Elmo Birthday Cake

My son adores Sesame Street, so for his second birthday we went all out and made an elaborate party with games and decorations related to Sesame Street. His favorite character, by far, is Elmo, so this cake was a "must bake".

Elmo Birthday Cake, in my opinion, is best made as a red velvet cake. This recipe will yield a large, moist cake that will have children coming back for seconds. To bake this, you'll need the Elmo Cake Pan. I also highly recommend using red food coloring gel over regular food coloring as it provides a much brighter color.

Desserts

Prep: 1 hour 40 min
Cook: 50 min
Total: 2 hour 30 min
Serves 12 to 20

Two Hours Before
2 sticks butter, at room temperature
3 large eggs
Remove butter and eggs from fridge and let rise to room temperature.
Cake
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
Heat the oven to 350°F. Generously coat the Elmo cake pan with butter. Dust with flour, tapping out any excess. Set aside.
11 ounces cake flour, sifted (about 2 ¾ cups)
2 teaspoons fine salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
Sift together the cake flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a medium bowl. Set aside.
¼ cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon red food coloring gel or 3 ounces of regular red food coloring
6 tablespoons water
In a small bowl, whisk cocoa, red food coloring, and water until smooth. Set aside.
reserved butter, at room temperature
In a large bowl, beat butter with an electric hand mixer (or in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment) on medium until creamy, about 1 minutes.
2 cups sugar
Add the sugar in ½ cup increments, beating until full incorporated, about 30 seconds each. Once added, scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
reserved eggs, at room temperature
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
One at a time, add eggs and beat until incorporated, about 30 seconds each. Add vanilla with one of the eggs.
reserved cocoa mixture
Add reserved cocoa mixture and beat until fully incorporated and smooth, about 2 minuteS.
reserved flour mixture
1 cup whole or low-fat buttermilk
On low speed, alternate between adding 1 cup of the flour mixture and ⅓ cup of the buttermilk, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary and repeat until fully incorporated. Once done, give the batter a few quick strokes with a spatula to mix in any remaining ingredients.
Pour into prepared Elmo cake pan. Bake at 350°F until top of cake browns and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 40 to 50 minutes.
Remove from oven and let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Invert cake onto the rack and let cool completely before frosting, at least 1 hour.
Frosting
30 ounces white frosting
If desired, you can make your own buttercream frosting. I've found, though, that when dealing with small children, they tend to prefer the sugary store-bought frosting more, so I used two containers of creamy white frosting when decorating the Elmo cake for my two-year old son.
red, orange, and black food gel (available on Amazon)
disposable frosting bags
frosting bag decorating tips
Take a small amount of frosting and mix it with black food gel in a small bowl. Using a spatula or a frosting bag, decorate Elmo's mouth.
Take a small amount of frosting and mix it with orange food gel in a small bowl. Using a spatula or a frosting bag, decorate Elmo's nose.
Use some of the still-white frosting to decorate the whites of Elmo's eyes. Using a frosting bag, decorate Elmo's eyes using a small amount of the black colored frosting.
Take the remaining frosting and color it red. Using a frosting bag and a star decorating tip, decorate Elmo's fur. I recommend starting by outlining the eyes, nose, and mouth and working out from there until the cake is completely frosted.

From MakeBetterFood.com. Mar 26, 2013. (makebetterfood.com/recipes/elmo-birthday-cake/).

MakeBetterFood.com

Remove butter and eggs from fridge and let rise to room temperature.
Heat the oven to 350°F. Generously coat the Elmo cake pan with butter. Dust with flour, tapping out any excess. Set aside.
Sift together the cake flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a medium bowl. Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk cocoa, red food coloring, and water until smooth. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat butter with an electric hand mixer (or in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment) on medium until creamy, about 1 minutes.
Add the sugar in ½ cup increments, beating until full incorporated, about 30 seconds each. Once added, scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
One at a time, add eggs and beat until incorporated, about 30 seconds each. Add vanilla with one of the eggs.
Add reserved cocoa mixture and beat until fully incorporated and smooth, about 2 minuteS.
On low speed, alternate between adding 1 cup of the flour mixture and ⅓ cup of the buttermilk, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary and repeat until fully incorporated. Once done, give the batter a few quick strokes with a spatula to mix in any remaining ingredients.
Pour into prepared Elmo cake pan. Bake at 350°F until top of cake browns and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 40 to 50 minutes.
Remove from oven and let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Invert cake onto the rack and let cool completely before frosting, at least 1 hour.
If desired, you can make your own buttercream frosting. I've found, though, that when dealing with small children, they tend to prefer the sugary store-bought frosting more, so I used two containers of creamy white frosting when decorating the Elmo cake for my two-year old son.
Take a small amount of frosting and mix it with black food gel in a small bowl. Using a spatula or a frosting bag, decorate Elmo's mouth.
Take a small amount of frosting and mix it with orange food gel in a small bowl. Using a spatula or a frosting bag, decorate Elmo's nose.
Use some of the still-white frosting to decorate the whites of Elmo's eyes. Using a frosting bag, decorate Elmo's eyes using a small amount of the black colored frosting.
Take the remaining frosting and color it red. Using a frosting bag and a star decorating tip, decorate Elmo's fur. I recommend starting by outlining the eyes, nose, and mouth and working out from there until the cake is completely frosted.