Secret Garden Birthday Cake

by | Jun 4, 2014 | Birthday Parties, Cake Decorating | 16 comments

On Holy Saturday, somewhere between preparing food and clothing for Easter Sunday and filling Easter baskets and eggs for the children, I had a birthday cake to bake and decorate!  This was the first time Chiquita’s birthday has fallen on Easter Sunday and it won’t fall on Easter again until her Golden Birthday (she’ll turn 20 on the 20th) in 2025!

I wasn’t able to talk the birthday girl into an “Easter” theme with perhaps another “Lamb Cake.” Actually I probably could have, but I knew how much she had been enjoying her copy of The Secret Garden ever since she received it Christmas morning so I thought I would try my best to pull off an Easter-ish Secret Garden theme for her this year.   (Note: This post includes affiliate links.) 

I went to the craft store on the morning of Holy Saturday to try and find a few decorations, and by evening I still didn’t have a plan for the cake.  I looked through my stash of decorating supplies and decided to see what I could come up with using Green, Lavender, Dark Cocoa, and Peanut Butter Candy Melts.  I had an idea of how I might be able to possibly make a green candy vine to wrap around the garden/cake, but wasn’t sure if I’d be able to pull it off or not.  My oldest son, who was my helper (I needed an extra set of hands), wasn’t sure either and we were both so excited that it actually worked and the small “Secret Garden” cake turned out darling!

Secret Garden Cake

Supplies: 

2 – 6″ Round Cakes
Light Green Frosting (we used Pillsbury’s Key Lime
Dark Cocoa Candy Melts
Peanut Butter Candy Melts
Green Candy Melts
Lavender Candy Melts
Disposable Decorating Bags  (I used a baggie with one corner trimmed off)
Mini Roses Chocolate Mold
Green Decorators Icing
Parchment Paper
Large Coffee Can or Other Cylinder (it needs to be slightly larger than the cakes in circumference) 

Directions: 

To make the garden door I sketched a door, with a key hole, and placed it under parchment paper. I then used some Dark Cocoa Candy Melts for the keyhole and wood grain.  Then I outlined the edges of the door and filled the center in completely with the Peanut Butter Candy Melts.

Next I created some lavender roses for one side of the cake. These could be made in any color, but this particular birthday girl loves purple.

For the green vine to wrap around the garden, I sketched a design and taped it to the outside of a large Costco sized can of Folgers Coffee to use as a guide and then covered it with parchment paper.

While my oldest son held the can I piped on the melted green candy. We held it for about 10 minutes until the candy had hardened completely. Then carefully slipped it off the parchment paper!

Our cake was chocolate with key lime frosting at the request of the birthday girl – a strange combination but it was actually really yummy, even paired with strawberry ice cream. . . 
After the cake was trimmed, stacked and, frosted, I added the door, vine, and then roses on the other side connected with green decorator’s icing.  We topped the cake with nine green candles for the birthday girl. 

16 Comments

  1. hamfam00

    beautiful

    2014-06-04 15:27:57

    Reply
  2. Sunshine

    It's so pretty! <3

    2014-06-04 15:57:13

    Reply
  3. melanie

    that is just beautiful! very clever!

    2014-06-04 16:02:43

    Reply
  4. Tracy Bua Smith

    Creative and beautiful! Love it!

    2014-06-04 16:24:37

    Reply
  5. Elizabeth C

    Super cute!

    2014-06-04 16:58:50

    Reply
  6. Christine

    You always come up with such neat ideas! I hope to remember this cake when my youngest daughter is old enough for a Secret Garden birthday cake.

    2014-06-04 17:06:26

    Reply
  7. fancyrock

    genius! :o) Becky

    2014-06-04 17:51:16

    Reply
  8. Celine

    Very creative! Your house must be so much fun : )

    2014-06-04 19:24:01

    Reply
  9. Eliana

    The Secret Garden was one of my favorite books when growing up, so I think that cake is darling!

    2014-06-04 19:41:18

    Reply
  10. Krista

    It's so neat that your oldest boys are now able to be helpers and take on "bigger" roles alongside you and Sean! It's just a joy to see how the seasons change in a family… Lovely cake! You should open up a bakery! 🙂 Blessings!

    2014-06-04 20:11:27

    Reply
  11. Rosalie

    Beautifully Done (-: A special cake for a Special young lady..thanks for sharing (-:

    2014-06-05 11:30:30

    Reply
  12. guest

    Such love!

    2014-06-05 14:19:05

    Reply
  13. Shauna

    Thank you for walking us through the steps of how you did this. So creative and adorable! I have always been hesitant to buy candy melts because of the hydrogenated oils but I just recently dipped pretzel rods into candy melts for my daughter's First Communion favors and they turned out so pretty! They were so easy to use and I figured the kids aren't getting too much of the bad oils into their systems since we eat so healthy the majority of time. 🙂

    2014-06-06 04:43:05

    Reply
  14. Bernadette

    You took the words right out of my mouth, Rosalie! What a special day and way to celebrate Chiquita's birthday! 🙂

    2014-06-06 15:25:49

    Reply
  15. Debbie

    This is a very special birthday cake indeed! My favorite color is also purple like your sweet daughter… in every shade from the most pastel periwinkle to the deep royal shades of purple. I love your lavender roses and the amazing green vines on the garden gate and green candles are a perfect accent color. You have such creativity Jessica. I know you are a very busy and dedicated Mother…but with your talent you should definitely sell your cake creations!

    2014-06-12 18:20:40

    Reply
  16. 16thbirthdayideas

    The thought that went into this is amazing. Every small detail combined to make this a perfect and tasty birthday. But what made it truly wonderful is that I was reminded that I have been blessed with an incredible and loving…

    2016-01-15 05:57:33

    Reply

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Prayer of Mothers

Father in heaven, grant me the grace to appreciate the dignity which you have conferred on me. Let me realize that not even the Angels have been blessed with such a privilege—to share in your creative miracle and bring new Saints to heaven. Make me a good mother to all my children after the example of Mary, the Mother of your Son. Through the intercession of Jesus and Mary I ask your continued blessings on my family. Let us all be dedicated to your service on earth and attain the eternal happiness of your kingdom in heaven. Amen.


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Hi! I'm Jessica, a Roman Catholic wife and home educating mother to our nine children. I was home educated myself, along with my eleven younger siblings. I have a special devotion to St. Therese, through whom I have been given much help and many blessings--the beautiful "Shower of Roses" that she has sent my way! Here I will record a few of the blessings I treasure. Please remember that what you see here is just a little glimpse at our lives, so please say a prayer for us, as we continue to strive for holiness.

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