How to Create a Spectacular Space Themed Birthday Cake!

• Lynsey Macdonald

Our iconic cake themes series would not be complete without a space themed birthday cake tutorial! Having seen lots of this theme appearing in our tagged photos lately, we figured it was the perfect choice for our next creation. This out of this world alien cake is the perfect table centrepiece and we loved watching it come together!

As always, a massive thank you must go to the wonderful Vicki from @acakeonlife, who created this cake for us! We couldn't bring you these brilliant tutorials without our faithful gang of cake pro friends. Everything Vicki creates makes our day, and this cutie is no exception...

Want to see how Vicki did it? We know some people prefer to watch and learn over a step by step guide. If that's you, you can watch our YouTube video here! But keep reading for your shopping list and all instructions.

Got your own space theme or alien design in mind? That's great! We have a whole collection of space themed products available for your essential supplies.

Your Space Cake Shopping List

The following list details all the products Vicki used to make her amazing alien cake. But, as we always say in our tutorials, you may find suitable alternatives to these ingredients and tools in your existing baking kit!

Edible Items for the Space Alien Topper:

And for the cake itself...

You may have your own cake recipe ready to go, but if not, we have a delicious range of cake mixes here!

Tools:

Non-Edible Decorations and Presentation:

  • Simply Making Black Round Display Cake Board
  • Cake Box (if transporting or gifting the cake!)

How to make your space themed birthday cake topper...

  1. Start off by rolling colouring four balls of modelling paste in green, concrete, red and yellow. The yellow piece doesn't need to be as big as the other three!
  2. Roll the red paste to about 1cm thick and use a round cutter to cut out a circle. Once cut out, use your fingers to create a slanted effect around the edge.
  3. Use two different sized round cutters to cut out a donut shaped grey circle. Roll out the grey paste a little bit thinner than the red. Soften the edges again to get a curved effect. If you keep the centre cutter in the paste while you soften the edges it will help to keep the round shape.
  4. With your knife and scribe tool, create indents at the 12, 3, 6 and 9 o'clock positions on the "donut"! In between each of these lines, create a small round indent using the thin end of your ball tool.
  5. Into these round indents, place a tiny ball of yellow modelling paste to form the lights on the UFO. Use your ball tool to push these in.
  6. Use your black modelling paste to create a circle to fill in the concave part of your red modelling paste circle.
  7. Position your grey piece on top of the red and black circle to form the UFO.
  8. Create a cone shape from some of your green modelling paste (use approx 15g), with a long narrow neck. Use your flute and vein tool to create the lines that mark the alien's arms!
  9. Sit this piece in the UFO and use a cocktail stick, pushed through the top of the cone and down into the UFO to hold it in place (with enough left at the top to attach the head).
  10. Now it's time to create the alien's head! Using approx 10g, roll a smaller ball of green modelling paste into an upside down egg shape!
  11. Use your bone tool to create the eye sockets (larger end for the top and smaller for the bottom, to create that iconic egg shape), and your scallop/comb tool to create the smile. You can use another cocktail stick to mark holes for the nose.
  12. Place black modelling paste into the eye sockets to create the eyes. Also add a tiny piece of black modelling paste into the mouth, securing using the small detailer brush.
  13. Add two small white pieces of modelling paste to each eye for highlights, secure with your ball tool. You can also add a few tiny circles of green and/or white modelling paste to the top of the head for extra detail
  14. When you're happy with how it looks, attach the head to the body via the cocktail stick.
  15. And finally, attach your finished UFO to the main cake!

And there you have it! The perfect space themed birthday cake topper, ready to be the hit of the party! Thank you so much to the super talented Vicki (@acakeonlife) for sharing this tutorial with us. We can imagine these little aliens will be featuring on so many bakes from now on, brightening up birthdays everywhere!

It's time to create your space themed birthday cake!

If you try out this tutorial and create this adorable alien topper yourself, don't forget to tag us in your photos so we can see! Watching you recreate our cakes always makes our day.

Feeling inspired? We'd love to hear what other ideas you have for your next space cake. We have such a wide range of products to help you get creative, whatever the occasion!

You can follow us online for more cake content on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube!

Looking for more inspo?

How to make an Adorable topper for a Dinosaur Cake

How to Make a Tiara Topper for a Princess Cake

Let's Make an Adorable Elephant Topper for a Jungle Cake

Back to blog