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When we picked a Dino Dig theme for C’s 5th birthday I was sure a dinosaur cake would be the request. What I wasn’t expecting was the request for a 3D Triceratops Cake, but I love a good challenge, and was pleasantly surprised with just how easy and fun this DIY Triceratops Cake turned out.

Easy Dinosaur Cake

To me the cake is the part of the birthday that is remembered the most. There’s usually a photo of the birthday child and the cake and because Camden loves dinosaurs so much I knew we had to get this right. We even made a test cake the week prior to figure out exactly what we would be doing.

Supplies Needed:

2 boxes of cake mix (We did one chocolate and one vanilla)
icing (I make homemade, but you can buy the can just don’t do the whipped)
food dye
Meatloaf pan
2- 9 inch round cake pans
Cardboard
Sugar Cones
Lifesavers
Chocolate Chips
Piping bag & tip

How to make a Dinosaur cake

Step 1: You want to make 1 cake in a meatloaf pan and the 2nd cake should be divided between the 2- 9 inch round pans. We found using the chocolate for the 9 inch rounds was the best
Step 2: After you’ve made the cakes flip them out of the pans and allow them to cool. We typically make these 2 days prior to the party
Step 3: Once the cakes have cooled you can place them on wax paper and put them in the fridge
Step 4: When you’re ready to assemble your cake take it out of the fridge and place on a cutting board
Step 5: Cut the cake like the photo
Step 6: Once it’s cut you want to build you dino on your base. I taped together 2 long sheet cake bases and covered with brown craft paper (I thought I would look like dirt)
Step 7: Frost the body of the cake with a thin layer. This is something I recommend just doing with a knife or frosting spatula.
Step 8: Add a small dab of frosting on the base where you want to place the body of the dino. Then put the body (meatloaf cake) down. This will keep you cake from possibly moving around.
Step 9: Next add each leg to the body
Step 10: Then add some frosting to the crown and place in front of the body
Step 11: Take the 3 pieces of the face and stand them upright in front of the crown
Step 12: Add the 2 pieces of the tails
Step 13: Ice the cake. I used a Wilton #47 tip for mine to give my dino a little texture. It went quickly, which was key for me. (be careful not to hold the piping bag too long as your hands can melt the icing to be thinner and can be a bit droopy.
Step 14: Once the cake is iced add you horns. We used a serrated knife to cut the horns (sugar cones) to the size we wanted
Step 15: For the toenails we used chocolate chips
Step 16: For the eyes we used a white lifesaver and placed a chocolate chip in the center
Step 18: Fill in any little spots or hole with the frosting and your cake is done

Triceratops Dino Cake

Overall this was a pretty simple cake for us. We loved how it turned out and my son adored that it really looked like a Triceratops. Plus there was plenty of cake left over for us to snack on and enjoy while making it and after the party.

Looking for other dinosaur party ideas? Check out Dino Dig Birthday party and DIY Dino Eggs!

Looking for other cake ideas? Check out Mater Cake, Bucky Pirate Ship Cake and Paw Patroller Cake

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