An easy Campfire Cake with edible candy flames! Perfect for birthdays, summer celebrations or Scouting events!
I was actually struggling to come up with an idea for my youngest son’s birthday this year. His birthday falls in the middle of his brother’s birthdays and they are all within a week and a half, so I was trying to think of something a little different.
Because his birthday falls at the start of summer I finally decided on a camping cake and then ultimately just narrowed it down to a campfire. This cake was just for our family on the day of his birthday, for his party with friends I made soccer cupcakes.
Here’s how it came together
Campfire Cake
variation of a Pillsbury Campfire Cake
How to Make a Campfire Cake
You’ll Need
- 2 – 9″ Round Cakes
- 1 – 2 cans of 16 oz Chocolate Frosting
- 1 bag of Extra Large Marshmallows
- 1/2 bag of Mini Marshmallows (optional)
- 6-7 Rolled wafer style cookies. (Creme Roulee)
- 10 individually wrapped red hard candies (jolly ranchers), unwrapped
- 10 individually wrapped yellow hard candies (jolly ranchers), unwrapped
- 5 individually wrapped orange hard candies (jolly ranchers), unwrapped
- Waxed paper or silicone baking mat
Directions
Prepare and bake cakes according to directions. Cool.
How to Make Flames for a Campfire Cake
Line a baking sheet with waxed paper or a silicone baking mat. You could also spray tin foil with baking spray, I opted for a silicone baking mat because they are my favourite and I use them for everything.
Place candies in a plastic bag. Finely crush the candies with the flat side of a meat mallet or a rolling pin will work as well. Sprinkle the crushed candies onto the prepared pan in a thin layer.
Bake at 350˚ for 6 to 8 minutes or until candies are completely melted. Cool the melted candy completely before handling.
I liked the Jolly Rancher candies for this. They look really nice because they are shiny and let light through more than a solid colour style candy. They also taste amazing, but any hard candy should work.
If you want to do a mini marshmallow filling like I did, spoon one can of chocolate frosting in a bowl. Pour in half the bag of mini marshmallows and mix them together.
Spread onto one layer of the cake, sprinkle on a few extra marshmallows as needed to fill in any holes and make the cake even. Put the second layer of cake on top and frost top and all sides evenly.
Building the Fire
Arrange wafer cookies in a circle on the top of the cake to resemble campfire logs. I found Creme Roulee cookies with a dark chocolate filling that tasted ahhhmazing!
Break the cooled sheet of melted candies into pointed shards. Insert the candy pieces into the top center of the cake and around the “logs” to resemble flames.
To toast the extra large marshmallows, I lined a baking sheet with the marshmallows and set the oven on broil. You will want to keep a very close eye on them so they don’t burn.
I did mine in batches (just in case!) but I did find the the hotter the oven was the less the marshmallows kept their form once cooled. My first batch turned out the best. It’s fine if they cool with flat sides, it’s actually best, because they will stick better to the cake this way. Once cooled, just press the marshmallows into the icing.
If your cake is for a birthday, the perfect spot for candles is right in the flames of course!
This was a really fun cake to make as well as eat!
You should decorate the same day as serving if possible, the cookies will absorb moisture from the cake and get soft. Feel free to do the baking and flames a day early though, just wait to assemble the decorative pieces.
This campfire cake recipe is a really fun dessert for scouting events as well! I’ve had lots of people tell me they’ve used it for their Scout Troop!
If your family is outdoorsy, you might also like these easy Fishing Cupcakes or Fishing Cake as well!
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That is so cute! Wow!
Thanks Carole!
Your boys are so lucky to have such a creative and caring Mom! Great job on that amazing cake and all those that have come before!!!
This is such an amazing cake, you really did an awesome job, this would be great to take to a BBQ also!!
OMG,what a job on the cake i love…..lucky boys
Looks delicious and simple
Love this cake. Might have to make it for a potluck we are having at our campground.
That’s so beautiful!
Seriously you are super creative! Our son’s birthday is in January but I think it might be fun to have a camping theme anyway! He’ll probably pick whatever cartoon he’s most obsessed with at the time though lol
You are so awesome when it comes to creating the nicest cakes! So ingenious!
What a great looking cake. Thank you for the information. I can think of reasons I would make use of this cake idea other than a birthday.
This is all kinds of awesome! My oldest son would LOVE this! I’ll show him it tomorrow. He’s sleeping right now.
cute cake!!
That is such a great looking cake!! Perfect for a summer birthday/celebration and definitely something everyone will be talking about! That is how I like to WOW and impress my guests! Looks delicious too!
It definitely has a wow factor!
This cake is so creative and it looks yummy !
Wow, this is great! So creative and inspiring!
I showed my oldest boy this cake and he went crazy for it!
What a great idea! Lucky boy!
This is the most creative cake decor I have ever seen – I LOVE IT!
always exciting to see something new as a dessert
so awesome , great idea , i bet it was an awesome time , and the cake looks delish 😉
Love this cake, a great idea and it looks delicious too.
Thanks i will have to remember to try this next fire !