Our Star Wars Birthday Party + How to Make a Star Wars Cake

How to Make a BB-8 Droid Star Wars Birthday Cake

This cake was actually really easy to make, though it did take a bit of planning. I wanted putting it together to be like a puzzle so I started by taking inventory of my tools.

I used –

• a 9″ round springform cake pan (for the body)
• a 6-12″ adjustable round cake pan (I used it at 6″ to make the head)
• a small glass bowl (approximately 5″ in diameter) to outline the circular markings
• a medium round drinking glass (approximately 4″ in diameter) to outline the inner circular markings
• a small round drinking glass (approximately 2″ in diameter) to outline the smallest circular markings

Before even baking the cake, I outlined how all the shapes would fit together on a piece of parchment paper.

Once I had my “pattern” outlined, I rolled out my fondant into a very thin sheet and using the bowl and cups I created the exact shapes that matched my pattern and put them on a tray to set.

I then used a cake decorating pen and piped melted vegan chocolate chips to create the contrasting shapes. These I placed on a flat surface and put in the freezer to harden.

With that out of the way I was able to turn my attention to the actual baking. I used my foolproof chocolate ‘crazy cake’ recipe which I love because it is super easy to make. It is also naturally vegan, nut-free, and can be gluten-free with a simple 1-1 substitution. To make the body I doubled the recipe, and for the head used the recipe as is, baking them separately to ensure they baked evenly.

After letting the cakes cool and removing them from their pans, I used the siding from the 9″ springform pan to cut into the smaller cake. The idea as to cut away just enough so that I could easily fit the two cakes together (basically, I cut away the overlapping piece). I then transferred the cakes to the serving tray I planned to use (not an easy feat – I used 3 spatulas to lift the cake and place it on the platter).

Decorating the Cake to Look Like BB-8

Fast forward 2 hours. I wanted to keep it simple, so decided to use whipped topping to cover the cake rather than experiment with making dairy-free, egg-free icing. (Because I think fondant tastes icky). There are a number of vegan whipped toppings available on the market and you can also make your own using aquafaba if you want to be more mindful of what you are putting in your body.

To make your own Aquafaba whipped cream, check out this recipe.

I used a spatula to smooth the whipped cream over the chilled cakes as evenly as I could (which proved a bit tricky as you can see from the photos!).

TIP: do this as close to serving the cake as you can, as the whipped cream will deflate a bit and not look as polished.

Once completely covered, I placed my fondant and chocolate decorations in their places and voila! BB-8 had arrived!

Needless to say, the cake was a big wow moment and the kids loved it and even came back for seconds (and one thirds!). Our Star Wars birthday party was a definite success. We had one very happy little big boy, and also one very satisfied mom!

I hope you found this guide helpful and that it gives you the confidence to try it yourself!

Throwing a theme party that is allergy-sensitive is totally possible. I still remember all of the funny comments I’ve gotten over the years when people hear of my son’s allergies, and in particular when it comes to birthday cake. I think the most bizarre being “but it looks like a normal cake” when I brought in a cake to his preschool.

Conclusion: Food allergies can definitely be a challenge, but with a bit of creativity you can still pull off magic in your child’s eyes.