gum paste
- brown food coloring gel
- powdered sugar, for rolling the fondant
- small fondant rolling pin with guides
- small circular biscuit cutter
- large circular biscuit cutter
- round gold cake board
- spinning cake decorating stand
- wooden skewers for support
- metal cake scraper
- large round tip, like 2A
I used vanilla buttercream between the chocolate cake layers and then frosted the outside of the cake with a thin layer of chocolate buttercream. If you prefer to use a thicker outer layer or to use chocolate buttercream between the layers, I recommend making 2 or 3 batches of chocolate buttercream.
Make the Fondant Ears
Before you bake the cake, I recommend making the ears so they will have time to harden and stick up out of the cake.
I waited until cake assembly to make the face of the bear so it would still be soft and fit the curve of the cake.
If you are using fondant, I suggest making the ears at least the day before assembling the cake so that they have time to dry. If you are using gum paste, which dries faster than fondant, you do not need to wait as long.
I made the polar bear ears all white, but I wanted two colors for the teddy bear ears: a dark brown outer ear with a light brown inner ear.
To begin, break off a chunk of white rollable fondant into your hands. I recommend wearing food safe nitrile gloves to prevent staining your hands with food coloring.
Place some brown food coloring gel on the fondant and work the color into the fondant with your hands until it is uniformly colored light brown. Break off a small piece of the light brown fondant and wrap the rest in plastic wrap to avoid it drying out.
Add more brown food gel to the small piece until a rich brown color is achieved.
Lightly dust a work surface with powdered sugar and roll the rich brown fondant into a thin layer with a small fondant rolling pin with guides. The guides on the rolling pin help ensure an even thickness.
Use a small round biscuit cutter to press lightly into the fondant to make the round shape. You're just making an indent to show you where to cut.
Next, cut around the circle at the top with a sharp paring knife and make a long triangle shape on the other side so the ears can be pressed down into the top of the cake.
Repeat this process with a small piece of the light brown fondant, but cut it a little smaller than the rich brown fondant. You do not need the long triangle shape.
Wrap the rest of the light brown fondant tightly in plastic wrap and place in an airtight container. This piece will be used to make the bear's snout later.
Use a dot of royal icing, water, or even melted chocolate to attach the light brown fondant on top of the darker brown to make the inside of the ear. Press down gently to get them to stick together.
Repeat with the second ear and set aside to dry at room temperature.
Bake the Cakes
Given that the inside of the Polar Bear Cake and Polar Bear Cake Pops were vanilla, I wanted the inside of the Teddy Bear Cake and Teddy Bear Cake Pops to be chocolate.
I turned to my all time favorite chocolate cake recipe. The recipe makes three 8-inch cakes, so I divided the cake batter between three 6-inch pans for the Teddy Bear Cake and one 8-inch pan that I used to make Teddy Bear Cake Pops.
If you're just making the Teddy Bear Cake, you can follow my Two Layer Chocolate Cake recipe and evenly divide the batter between the three 6-inch pans.
To prepare the pans, I added moistened Even Bake Cake Strips around the pans and sprayed the insides with Pam for Baking. The cake strips help the cakes rise evenly so they won't have to be leveled during assembly. The baking spray contains flour and helps the cakes come out of the pan beautifully.
If you don't have Pam for Baking or you are making the cake gluten free, I recommend buttering and flouring the pans then placing a buttered and floured parchment paper circle in the bottom of each pan.
Chocolate is dissolved in hot coffee and set aside to cool a bit. This is what makes this cake unique from many of the chocolate cakes based off the Hershey's Black Magic cake.
Next, the dry ingredients are whisked together in a separate bowl.
Then, the eggs are beaten until thickened and the wet ingredients are added.
Lastly, the dry ingredients are incorporated. Because this batter is very thin, I prefer to whisk or fold in the dry ingredients rather than use my mixer. I have used my mixer many times and splattered batter and coffee all over the walls. I don't recommend it!
Once the batter is finished, fill the 6-inch cake pans about half way with batter and then add the remaining batter to the 8-inch pan. Because that cake will be used for cake pops, it won't matter how thick it is.
The 6-inch cakes will take less time to bake than the 8-inch cake. I recommend checking the cakes around 30 minutes because you do not want to overbake them.
Cool the cakes in the pans for 10 minutes and then unmold onto cooling racks to allow them to come to room temperature before assembling. If the cakes are still warm when you assemble, they will melt the buttercream and slide around.
Assemble the Cake
I didn't want this cake to be overly chocolate, so I used vanilla buttercream in between the layers and a thin layer of chocolate buttercream on the outside.
If you prefer to use the chocolate buttercream between the layers and to coat the cake, I recommend making 2-3 batches.
To begin assembly, place a cake board on top of a spinning cake stand.
Then, smear some vanilla buttercream in the center of the cake board.
Place one of the cake layers on top the buttercream, pressing down gently to adhere it to the board. This will help prevent the cake from sliding off the board.
Slide pieces of waxed paper around the bottom of the cake to protect the board during decorating. Apply a layer of vanilla buttercream on top of the cake.
Stack the next layer on top, and repeat this process until all of the layers have been stacked.
Insert 3 wooden skewers into the top of the cake as supports to keep the layers from sliding.
Coat the entire cake in a layer of chocolate buttercream.
Then, it's time to smooth the cake. I used a metal cake scraper and held it at an angle against the side of the cake as I spun the cake stand to smooth the surface, adding extra buttercream to fill in gaps as necessary and smoothing the top as well.
I continued to do this until the surface was as smooth as I wanted. It's up to you how much time you spend on this step.
Another option is to pop the cake in the refrigerator to chill the buttercream and then use a heated metal scraper to smooth the surface. You can heat the scraper by running it under hot water and drying it completely before scraping.
Make the Teddy Bear Face
To make the fondant snout, roll out the light brown fondant remaining from making the inner ears using a small fondant rolling pin on a powdered sugar dusted surface. Cut out the snout using a large round biscuit cutter.
To make the the eyes and nose, you will need black fondant. I like to use purchased black fondant when I need black designs, but you can tint the white fondant with black food coloring gel. This is easier for a project where you just need a small amount of black like this one. I highly recommend wearing food-safe nitrile gloves when tinting fondant and rolling it around in your hands like Play-Doh.
Roll the fondant thin and use a large round piping tip, like a 2A, to cut out two eyes. Then, free cut a rounded triangle nose with a sharp paring knife.
To adhere the black nose to the light brown circular snout, I used some leftover black royal icing.
You could use a small dot of melted chocolate or white chocolate or even a small amount of buttercream might work, although you would need to be careful and make sure it will stick.
You will want to add the face onto the cake immediately so it doesn't start to harden, as you want the large circle to mold around the curve of the cake.
Add the Fondant Decorations
To add the fondant, place the circular snout on the front of the cake toward the bottom third, with the nose at the top. Then, place the two eyes above the nose.
Insert the ears into the top of the cake, pressing down until just the rounded portions are visible.
After the cake is completely decorated, carefully remove the waxed paper, moving them back and forth while pulling to prevent the buttercream from sticking. Discard the paper.
Storage
Refrigerate the cake, uncovered, until the buttercream has set. Then, you can cover it carefully with plastic wrap if you want.
Keep the cake refrigerated until a few hours before serving. You want to bring the cake to room temperature before serving for best flavor and texture.
Serving Suggestions
I highly recommend using a long serrated knife to cut the cake for clean slices.
I use a gentle sawing motion at first and then slice through.
Gluten Free Option
Use a gluten free measure for measure flour blend, such as Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour, in place of all purpose flour in the cake recipe. I really like King Arthur brand gluten free cake mixes.
📖 Recipe
Teddy Bear Cake
Equipment
- 1 8-inch cake pan
- 3 6-inch cake pans
- 4 Even Bake Cake Strips
- 1 small fondant rolling pin with guides
- 1 small circular biscuit cutter
- 1 large circular biscuit cutter
- 1 round gold cake board
- 1 large round piping tip like 2A
- 1 10-inch gold cake board
Ingredients
For the Fondant Decorations:
- white rollable fondant or gum paste
- brown food coloring gel
- black rollable fondant or gum paste
- powdered sugar (for rolling fondant)
For the Chocolate Cake:
- 3 ounces fine-quality semisweet chocolate (such as Callebaut or Ghirardelli)
- 1½ cups hot brewed coffee
- 3 cups sugar
- 2½ cups all purpose flour
- 1½ cups unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- 1¼ teaspoons salt
- 3 large eggs
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- 1½ cups well-shaken buttermilk (see note)
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
For Assembly:
- 1 batch Easy Vanilla Buttercream (see note)
- 1 batch Easy Chocolate Buttercream (see note)
Instructions
Make the Fondant Ears:
- It is important to make the ears at least a day in advance of assembling the cake so they have time to dry. If you use gum paste instead of fondant, you may not need as much time.
- Wearing food safe gloves, break off a piece of white fondant and add a small amount of brown food coloring gel. Work the fondant in your hands until a light brown color is achieved.
- Break off a small piece of the light brown fondant and wrap the rest in plastic wrap to avoid it drying out.
- Add more brown food gel to the small piece until a rich brown color is achieved.
- Lightly dust a work surface with powdered sugar and roll the rich brown fondant into a thin layer with a small fondant rolling pin with guides. The guides on the rolling pin help ensure an even thickness.
- Use a small round biscuit cutter to press lightly into the fondant to make the round shape. You're just making an indent to show you where to cut.
- Cut around the circle at the top with a sharp paring knife and make a long triangle shape on the other side so the ears can be pressed down into the top of the cake. Do this for both ears.
- Repeat this process with a small piece of the light brown fondant, but cut it a little smaller than the rich brown fondant. You do not need the long triangle shape. Wrap the rest of the light brown fondant tightly in plastic wrap and place in an airtight container. This piece will be used to make the bear's snout during cake assembly.
- Use a dot of royal icing, water, or even melted chocolate to attach the light brown fondant on top of the darker brown to make the inside of the ear. Press down gently to get them to stick together. Repeat with the second ear.
- Set the ears aside to dry at room temperature.
Bake the Cakes:
- Preheat oven to 300°F.
- Spray one 8-inch and three 6-inch round cake pans with non-stick baking spray containing flour, such as Pam for Baking. Alternatively, line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper and grease and flour the sides of the pan and the parchment. Add a moist cake baking strip around each pan. Set aside the pans.
- Finely chop the chocolate and combine with hot coffee in a bowl. Let mixture stand, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.3 ounces fine-quality semisweet chocolate, 1½ cups hot brewed coffee
- In a large bowl sift together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.3 cups sugar, 2½ cups all purpose flour, 1½ cups unsweetened cocoa powder, 2 teaspoons baking soda, ¾ teaspoon baking powder, 1¼ teaspoons salt
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the eggs until thickened slightly and lemon colored, about 3 minutes. If using a hand-held mixer, this will take about 5 minutes.3 large eggs
- Whisk in the oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and melted chocolate coffee mixture by hand until well combined.¾ cup vegetable oil, 1½ cups well-shaken buttermilk, ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Whisk or fold in the sugar mixture until just combined. Batter will be very thin.
- Fill the 6-inch pans and half way with batter and add remaining batter to the 8-inch pan.
- Bake the cakes in the middle of the oven until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. The 6-inch cakes will likely bake faster than the 8-inch cake. Begin checking them at 30 minutes. Do not overbake.
- Remove the pans from the oven, take off the cake baking strips, and all the cakes to cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
- Run a thin knife around the edges of the pans and invert the layers onto cooling racks. Carefully remove the parchment paper circles, if using. Cool layers completely to room temperature before assembling cake.
- Cake layers may be made 1 day ahead, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and stored in resealable gallon sized bags at room temperature. Use the 8-inch cake to make cake pops or wrap in plastic wrap and store in freezer in a resealable gallon-sized freezer bag for a later use.
Assemble the Cake:
- Place a 10-inch round cake board on a spinning cake decorating stand.
- Add a small mound of vanilla buttercream to the center of a cake board.
- Place pieces of waxed paper down around the buttercream and put the first cake layer on top. The waxed paper will protect the cake board from getting messy with buttercream. You don't want the paper to be too far under the cake or it will be hard to remove later.
- Cover the top of the cake with an even layer of vanilla buttercream.
- Stack another 6-inch cake on top and repeat until all three layers have been stacked.
- Break three wooden skewers to a size just smaller than the height of the cake and insert them into the cake in the center and two sides, all in a row. These serve as the supports for the cake to prevent sliding.
- Apply a layer of chocolate buttercream to the entire cake.
- Hold a metal cake scraper at an angle against the side of the cake while spinning the cake stand to smooth the surface, adding extra buttercream to fill in gaps as necessary and smoothing the top as well. Repeat this process until the surface is as smooth as you want. Another option is to pop the cake in the refrigerator to chill the buttercream. Then run the metal scraper under hot water to heat it, dry it off, and smooth the surface of the buttercream with the heated scraper.
- To make the fondant face, roll out the saved light brown fondant with a small fondant rolling pin and powdered sugar. Cut the fondant with a large round biscuit cutter.
- Roll black fondant into a thin layer and use a large round piping tip, like a 2A, to cut out two eyes. Free cut a rounded triangle nose with a sharp paring knife.
- Place a dot of royal icing, melted chocolate or white chocolate, or buttercream on the back of the black nose. Place the nose toward the top of the large white circle.
- Place the circle on the front of the cake toward the bottom third, with the nose at the top. Place the two eyes above the nose.
- Insert the ears into the top of the cake, pressing until just the rounded portions are visible.
- Carefully remove the waxed paper, moving each piece back and forth while pulling to prevent the buttercream from sticking. Discard the paper.
- Refrigerate the cake to set the buttercream before covering loosely with plastic wrap.
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