Simple, fun and dino-licious: 3 steps to make a dinosaur fossil birthday cake

“What is it, Mummy?”

My first attempt at a dinosaur birthday cake was a complete and utter failure. Our LDA has a good imagination. Normally.

I’ve since discovered a much easier way.

Our dinosaur fossil birthday cake is simple, unexpected and fun. And fortunately, dinofication only takes three steps.

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Why you want to make this dinosaur fossil birthday cake

When you’re planning your dinosaur birthday party, you need a dinosaur birthday cake. This dinosaur fossil birthday cake is easy and quick to make with 3 steps and a few key ingredients. And you do not need to be a master pastry chef to make it.

I made it for a combined 50th and 7th birthday party. D-Rex is now a fossil; luckily, our LDA is enamoured of them! I used a chocolate mousse cake as a base. This made it delicious, simple and suitable for both “age” groups.

As a bonus: you can make it as large or small as you need it to be. We (and all chocoholics) prefer chocolate cake, but it can be any flavour you wish.

3 simple steps

1. Start with a cake

Use any cake you like, whether store-bought or homemade. Cover the top with chocolate (or at least brown) frosting. You can choose whether to cover the sides as well or go for the naked cake look. Don’t use glaze as your fossils won’t stick to your cake.

I used this chocolate mousse cake. I even cheated and used packet mix for the chocolate mousse (good quality of course).

2. Add your fossil

White marshmallows are your friend. Cut and stretch them to form the bones of your fossil and lay them out on the top of your dinosaur fossil birthday cake.

The marshmallows will stick to your fingers. You can rub them in a bit of corn starch, which will help a little (but not much).

The beauty of using marshmallows is you don’t have to buy a(nother) dinosaur fossil mould to make the fossil for the dinosaur fossil birthday cake.

Remember: Your fossil does not need to be perfect. Most dinosaur remains discovered are missing bones (Sue, the most complete T-Rex fossil ever found is 90% complete by bulk (73% by elements)). Over time, bones shift and are often not laid out as they would be in the original animal.

3. Add stones and dirt

Make the top of the cake look like rocks and dirt surrounding the fossil.

We used mini chocolate cookies and chocolate shavings (they came pre-shaved). You could use:

• chocolate sprinkles
• chocolate-covered peanuts or raisins
• crumbled Flakes
• chocolate crisp pearls
• cacao nibs
• chocolate-covered malt balls or
• candy jelly rocks.
• Whatever would help make the top of your cake look like rock or dirt.

Use them to cover the rest of the frosting, leaving the marshmallow “fossils” free.

Optional additions

If you want, you can add some tools or other paraphernalia to make your dinosaur fossil birthday cake look more like a fossil dig site. These could be out of plastic. We found these toys useful for dinosaur dig-related tools:

• Palaeontologist Barbie (helmet, brush, small fossil)
• Lottie Fossil Hunter Doll (hammer, trowel, magnifying glass, map, backpack) or
• Playmobil Dino Explorer (map, fossil, binoculars)
• Playmobil garden shed (wheelbarrow, shovel, broom).

You could also make some tools out of fondant. Or buy some plastic shovel spoons for guests to use to eat your cake.

If you feel inspired, add some grid lines. Palaeontologists use these to map out where they find each fossil at a site. Toothpicks and some string or thread work well.

Of course, make sure to leave some space for your candles!

Can I make this dinosaur fossil birthday cake vegan?

Of course!

Use your favourite vegan cake recipe to make your base and cover it with your favourite vegan chocolate frosting.

Marshmallows contain gelatin, which is normally not vegan. However, various vegan marshmallows are available on the market and will work perfectly for this recipe.

Use some vegan “chocolate” covered nuts and chocolate chips and add liberal amounts of shaved vegan chocolate.

Can I make this cake in advance?

Yes, but not too far in advance.

The cut marshmallows will dry out the longer they are left exposed to the air. You could make the cake the night before, but I would not make it much earlier.

Store the cake somewhere cool, not in direct sunlight to prevent the chocolate from melting. If you store it in the fridge, make sure to cover it: the marshmallows will absorb any funky smells from your fridge.

Make this simple dinosaur fossil birthday cake for your next dinosaur birthday party

The crowning jewel for any dinosaur birthday party has to be the dinosaur birthday cake. With just three steps and three key ingredients, this simple and fun dinosaur fossil birthday cake is bound to be a hit with roaring party guests and bakers alike.

And your little dinosaur fan will not need much imagination to know what it is.

What type of dinosaur birthday cake will you be making for your next dinosaur birthday party?

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