Miniature unicorn cake tutorial using polymer clay

This DIY miniature unicorn cake in polymner clay has pastel pink icing and piped decorations, but you could choose a more traditional white buttercream and decorate it however you like. Make the mane entirely out of sprinkles, flowers or fruit, or add a doughnut or macaron – let your imagination run wild.

This project is from Miniature Cake Creations by Maive Ferrando, GMC Publications. These delicious confections will satisfy your appetite for creativity as well as your appreciation of sugary things. There are 30 scrumptious projects to choose from, so you can enjoy all your favourite cakes in calorie-free miniature perfection. If you love this project you can get the book from our online shop WITH an automatic 10% off just for being you, PLUS free UK P+P! 

DIY miniature unicorn cake tutorial

You will need

• Polymer clay in pastel pink, purple, mint (I used FIMO Effect), pastel yellow, white, black and scrap clay
• Liquid polymer clay (I used FIMO Liquid)
• Nail caviar
• Gold mica powder (or eyeshadow)
• Gloss varnish
• Pasta machine or rolling pin
• 3⁄4in (2cm) round cutter
• Flat tool
• Soft brush
• Silicone tapered sculpting tool
• Tweezers
• Small paintbrush
• Dotting tool
• Detail tool

Instructions

1. Put some scrap clay through the thickest setting of your pasta machine and cut out six circles using a 3⁄4in (2cm) round cutter. Stack the circles together and part-bake, bonding them to a sculpting base with a little liquid polymer clay. This will allow the cake to stay put when you add the icing.

2. Once baked and cool, cover the cake in pastel pink (or white) buttercream mix, making it as smooth as you can with a flat tool. 

3. Use some gold nail caviar to decorate the bottom edge of the cake. 

Top tip! Dip the dotting tool in a tiny bit of liquid polymer clay to pick up the nail caviar. 

4. To make the unicorn horn, roll out two elongated teardrops of white clay.

5. Twist them together. Once secure, you can either roll them gently on your work surface to stretch the horn and make it thinner or keep twisting it between your fingers as you stretch it – whichever feels more natural to you.

6. Trim the horn if necessary and dust it with gold mica powder (or eyeshadow) using a soft brush to give it a beautiful metallic shine (use another colour if you prefer).

7. To make the ears, roll two small balls of clay into teardrops and flatten them slightly.

8. Use a soft silicone tool with a tapered point to shape the ears. Part-bake the horn and ears for 10 minutes.

9. Once baked and cool, push the horn and ears into the buttercream and part-bake. 

Top tip! The buttercream needs to be firm for it to hold up the horn and ears while baking.

10. Once the cake is out of the oven and cool, mix some gloss varnish with the same mica powder used for the horn and paint the inside of the ears. 

11. Brush a little liquid polymer clay on the part of the cake where you want the eyes to be and cut tiny pieces of black clay. Roll the pieces into thin strands and place the main eyeline first. Give it a little push so that it stays on the cake while you give it the final shape with a soft tapered tool. Once the main eyeline is in place, add another two small lashes on the ends and part-bake.

12. To make the rosette-like decorations, roll some purple clay into a strand and cut lots of small, even pieces. Roll them into balls, flatten them slightly and use a small dotting tool to trace a spiral on the clay. Then use the same dotting tool to soften the line and create a deeper groove.

13. To make the meringue kisses, roll pastel yellow clay into tiny balls and pinch the tops as you turn them. You can also roll the balls into teardrops with fine tops and then press the base down onto your work surface to flatten it.

14. To make the star-shaped decorations, roll pink clay into tiny balls and flatten them. Press a soft silicone tool with a tapered point around the sides to create the grooves and obtain the star shape.

15. To create the Sultane-style meringues or decorations, start from a small flattened ball of mint clay and poke a hole in the centre with a dotting tool. Use a fine-ended tool to trace lines from the base towards the hole. You may need to reshape the hollow again after this step. 

16. Spread a thin layer of liquid polymer clay on the cake and add the decorations. Start from the front to get a neater finish, and move on to cover the top of the cake. You can draw an imaginary line (or a real one) on the cake so you have an idea of where you want the mane to be and keep the decorations within those lines. Bake one last time.

17. Once cool, glaze the decorations one bit at a time. Before the glaze dries, fill in any gaps with different coloured nail caviar or sprinkles. I filled in the Sultane meringues with pink nail caviar, which I think looks really cute. Once the glaze is dry, glaze it again to add an extra layer of protection on the decorations and glaze the horn and ears.