Why 2018 was the year of the 'unicorn cake' - New York Post

More like “Fantastic Beasts and How To Eat Them.”

According to recently released data from Google, “unicorn cake” was the top trending search for food in 2018. The mythical buttercream pony first trotted out onto the dessert scene a few years ago, but it’s galloped across social media in the past year, with more than 585,000 Instagram posts tagged #unicorncake and Pinterest flooded with tutorials on how to make the tall, cylindrical cake that’s decorated to resemble a unicorn head.

Although the exact origins of the frosted unicorn are shrouded in mystery, some say the first to make it in the form as we know it now was Jenna Rae Cakes in Winnipeg, Canada. Jenna Hutchinson, the shop’s co-owner and head decorator, started baking the delightful dessert after a customer made a special request in summer 2016 for a little girl’s birthday party and showed Hutchinson a picture of a very amateurish attempt at a unicorn head cake.

“It’s impossible to know [if we were the first ones to make it], but we definitely hadn’t seen them around,” Hutchinson tells The Post.

Jenna Rae’s cakes are typically taller than traditional cakes, so Hutchinson started with a tall cylinder made from four layers of cake and frosted with white buttercream. She used fondant to sculpt a horn and ears, painted on closed eyes with long lashes, piped on a colorful mane and tail of frosting and added some gum balls and mini-meringues for decoration.

Lisa Mansour of NY CakesBrian Zak/NY Post

She posted a picture of the cake to the bakery’s Instagram feed, where it quickly went viral.

“It got a lot of engagement, a lot of likes and comments. We [started getting] orders for them pretty consistently every week.”

She credits the online popularity of the cake with the fact that a savvy baker can easily re-create it and add their own touches.

“Anyone who knows how to design a cake can look at it and know the steps to take,” she says. “That’s why they’ve kind of exploded.”

At NY Cake in the Flatiron District, co-owner and co-founder Lisa Mansour says it’s been the most requested cake since they reopened in a new location in October (starting at $95 for a buttercream version and $195 for fondant). They also sell horn molds and even offer classes for those wishing to make unicorn cakes themselves. While the adorable, sparkling dessert looks quite impressive, Mansour insists it’s a doable project for most home cooks.

“With the right tools, it’s not hard at all,” she says.

Here, she lays out the process step-by-step.

1. Layer up

Mansour begins by layering five 6-inch round cakes, frosting in between them with buttercream to create a tall cylinder. Home bakers looking to keep things a bit simpler could just do three taller layers.

2. Smooth it out

Mansour frosts around the outside of the entire cake with buttercream, then coats the entire cake in a layer of fondant icing for a perfectly smooth canvas. If you haven’t worked with fondant before, Mansour says it isn’t as hard as it might look. She likens it to working with “an edible Play-Doh” and says the key is to not push the fondant layer straight down onto the cake. Instead, she says, “You actually lift it away from the cake, like fabric, to stretch it out.”

Still intimidated? Just opt for a buttercream exterior, which is how Jenna Rae Cakes does theirs.

3. Face it

Mansour makes the horn, ears and eyes out of fondant. She suggests using molds to do this, and building a toothpick or lollipop stick into the horn and ears that you can use to attach them to the cake later. Let the elements air dry, then paint the horn and inner ears with edible glitter mixed with lemon extract to form a paint.

Want to keep things simpler? Some online tutorials suggest using a pointy ice-cream cone for the horn. You can also pipe or paint on the eyes and lashes instead of using fondant.

4. Build the beast

Stick the horn and ears into the cake and use a dab of clear piping gel (a sticky cornstarch solution, available at baking stores) to attach the eyes and lashes if you used fondant; if you used buttercream, just stick the eyes and lashes on directly. Then, use a large star tip and buttercream frosting (pastel colors are traditional for unicorn cakes; for a seasonal twist use red, white or green) to pipe on the mane.

The secret to successful piping, Mansour says, is “never overfill your pastry bag.” It should never be more than halfway full. To make a rosette, she says, “just squeeze while you’re making a lowercase ‘e.’ ” For added variety and texture, you can also use a thinner round tip for portions of the mane.

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