Make a cake in the shape of one of Hawaii's indigenous fruits.
A child's Hawaiian luau party is generally full of bright decorations, lively music and activities and tropical foods. Even with a party venue full of tiki lights, bright-colored streamers and imitation palm trees, the cake can easily become the centerpiece of the party by choosing a cake design that wows the guests. Allow your imagination to roam and choose a cake design that reflects the tropical land and culture of Hawaii.
Beach and Ocean
Hawaii is well-known for its beaches. You can make a Hawaiian beach scene cake by decorating half of a rectangular slab cake with blue icing for the ocean and the other half with brown icing mixed with graham cracker crumbs for the sand. Add decorations, such as a beach volleyball net, plastic hula dancers and candy fish in the ocean. Or make an entire ocean scene by decorating a slab cake with a sheet of blue fondant. Add food coloring to a batch of crisped rice squares and mold them into fish shapes to place on top of the cake. For a beach scene, cover the cake with brown icing. Cut out flip-flop shapes from another slab cake and cover them with brightly colored fondant. Add a fondant beach pail filled with graham crumbs.
Hawaiian Plant Life
For a children's luau party, make a cake in the shape of some of Hawaii's indigenous plant life. For example, bake a cake in a palm tree cake pan or prepare a rectangular cake and cut out the tree using a paper stencil. Decorate the cake with green icing for the leaves and light brown icing for the tree's trunk. Make an exotic birthday cake by turning the cake into a hibiscus flower. Bake a round cake and place a picture of the flower on top of the cake to cut out the design. Cover the cake in a layer of smooth buttercream icing or fondant in one color. Cut out petal shapes to place on top of the icing from a sheet of fondant and use edible paint to add detail to the petals. Or make a three-dimensional pineapple cake covered with yellow icing and topped with fondant leaves.
Hula Dancers
A hula dancer is a popular image for a child's luau party cake. Make a single hula dancer cake from a doll cake pan or cut the shape from a rectangular cake. Add a green icing grass skirt and a colorful bikini top and cover the rest of the doll with a dark tan icing. Make a three-dimensional hula dancer cake with a round oven-safe bowl and a doll. Bake the cake in the oven-safe bowl, turn it upside down and cover the cake in green icing to make the skirt. Carve out a hole in the top center of the cake, cover the doll's legs in plastic wrap and insert the doll into the hole. Decorate the doll with an icing bikini top. Instead of a single cake, you can make miniature three-dimensional hula dancer cakes with small round oven-safe bowls and miniature dolls.
Volcano
Make a volcano scene cake from a rectangular slab cake and a dome-shaped cake baked in an oven-safe bowl. Add some shredded coconut to green icing to cover the slab cake in "grass" and place the dome-shaped cake in the center of the cake with the flat side down. Decorate the dome-shaped volcano with brown icing and drizzle melted red candies on the top of the volcano for lava. For a volcano cake that really erupts, make the dome-shaped cake and scoop out a hole in the center of the dome. Insert a small drinking glass. At party time, mix together one egg white, ½ tsp. of sugar and a few drops of red food coloring and beat until thick and foamy. Using tongs, place a few pieces of dry ice in the glass in the cake and pour the mixture on top. Pour a little bit of hot water into the glass to see the volcano erupt and steam.
Tags: cake with, slab cake, brown icing, green icing, hula dancer, cake design