Among Us Cake for Birthday Parties

This space-themed Among Us birthday cake is a 3-tiered chocolate cake covered with delicious chocolate buttercream. I’ve added a fun galaxy vibe with colored buttercream, and added homemade fondant Among Us figures around the cake.

This cake is perfect for birthday parties, and it’s easier to make than it looks! I’ve included a printable decorating template to help you make the fondant figures, so don’t be afraid to give this one a go!

How to make an Among Us cake topper

To make this Among Us-themed birthday cake, I’ve created spacemen and flying saucers in colored fondant icing.

These shapes are fairly simple, but I personally find it much easier to use a template to cut out the shapes.

Simply print the decorating template onto A4 paper, cut out the shapes, and use them as guides to make your fondant decorations. Check EQUIPMENT in the below to access decorating template.

Ideally, you’ll make your decorations the day before you need them, so that they have time to firm up properly.

Recipe Tips

• Black cocoa powder isn’t readily available in the UK, but from what I’ve read, it behaves and tastes exactly like regular cocoa powder.  If you can get black cocoa powder and use this instead of regular cocoa powder, this could help to make your buttercream black and you may find you only need a little black food gel. It can also help to produce a black layer cake rather than a brown one.

Decorating Tips

• When making buttercream, the amount of milk needed (if any) will depend on the butter or margarine used. Margarines contain more water than butter so will need less milk to get the correct consistency.
• When using food colouring gels, use just a drop at a time and add more as needed after mixing, as they can be very powerful. Beat the gel well into buttercream or knead the dye into fondant icing until the colour is evenly distributed. Wash your hands between colours, to avoid any unwanted colour transference.
• I prefer gel dyes as they are stronger than liquid colours and have less impact on the consistency of the buttercream or fondant. I use Pro Gel colours which are suitable for vegetarians and vegans, or Colour Splash which are suitable for vegetarians.
• If you’d prefer not to use dyes you can buy pre-coloured frosting or fondant but the dyes are inexpensive and last for ages, so they’re very cost effective if you will be using them again. You can also blend food gels so if you’re on a budget and buy blue, yellow and red, you can mix them to also make green (blue & yellow), orange (red & yellow) and purple (blue and red).
• Wrap fondant in cling film while it’s not in use as otherwise it will dry out and become difficult to work.
• I like to roll my fondant on baking parchment as it doesn’t stick and is easier to lift off than from many other surfaces. If you need to dust a surface or your rolling pin, use icing sugar rather than flour.
• Water is very effective for sticking pieces of icing in place, but edible glue can also be used if you prefer.
• Decorate your cake as you wish – e.g. you could make more spacemen and omit the flying saucers if you prefer.

Storing Leftovers

Store leftovers in an airtight container on the countertop for up to 3 days or in a fridge for up to 5 days.

If you wish to freeze the cake for up to 3 months, do this before assembling it. Wrap the cake layers in cling film and defrost before decorating according to the recipe card.

This delicious Among Us cake is the perfect birthday surprise for little space enthusiasts! It’s a 3-tiered chocolate cake, decorated with galaxy-inspired buttercream and homemade fondant Among Us figures.

EQUIPMENT

• 3 x 7-inch cake tins
• Printable decorating template to print on A4 paper – click here to access it

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE CAKE:

• 240 ml (1 cups) milk
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 315 g (2 ⅓ cups) plain (all purpose) flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• 65 g (¾ cups) cocoa powder
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• 240 ml (1 cups) sunflower oil or other neutral tasting vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs at room temperature
• 400 g (2 cups) granulated sugar
• 240 ml (1 cups) hot water

FOR THE MAIN CHOCOLATE FROSTING:

• 300 g (1 ¼ cups) unsalted butter or margarine
• 600 g (4 ¾ cups) icing sugar powdered or confectioners sugar
• 65 g (¾ cups) cocoa powder dark or black cocoa if possible
• 1-2 tablespoons milk, as needed
• Black and dark blue food gels

TO CREATE A ‘GALAXY’ BUTTERCREAM EFFECT:

• 75 g (⅓ cups) unsalted butter or margarine
• 150 g (1 cups) icing sugar
• Pink, blue and purple gel food dyes

OTHER DECORATIONS:

• A little white fondant icing – 150-200g (approx. 1 cup)
• Red, blue, green and yellow gel food dyes
• Alternatively, you can use about 50g each of pre-coloured fondant in red, blue, green and yellow
• Silver ball cake decorations for the stars
• Silver food glitter or edible silver shimmer spray

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat your oven to 180C (350F) and grease or line your cake tins. I use 3×7-inch tins but you can also use larger tins to make a 2-layer cake.
• In a jug or cup, stir the vinegar into the milk and set it aside to curdle (about 5 minutes).
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt.
• Add the oil, vanilla extract, eggs and sugar into the flour mixture and beat well.
• Add the milk and vinegar mixture and the hot water.
• Beat until everything is well combined.
• Divide the cake batter evenly between the prepared cake tins.
• Place into the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until the cakes have risen and the tops spring back when gently pressed.
• Leave the cakes in the tins for about 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely. They will dome up initially but drop back closer to level as they cool.
• When the cakes are completely cool, make the chocolate frosting.

MAKE THE MAIN CHOCOLATE FROSTING:

• I like to fill the cake and cover it with a crumb coat using the brown chocolate frosting, before adding the gel dyes to make the buttercream black for the final outer layer.
• Place 300g (1 ¼ cup) of butter or margarine in a large bowl and beat well with a wooden spoon or electric mixer, until the butter is smooth and creamy and paler in colour.
• Add half of the icing sugar (i.e. 300g) and all of the cocoa powder and beat well.
• Add the remaining icing sugar and beat again. The frosting should be soft and creamy. If it’s too stiff, add a little milk, one teaspoon at a time, until you reach a consistency where it will easily spread with a knife.
• Place one of your cakes onto your serving dish or cake board. Cover the top with a layer of chocolate frosting then place another cake on top.
• Add another layer of frosting and place the final sponge on top, upside down, so that the flat base becomes the top of your layer cake.
• Spread a generous layer of frosting over the top and sides of the layer cake, making sure to fill any gaps between the layers. This is the ‘crumb’ coat – the purpose is to trap any crumbs and form a firmer surface as a base for the final frosting and decorations. Smooth the sides and top of the cake with an offset spatula, or a cake smoother, or a large flat-bladed knife. Try to get a smooth finish everywhere and a sharp edge around the top of the cake.
• Chill the cake for at least 2 hours and cover the remaining frosting with clingfilm to prevent it from drying out.
• When the buttercream layer on the cake has chilled, you can add the black buttercream layer. Remove the cling film and beat the frosting again to regain its creamy texture. Use black food gel to colour it black. I find that adding some dark blue helps the black to develop. It’s very difficult to get a jet black buttercream, but using generous amounts of black and dark blue gels will obtain a very dark grey that will pass for black. The buttercream will also appear darker when it sets.
• Spread the black buttercream over the sides and top of the layer cake and smooth the surface again. If you have time, place the cake back into the fridge for 15-30 minutes for the black frosting to firm up.
• When you’re happy with the black layer, prepare your ‘galaxy’ buttercream.

GALAXY BUTTERCREAM:

• Beat the butter in a large bowl, then add half of the icing sugar and beat again.
• Add the remaining icing sugar, beat well and add a little milk if needed.
• Separate the buttercream into 3 roughly equal portions. Add a squeeze of pink food gel to the first bowl, blue to the second and purple to the third. Mix well – the colours need to be bright and evenly distributed.
• Use a spatula or flat edge to smear blobs of the coloured frosting randomly onto the sides and top of the cake.
• Then take a clean spatula or flat edge and smooth the cake again. As you sweep along the sides and top of the cake, the brightly coloured frosting will spread and form hazy patches of colour. Much of it may be lifted back off the cake, but this is okay so long as some remains. You’re aiming for random patches of bright colour against the mainly black background. Don’t worry if the frosting isn’t completely smooth – if you go over it repeatedly you’ll lose the galaxy look and the cake will look all grey or black. If you lose too much from the coloured patches, use a small spatula or flat bladed knife to ‘touch up’ the cake, smearing on any remaining coloured buttercream.
• Once you’re happy with the final layer of frosting, you can add the final decorations.

TO MAKE THE FONDANT SPACEMEN AND FLYING SAUCERS:

• Knead your white fondant until it’s soft and pliable. Break off a small amount and use my template to make 6 small ovals (shape 3) for the spacemens’ visors. You can also make ovals by rolling balls then flattening them with your fingers. If you press more in one direction you can make an oval rather than a circle. Set aside the visors.
• Take about ½ of the white fondant and use a food gel to colour it blue.
• Divide the remaining fondant into 3 roughly equal portions and use food gels to colour them red, yellow and green.
• Roll out the blue fondant to 1-2 mm thick and use my template below to cut out 6 flying saucers (shape 1). Use a cocktail stick to make a line parallel to the bottom edge of the saucer – the resulting band is where the coloured dots for the lights will sit (see my photo).
• Roll out the red fondant and use the spaceman template to cut out 2 spacemen (shape 2). Use a cocktail stick to mark the line between each man and his jetpack. Use a drop of water to fix a white fondant visor onto each spaceman.
• Repeat for the yellow and green spacemen.
• From the remaining scraps of red, yellow and green fondant, roll 12 tiny balls of each colour for the ‘lights’ on the flying saucers. Press 6 coloured balls onto each flying saucer, using a tiny amount of water if needed, to make them stick.
• Position your flying saucers and spacemen on the cake, pressing them lightly into the buttercream. I placed 3 spacemen and 3 flying saucers on the top of the cake and the rest around the sides, but you can position them wherever you like.
• Place silver balls into the buttercream to resemble stars and lightly spray the cake with edible silver glitter or use a shimmer spray. Add candles if you wish. The cake is then ready to serve.

NOTES

1. Store leftovers in an airtight container on the countertop for up to 3 days or in a fridge for up to 5 days.
2. If you wish to freeze the cake for up to 3 months, do this before assembling it. Wrap the cake layers in cling film and defrost before proceeding as above.

NUTRITION

• Calories: 553kcal
• Carbohydrates: 74g
• Protein: 4g
• Fat: 29g
• Saturated Fat: 12g
• Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g
• Monounsaturated Fat: 15g
• Trans Fat: 1g
• Cholesterol: 58mg
• Sodium: 306mg
• Potassium: 147mg
• Fiber: 3g
• Sugar: 58g
• Vitamin A: 514IU
• Calcium: 57mg
• Iron: 2mg