Little Blue Bird Birthday | How to Make a Chocolate Smash Cake

My daughter’s 7th Birthday was a blue bird theme. Her birthday is just before Easter so we were lucky to find some gorgeous little birds from the Bed Bath n Table Easter decoration range to hang on some twigs from the garden. A birdy tea towel was used to decorate the front of the table.

Blue jelly in mini glasses was lemonade flavour. Mars Bar slice was served in individual patty cases. Vanilla Pannacotta with raspberry on top was served in little shot glasses.

Plus there were mini butterfly cakes, mini chocolate cupcakes and Tiny Teddy Cars.

The Birthday cake was a smash cake (very popular in our house – you may have seen our Green Sheep one and our Little Pony too). It’s a great no-bake option. Basically a hollow chocolate dome hiding sweets inside. It’s easy to make:

Instructions for How to Make a Chocolate Smash Cake {hollow chocolate dome}

• Grease a stainless steel bowl then place it into the freezer for about 15 minutes (I spray a thin layer on). Then pour melted chocolate (a thick consistency, not too runny) and swirl around quickly to cover the inside of the bowl as evenly as possible, about 2 to 3mm thickness. Depending on size of bowl, we use about 400gm to 600gm of Cadbury milk chocolate. I melt the chocolate in the microwave but you can also do it over a saucepan of hot water. When melting in the microwave be sure to do in short bursts at low to medium heat and stir constantly to prevent hot spots siezing the chocolate.  Note: I have tried using a glass bowl before but have found it hit and miss whether the chocolate releases from the bowl or not (very frustrating at 1am in the morning)! The stainless steel bowl gives a nice smooth surface too whereas the glass bowl can show a lot of lines from where the chocolate sets during the swirling.

• After it sets in the freezer (after about 15 to 30 minutes) you can release from the bowl. Slide the point of a sharp knife all around the chocolate edge to help release from the bowl and use a warm cloth around the outside of the bowl (not too warm that the chocolate starts to melt though) if you need. Give it some pats and a little bit of a shake. I admit it can be fraught with anxiety sometimes when the chocolate doesn’t release from the bowl straight away. If it just won’t release from the bowl for whatever reason, remember you can put the bowl over hot water and melt the chocolate again, scrape it all out and start the whole process again from scratch using the same chocolate.

• Hide sweets underneath. A ribbon around the bottom of the ‘cake’ helps to hide any uneven edges. You can hide an uneven surface with sprinkles (as done with chocolate sprinkles in this case) or lollies.

• The great thing about this is it can be prepared days in advance.

• Give the Birthday child a little hammer or anything that might break through chocolate easily. We have used a wooden citrus tool here.

• It’s a wonderful surprise for children who don’t realise it’s not actually a cake. Watch their delighted faces when they find treats hidden inside!

The little blue bird was made with fondant/Royal Icing. I used the instructions from Wiltons here as a guide.

Tip: I would suggest doing the cake smashing outside on a low table where all the kids can reach easily. It gets a bit messy but the kids love getting all the treats hidden inside.