How to Make a Fake Cake

For our short Film Baker for Hire, the Main character needs to bake a huge cake for his granddaughter's birthday. We were trying to figure out the best way to create a cake for this shoot. We just knew it would be so expensive to make a real cake so we needed alternatives. Some of the ideas we had were to bake part of a cake and the rest cardboard, maybe use a cardboard base with shaving cream, we even thought maybe cheap mashed potatoes would work. I decided to use four things, Cardboard, Duct Tape, Spackle, and Crack Filler Foam, it worked really well! First I duct taped several boxes I got from BJ's for free, then used Duct tape to hold them all together. After I had that solid foundation I began to Spackle the entirety of the box, it really looks like frosting. I had to make sure the Spackle was spread thin or then it would crack. After the Spackle dried I used the crack filler foam for decorative icing. I still am filling in little gaps and holes and touching up the Spackle but for about $20 dollars worth of materials, it was a really cheap prop to make myself.

Spackle and Foam

Cardboard and Duct tape Frame

First Coat of Spackle