This Game of Thrones inspired cake has the perfect amount of Ice and Fire sweetness! With themed layers of fluffy white cake, filled and frosted with smooth vanilla buttercream and decorated with edible fire and ice treats, this is the perfect way to celebrate the return/end of the greatest show on earth!
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Oh my God, you guys! Let me start by saying that I was so focused on putting out Easter recipes that I completely forgot to make a dessert for 1 of the 2 biggest events of the month.
So I’m already freaking out about watching Avengers: Endgame, the final Avengers movie and on top of that I’m losing my mind over the final season of Game of Thrones. It’s like every fictional character I’ve loved for the last decade will all be taken away from me this year and I can’t handle it.
I’m pretty sure I’ll be posting this after the premiere of the final (sobs) season, but I’m writing all of this before then. Like a week before, so I’m almost certain future (or present) me is currently an emotional mess after watching the first episode.
Update: I sure am.
A Song of Ice and Fire
Are you team Ice (Starks) or team Fire (Targaryens)? I’m personally team Dany, Daenerys Targaryen, first of her name, queen of my life, owner of my heart, my dragon queen. Ok I’m a bit obsessed, but if you watch this show you would know why.
I really want her to sit on that iron throne and get the happy ending she deserves, but this is Game of Thrones so chances are NO ONE will get a happy ending. Honestly, if Dany dies I may need to take a few weeks away from the blog to mourn. God, my favourite queen and my favourite superheroes dying in the same month? The universe must really enjoy causing me pain.
Ice and Fire Cake
Alright, let’s talk about this insane cake already! Like I said before, I hadn’t even thought about making a GoT themed dessert until the very last minute. That means I came up with the idea for this cake in like, 10 minutes.
I knew this season focused on Ice and Fire so I definitely wanted to make an ice and fire themed dessert. About 2 years ago, I made this Fire and Blood Cake that was dedicated to Daenerys herself. But since this last season is gonna be about both Jon and Dany and the white walkers and dragons, well I decided to create a battle between ice and fire in the most delicious way possible!
Ice and Fire Vanilla Cake Layers
Ok let’s start with the inside of the cake. I made two separate batches of fluffy white cake and tinted one half red, orange and yellow for the fire cake. Then I tinted the other batch blue, light blue and kept the rest white to make the ice cake.
I just scooped the colours into the pans, alternating between each pan so I ended up with an even amount in each, then used a butter knife to slightly swirl the colours. Don’t swirl the colours too much because you don’t want them to muddle together.
As for the cake itself, it’s super fluffy, soft, moist and tender! I modified my usual white cake recipe to use all purpose flour instead of cake flour this time since most people already have it on hand.
To make the cake, we start by creaming the butter and the sugar. This is one of the most important steps, so please don’t skimp on the beating time. The butter and sugar should be super pale in colour and creamy/fluffy in texture before you move on to the next step.
Next we’ll add in some sour cream and vegetable oil. This is something I’ve never used in my previous white cake recipes and I have no idea why! The sour cream makes the cakes texture even softer and the vegetable oil adds moisture. The perfect additions to this cake.
Then we’re gonna throw in a generous amount of vanilla and a generous amount of egg whites. And yes, between both the fire cake layers and the ice cake layers, we’ll be using 12 large egg whites, so 6 per batch. It may sound like a lot, but it’s the perfect amount.
Since we aren’t using the whole egg, we need to use enough egg whites to build a stable structure. Besides, all those egg whites create the lightest, fluffiest cake ever!
Now we’re gonna alternate between adding dry ingredients in three additions and buttermilk in two additions. As always, this will keep our batter nice and smooth while mixing.
Once you’re done, for the fire cake you want to divide the batter evenly between 3 bowls and tint them red, yellow and orange. For the ice cake batch, once again divide between 3 bowls and tint them blue, light blue and leave the last half plain. I was gonna use an icing whitening gel, but I wasn’t sure how it would effect cake and wasn’t willing to risk it.
Anyways, scoop the three fire colours into two pans and the ice colours into two other pans. I recommend alternating between colours when adding it to your pan, so don’t pour in one colour, then the next etc. Add a dollop of red, then a dollop of orange, yellow and so on, then use a butter knife to swirl the colours together.
Fire and Ice Buttercream
When the cakes are baked and cooled, we’re gonna move on to making the “fire and ice buttercream”, which is basically just regular vanilla buttercream. Speaking of which, the entire cake is just vanilla flavoured, but if you wanna take it up a notch, you can give the fire part a hot or spicy flavour like red hot cinnamon. Then give the ice part a cool flavour like mint.
I, however, prefer to stick with vanilla. So I whipped up a large batch of my vanilla buttercream. I used a mixture of unsalted and salted butter because we’ll be using quite a bit of icing sugar, so I figured the salt from the salted butter would cut back some of that sweetness.
When the frosting is done, fill and crumb coat the cake in the basic un-tinted frosting. Then, while it’s chilling, divide the remaining frosting between five bowls. Tint them red, yellow, orange for the fire side, then blue and white for the ice side. For the white, I used Wilton’s Icing Whitener Gel to make the buttercream even whiter than usual.
To decorate the cake, I put each frosting colour into a disposable piping bag then piped out a row of red, orange, yellow, white, blue and more white on top, then used a bench scraper so smooth it all out. I added a line of white after the yellow just before the blue because I didn’t want the yellow and blue to mix and create green.
Ice and Fire Decoration
Now that the cake has been frosted, it’s time to spruce it up a bit by adding some ice and fire!
To make the flames, I melted red, orange and yellow candy melts. Then on a wax paper lined baking sheet, I scooped out a dollop of red candy melts, using a small offset spatula and swiped it on to create the bottom of the flame. Then I repeated the same with the orange candy melts directly on top, then finally the yellow candy melts.
You don’t need to clean the spatula or spoon in between colours because you want them to blend to create a realistic looking flame. Once the flames are dried, you can cut off the rounded bottom so they can sit flat on the cake board.
Ice Drip and Topping
For the ice half, I started by making a simple white chocolate ganache. Since white chocolate is more of a yellow colour, I had to tint it using the icing whitener gel I mentioned above to get a super white colour. I then put it into a disposable piping bag and dripped it off the sides of the cake to create “icicles”.
To make the ice shards on top, I simply melted a bag of light blue candy melts and white candy melts and poured them both onto a wax paper lined baking sheet. Then I spread it out into a large rectangle and left it at room temperature to set for about 30 minutes to an hour.
Once it was set, I took a small pairing knife and cut out large and small triangles. I ended up with a lot of shards, but I decided to only use two in the end, because 1) I wanted space to put the ice rocks and 2) they kept falling over so I couldn’t be bothered to add more.
One thing I did to help the ice shards stay in place was cut a slit into the top of the cake that was the same length as the bottom of the triangle. Then I pushed the shard into the slit so it could sit inside and be supported by the top part of the cake.
You’ll want to be super gentle because the shards can easily break, which is what happened to a few of mine so it’s good to have extra just in case.
To finish it all off, I crushed up some blue and white rock candy (a very loud and messy job) and sprinkled it on top of the cake to create rocks of ice!
Could this cake be any more adorable? I’m actually really proud with how it turned out and I’m sure both Jon and Daenerys (and maybe the Night King) would give me their stamp of approval for this cake. And I hope my fellow Game of Thrones lovers enjoy this too!
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go mentally prepare for next week since I’ll be watching Avengers and the most brutal episode of Game of Thrones back to back. Please pray for my well being.
>>PIN ME FOR LATER<<
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Let’s get baking!
Yield: 12-14 slices
Prep Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours 5 minutes
This Game of Thrones inspired cake has the perfect amount of Ice and Fire sweetness! With themed layers of fluffy white cake, filled and frosted with smooth vanilla buttercream and decorated with edible fire and ice treats, this is the perfect way to celebrate the return/end of the greatest show on earth!
Ingredients
Fire Cake Layers:
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 4 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- ¼ cup sour cream, room temperature
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 6 large egg whites, room temperature
- 1 and ½ cups buttermilk, room temperature
- Red gel food colouring
- Yellow gel food colouring
- Orange gel food colouring
Ice Cake Layers:
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 4 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- ¼ cup sour cream, room temperature
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 6 large egg whites, room temperature
- 1 and ½ cups buttermilk, room temperature
- Blue gel food colouring
Candy Melt Flames:
- 1 bag red candy melts
- 1 bag orange candy melts
- 1 bag yellow candy melts
Ice Shards:
- 1 bag blue candy melts
- 1 bag white candy melts
Ice and Fire Buttercream Frosting:
- 1 and ½ cups Unsalted Butter, softened
- 1 and ½ cups salted butter, softened
- 12 cups Powdered Sugar, sifted
- ¾ cup Heavy Whipping Cream
- 1 and ½ tablespoon Pure Vanilla Extract
- Red gel food colouring
- Yellow gel food colouring
- Orange gel food colouring
- Blue gel food colouring
- White gel food colouring (optional)
White Ganache Drip:
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- Few drops of white gel food colouring
Ice Rock Topping:
- 3-4 sticks of dark blue rock candy
- 3-4 sticks of light blue rock candy
- 3-4 sticks of white rock candy
Instructions
For the Fire Cake Layers:
- Position oven rack to the middle. Preheat oven to 350° F (177°C). Prepare two 8-inch round cake pans with parchment rounds, and grease the sides. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and whisk to combine. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat the butter, sugar, sour cream, vegetable oil and vanilla on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.
- Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Lower the speed to medium-low and mix in the egg whites, one at a time until just combined.
- Add ⅓ of the dry ingredients and beat just until combined, then add ½ of the buttermilk and mix until just combined. Continue mixing in ½ of the remaining dry ingredients, remaining buttermilk, then remaining dry ingredients. Remember to mix after each addition before adding the next.
- Divide batter between 3 bowls and tint them red, yellow and orange using gel food colouring.
- Using 3 ice cream scoops or spoons, divide the batter between the two pans, alternating with a dollop of each colour. Use a small offset spatula to carefully spread the batter into an even layer.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs.
- Remove cakes from oven and allow to cool in pans for about 10 minutes, then turn onto cooling racks to cool completely.
For the Ice Cake Layers:
- Repeat the same steps above for the ice cake layers, except tint the batter blue, light blue and leave the third portion plain.
For the Candy Melt Flames:
- [SEE NOTES] Line a large baking sheet with wax paper. Set aside.
- Add the red, yellow and orange candy melts to three separate heat safe bowls. Microwave each bowl one at a time in 30 second intervals until candy melts are completely melted and smooth.
- Dip the tip of a small offset spatula into the red candy melts and swipe a small amount onto the wax paper lined baking sheet in an upwards motion. This is the bottom of the flame. Make a few rows of this, I used about 20 flames around my cake but it’s best to make as much as you can so you have extra just incase any break.
- Without cleaning the spatula, repeat the same swiping motion using the orange candy melts. Make sure the orange is touching the top of the red stroke so they could blend in the middle.
- Repeat with the yellow candy melts, except this time don’t swipe. Just add a touch of yellow to the top.
- Then use a toothpick to swirl the colours together and pull the top part up to create a flame shape. It’s important to work quickly because once the candy melts set, you won’t be able to do this. Allow to set at room temperature for about 30 minutes to an hour.
For the Ice Shards:
- Line a baking sheet with wax paper or parchment paper. Melt the white and blue candy melts in separate bowls.
- Pour the blue candy melts over the entire sheet, then pour on the white candy melts.
- Using a small offset spatula, spread the candy melts into a large rectangle, allowing the colours to slightly blend together. Allow to set at room temperature for about 30 minutes to an hour.
For the Fire and Ice Buttercream:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the softened butters until super pale and fluffy, about 5-6 minutes.
- Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add half of the powdered sugar, one cup at a time while beating on low speed until combined.
- Add heavy cream and vanilla and continue to beat until combined and smooth.
- Add remaining powdered sugar one cup at a time, mixing on low speed until it’s all incorporated.
- Increase speed to medium-high and beat for about 5-7 minutes, or until frosting is light and fluffy.
Assembly:
- Trim the cake layers, if needed. Place one cake layer (ice or fire) onto a serving plate or cake board on a turntable. Spread about 1 cup of frosting on top using an offset spatula.
- Repeat with remaining layers, alternating between ice and fire layers, and place final layer top side down.
- Frost entire cake in a thin layer offrosting to seal the crumbs and refrigerate for 30 minutes of freeze for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, make the white ice drip.
For the White Ganache Drip:
- Add white chocolate chips and heavy cream to a heat safe bowl and microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring after each until completely melted, smooth and combined.
- Add a squirt of the icing whitener and stir until the ganache is completely white. Set aside to cool while you frost the cake.
For the Ice Topping:
- Throw all the rock candy sticks into a ziplock bag and use the bottom of something heavy like a small pot or a rolling pin to smash the candy to chunks.
- Remove the sticks and make sure to check if any chunks of rock candy still have parts of the stick in them, as some of mine did. If so, just smash it and remove the stick. Set aside.
Finishing the Cake:
- Divide the remaining frosting between 5 bowls. Tint them red, yellow, orange, blue and white (using the icing whitener).
- Spoon each colour of frosting into 5 separate disposable piping bags. Snip off the tips.
- Remove cake from refrigerator or freezer and pipe two rows of red frosting around the bottom of the cake, followed by two rows of orange, yellow, white, blue, then a mixture of blue and white on top.
- Run a bench scraper or icing smoother under hot water, then wipe it off with paper towel.
- Hold the bench scraper up to the side of the cake and use the other hand to turn the turntable while smoothing out the frosting.
- After one swipe around the cake, check for any imperfections or holes and squeeze in more frosting where needed.
- Run the bench scraper under hot water again and dry it off, then smooth out the sides again. Do this a few times until you’re happy with the results. Smooth out the top of the cake.
- Using a small pairing knife, cut off a small bit of the bottom flame so they can sit flat on the board. Gently run the knife under the flame to loosen it from the sheet and pick it up. Place the flames around the bottom of the cake.
- Pour the ganache into a disposable piping bag and snip off a small tip. Pipe the ganache around the edges, letting it drip down the sides. Try to make the drip fall between the flames. You can pour some over the top if you want instead of only doing the edges like I did.
- Once again using a pairing knife, slice the edges of the blue and white candy melts so you have straight sides.
- Then just slice in diagonal directions to create multiple triangles. Cut a line into the top of the cake wherever you plan to place the shards, then gently push them into the cake.
- Sprinkle the rock candies around the top of the cake. Slice, serve and enjoy!
Notes
- I got the idea for the flames from this video. I explain the steps as best as I can, but if you need a visual guide I recommend checking it out.
- Store cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or store at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- The exposed cake layers will dry up at room temperature, so I recommend covering the inside of the cake with plastic wrap or slices of sandwich bread which would help keep it moist for a few days.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Ateco 4712 Disposable Decorating Bags, 12-Inch, Pack of 100
Ateco 612 Revolving Cake Decorating Stand, 12" Round, Cast Iron Base with ⅛" Aluminum Top
Ateco 1447 Decorating Comb & Icing Smoother, 4 Sided
OXO Good Grips Small Offset Icing Knife
Wilton Aluminum 8-Inch Round Cake Pan Set, Multipack of 2
AmeriColor Food Coloring, Bright White Soft Gel Paste, 6 Ounce
KitchenAid KSM150PSER Artisan Tilt-Head Stand Mixer with Pouring Shield, 5-Quart, Empire Red
BON APPÉTIT!
Love, Dedra
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