Mystical Gamer Cake
This Mystical Gamer Cake is a moist, buttery chocolate chip pound cake with a rich buttercream frosting decorated with a whimsical theme. I made this for my son’s birthday party and it was a huge hit! We decided to convert the entire garage into one big mythical, fantastical gaming party and it was so much fun. I’ve provided photos and links below to most of the decorations and party supplies we used if you are interested.
I am a bit picky when it comes to pound cake and have spent years trying to figure out the best recipe. Some were too dry or too dense while others did not hold up well when layered with fruit and toppings. I finally put this recipe together and fell in love with the results! The addition of chocolate chips puts it over the top!
Mystical Gamer Cake Process
Even though we provide detailed instructions in the recipe below, the following is a general overview of the process along with some tips.
Prepare Pans
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease three 8 inch cake pans generously with melted shortening or nonstick spray (the kind with flour).
Mix Cake Ingredients
Using a handheld or stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary. It is important to beat the butter and sugar fully until it lightens in color. The sugar aerates the butter creating bubbles that are then used in the leavening process.
Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. By adding the eggs slowly, it helps liquids and fats disperse evenly creating a smooth suspension. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and chocolate chips. Add half to the butter mixture, beating gently on low until just incorporated. Then, add sour cream, vanilla, and the remaining half of flour mixture. Mix just until combined. Take care to not over-mix. The batter will be thick.
Bake Cake
Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans and bake for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center has a few moist crumbs. Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting onto wire rack or serving dish. Cool completely before frosting and decorating. I actually prefer to bake the cake layers ahead of time and freeze them prior to decorating. I find it increases the flavor of the pound cake and helps when frosting/decorating because the cake layers are firmer. When ready to use, thaw (still wrapped) on the counter. It is important to keep the cake wrapped while thawing so the condensation forms on the outside wrapping and not the cake.
Why Is It Important To Not Over-mix Pound Cake?
It is critical with pound cake (and most other cakes) to not over-mix the eggs and dry ingredients in the batter. When batter is over-mixed, too much air is incorporated into the batter resulting in a dry cake. Additionally, over-mixing causes gluten development which can lead to a tough and rubbery texture. When incorporating the eggs and dry ingredients, always mix just until combined.
Where Can I Find Mystical Gamer Themed Party Supplies?
Most of the party supplies and decorations were purchased on Amazon, but a few things were from other stores like Target and Oriental Trading. The life size animal cutouts were from Oriental Trading but I cannot find them on their website anymore so I provided substitutions below. For the full whimsical effect, check out our Mystical Gamer Party video on our sister YouTube Channel, The Kelly Adventures.
Mushroom House
This was such a cool project that my kids helped create. We originally bought the cardboard house as a life size gingerbread house for Christmas. They had colored it for Christmas so we decided to wrap it in decorative paper to resemble a mushroom and then used building sticks, a fitted bedsheet, and lights to make the top of the mushroom. We added some moss to the body and a backdrop to the inside.
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- Cardboard House – originally used for Christmas but transformed into a mushroom with decorative wrap, building sticks, and a fitted bed sheet
- Decorative Wrap – to resemble stem of mushroom
- Moss – added to stem of mushroom
- Double Sided Tape – to hang moss
- Building Sticks – to create the mushroom domed head
- Fitted Bed Sheet – Red and white dotted to look like top of mushroom
- Lights – for decor on stem
- Net Lights on Top – for top of mushroom
- Backdrop – hung on inside to give mystical appearance
Backdrops
These will all depend on where you have to hang them, what sizes, etc.
Lights
We used a lot of lighting to create a magical look and feel.
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- Puck Lights
- Button LEDs
- Lighted Birch Tree
- LED Curtain Lights
- Waterproof LED Small Lights
- Northern Lights & Star Projector – used on ceiling for stars and northern lights
- LED Fairy Lights
- LED Spot Lights
Other Items
These were a few items that helped tie everything together.
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- Smoke Machine – helped to create mystical appearance
- Wooden Bench
- Christmas Tree
- Mushroom Paper Lanterns – I strung lights through these when hanging
- More Mushroom Lanterns – Different sizes
- Brown Wood Peel and Stick Paper – to cover cardboard box holding a sword
- Fake Spanish Moss – to hang from lights around room at top of backdrop
- Elf Ears for Guests
- Tree Stump Stools – seating and storage
- Fox Cutout
- Horse Cutout
- Sword
How Should I Store Mystical Gamer Cake?
Store covered cake at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to a week. (Pound cake tends to get tough in the refrigerator so I prefer storing at room temperature. If you need to put it in the refrigerator, make sure you bring it to room temperature before serving.) Cake may be frozen, preferably undecorated, in plastic wrap and aluminum foil for up to 3 months. I actually prefer to bake the cake layers ahead of time and freeze them prior to decorating. I find it increases the flavor of the pound cake and helps when frosting/decorating because the cake layers are firmer. When ready to use, thaw (still wrapped) on the counter. It is important to keep the cake wrapped while thawing so the condensation forms on the outside wrapping and not the cake.
Tips
- Measure correctly – I highly recommend using a kitchen scale when baking. Because baking measurements need to be exact, using a scale helps to measure as precisely as possible. It quite honestly was a complete game changer for me when I first started using one! I would be lost without it now.
- Room temperature is important! When certain ingredients (eggs, cream cheese, butter, etc.) are listed as room temperature, there are scientific reasons behind this. At room temperature, these ingredients blend together better and result in a smoother batter. Ultimately, you will end up with a better final product!
- Over-mixing – Take care to not over-mix the cake batter once the eggs and dry ingredients have been added. When batter is mixed too much, it results in the gluten being activated. If this occurs, the cake may be dense and chewy.
- Freezing cake layers – I actually prefer to bake the cake layers ahead of time and freeze them prior to decorating. I find it increases the flavor of the pound cake and helps when frosting/decorating because the cake layers are firmer. When ready to use, thaw (still wrapped) on the counter. It is important to keep the cake wrapped while thawing so the condensation forms on the outside wrapping and not the cake.
- Keeping cake fresh – To keep cake that has been cut fresh, stick a piece of wax paper on the exposed section prior to covering and storing.
My Preferred Tools
You may already have many of these items in your kitchen. I recommend the following for this recipe:
- Kitchen Scale – precisely measure ingredients
- Stand Mixer – to mix batter
- 8 inch Cake Pans – to bake cake
- Cooling Racks – to cool cake and dishwasher friendly!!
- Cake Turntable and Spatulas – excellent for decorating cakes
- Wilton Decorating Kit – piping tips, bags, couplers, and more for decorating cakes
- Master Decorating Kit – ultimate cake decorating tip set
- Cake Scraper Set – use these to scrape icing and create fun, easy designs on your cakes
- Cake Boards – sturdy, cardboard cake boards used to pick up your cake
- Food Coloring – to color the frosting
- Gold Stars – for decor
- Gold Star Sprinkles – for center design
If You Liked This Recipe, Try Our
- Strawberry Shortcake Cake
- Under the Sea Chocolate Chip Pound Cake
- Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake
- Rich Chocolate Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Mystical Gamer Cake
Ingredients
Note: Gram measurements do not adjust automatically with the serving multiplier.
Method
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease three 8 inch cake pans generously with shortening or nonstick spray (the kind with flour).
- Using a handheld or stand mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl as necessary. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and chocolate chips. Add half to butter mixture, beating gently on low until just incorporated. Then, add sour cream, vanilla, and the remaining half of flour mixture. Mix just until combined. Take care to not over-mix. Batter will be thick.
- BAKE: Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center has a few moist crumbs. Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting onto wire rack or serving dish. Cool completely before frosting and decorating.
- Beat butter until creamy - approximately 2-3 minutes. Add confectioners' sugar, heavy cream, vanilla, and salt. Beat on low for 1 minute, then increase speed and beat until all ingredients are fully incorporated. Scrape down the bowl and beat again.
- If your frosting is too thick, add a tiny bit of cream/milk until you reach desired consistency. If your frosting is too thin, add a tiny bit of confectioners' sugar until you reach desired consistency.
- Decide what colors you will be using and separate frosting into bowls. Color the frosting with a light hand - you can always add more food coloring if it's not dark enough. I used these colors for this cake.
- Frost in between cake layers and then crumb coat the top and sides with white. Final coat cake with white frosting.
- For the top center, I drew an image on wax paper and then cut it out, leaving surrounding wax paper to cover the top of the cake. Press wax paper stencil into top of cake gently and then sprinkle edible gold star sprinkles to fill design. Remove wax paper carefully.
- Choose several different piping tips and add varying sizes of stars and swirls to the top and along the bottom cake perimeter. Sprinkle a few gold stars on the piped swirls.
- Store covered cake at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to a week. (If storing in fridge, please note that the cold temperature will cause the butter in the cake to firm up, making the crumb feel hard. This is completely normal and does not mean the cake is stale! To restore its original soft, tender texture, simply let the cake (or each serving) rest at room temperature for 20-30 minutes before serving. This allows the butter to soften, bringing the cake back to its delicious, moist state.)
Notes
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