Finding Nemo Cake

Finding Nemo Cake on Nerdy Nummies

A blue velvet cake wrapped in ocean-themed fondant decorations. This Finding Nemo cake will have you swimming in fun!

Makes one 10-inch cake and one 6-inch cake

Things you'll need

Ingredients
  • 6 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 ½ teaspoons baking soda
  • 3 teaspoons dark cocoa powder
  • 3 cups sugar
  • 2 cups buttermilk
  • 3 cups vegetable oil
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons distilled vinegar
  • Blue food coloring
Equipment
  • 6 by 2 round cake lined with parchment
  • 10 by 2 round cake pan lined with parchment
  • 6 inch cake boards
  • 10 inch cake boards
  • 2 large mixing bowls
  • Medium mixing bowl
  • Hand mixer
  • Whisk
  • Rubber spatula
  • Baking spray
  • Cake turntable
  • Cake leveler
  • Offset spatula
Decoration
  • Fondant: aqua, pink, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, black and white
  • Powdered sugar for dusting
  • Fondant rolling pin
  • Fondant smile tool
  • Straws
  • Skewer
  • Star cookie cutter
  • Small decorating tips
  • White buttercream frosting in decorating bags
  • Crushed graham crackers
  • Aqua royal icing in a decorating bag fitted with a #2 tip

Let's get Started!

  1. Preheat oven to 325ºF
  2. In a large bowl whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, cocoa powder and sugar until well combined.
  3. In another large bowl whisk together oil, buttermilk, eggs, vanilla extract and vinegar.
  4. Use a hand mixer to combine wet and dry ingredients, scraping down the sides when necessary. Add blue food coloring.
  5. Pour batter into lined and sprayed cake pans. Bake the 6-inch for 60 minutes and the 8-inch for 75 minutes. Remove from pans to cool completely.
  6. Trim the tops of the cakes using a cake leveler and then cut each cake horizontally into 3 layers. Assemble on a cake board, spreading frosting between each layer.
  7. Cover the cakes with a crumb coat layer and then refrigerate.

Time to decorate!

  1. Dust a flat surface with powdered sugar and roll out a large piece of aqua fondant to about 1/2-inch thick (PICTURE at 6:39).
  2. Cover each cake with fondant, cutting off any excess.
  3. Evenly space out 4 trimmed straws in the middle of the 10-inch cake and then place the 6-inch cake in the center (PICTURE at 7:23).
  4. Make a Nemo figure out of orange, white, and black fondant. (PICTURE at 3:37) Make Peach the starfish out of pink fondant. (PICTURE 4:37) Make a Dory figure out of dark blue, blue, black, yellow, and white.
  5. Create various underwater details using the different fondant colors: anemones, seaweed, corals, etc. (PICTURE at 5:00)
  6. Use crushed graham crackers for sand and arrange fondant figurines to create an ocean scene.
  7. TaDa! Lets keep swimming with this Finding Nemo Cake!
Rosanna Pansino makes a Finding Nemo Cake on Nerdy NummiesFinding Nemo Cake on Nerdy Nummies Finding Nemo Cake on Nerdy Nummies