This adorable Koala Cake is super easy to make for a birthday party or animal-themed event.
Start by cutting apart three round cakes then arrange them to look like a koala's head. Pipe on frosting and it's ready to serve!
I first fell in love with koalas when I was a young child and my affinity has only grown over the years. So when I found out the Cleveland Zoo offered a behind-the-scenes tour that included their koala care area, I jumped at the chance to visit. During our tour, we got to feed parsnips and carrots to two adorable porcupines and watch as a keeper hand-feed two grizzly bear brothers, but my favorite time was spent in the koala enclosure.
During our time with the koalas, we got to see a tiny little joey poke its head out of his mama's pouch. It was an amazing sight to behold.
When we arrived home, I couldn't wait to get into the kitchen to make a Koala cake to celebrate our fun experience.
A few years ago, I made two sweet Panda Bear Cakes using 1 cake mix baked as two 7-inch round cakes and four cupcakes. The cute bear cakes were really easy to make and decorate, so I thought I'd use the same basic technique to make a koala cake.
Being Koalas have bigger ears than pandas, I couldn't use cupcakes, so I baked one 8-inch round cake and two 6-inch round cakes instead.
To make my koala cake even easier than the panda cakes, I skipped the modeling chocolate decorations and just used frosting to create the koala's eyes and nose.
So, let's make a cake.
Ingredients
white cake batter - You can make a homemade white cake or you can simplify things and use a white cake mix, which is what I chose to do. I doctored the cake mix by adding ¼ cup of sour cream and a ¼ cup of instant white chocolate pudding mix to the list of ingredients (eggs, oil, and water).
CAKE MIX BOXES - When I created this cake, I used a 15.5 ounce cake mix which was enough to make the three round cakes for this Koala. Cake mix boxes continue to shrink. You can add more flour to your cake mix to make it 15.5 ounces or you can make two cake mixes. If you use 2 mixes, you'll have enough batter to make an extra round cake or some cupcakes.
light grey, white, and black frosting - Once again, you can use store-bought frosting or make homemade buttercream. I like to use Wilton's Decorator Icing. It's bright white, tastes great, and comes in a tub. It is a thick frosting, so I typically stir in some water to thin it out so I can easily pipe it onto my cakes.
- To make the grey frosting add one small drop of black coloring to the white frosting.
- To make the black frosting, use chocolate frosting or add some cocoa powder to the white frosting before adding black food coloring.
Supplies
8-inch round and 6-inch round cake pans - Use an 8-inch round cake pan to make the koala's head and two 6-inch round pans to make the ears.
pastry bags fitted with open star pastry tips - You can use the same size tip (#21) for all three colors, but I chose to use a smaller tip (#18) to make the black eyes and nose.
Instructions
Step 1 - Bake your cakes.
- Grease one 8-inch round cake pan and two 6-inch round cake pans with baking spray.
- For easy removal, line the pans with parchment paper rounds.
- Make your cake batter.
- If using a white cake mix, combine the water, egg whites, and oil called for on the package with ¼ cup powdered instant white chocolate or vanilla pudding mix and ¼ cup sour cream.
- Beat for 2 minutes on medium speed.
- Pour half of the cake batter into the 8-inch round pan.
- Divide the remaining cake batter among the two 6-inch round pans.
- Bake for 20-26 minutes. You might need to remove the smaller cakes a few minutes before the 8-inch cake.
- Let the cakes cool for 15 minutes in the pan, then tip them out onto a cooling rack.
- Allow the cakes to cool completely before frosting.
Step 2 - Cut and assemble the koala cake.
- Use the larger 8-inch cake pan as a template to create a cut across each of the smaller 6-inch cakes.
- You will cut off and remove about ⅓ of each of the smaller cakes.
- Discard the small pieces of cake or enjoy a snack!
- Arrange the three cakes together on a cake board so that the pieces create the koala's head and ears.
Step 3 - Frost the cake.
- Fill a pastry bag fitted with a #18 open star tip with black frosting.
- Pipe two eyes and a nose onto the large round cake.
- To pipe stars onto the cake, place the pastry bag directly over the cake about ¼-inch above the surface of the cake.
- Squeeze the bag allowing a small bit of frosting to come out on the cake.
- Push down slightly then lift up as you stop squeezing.
- Fill a pastry bag fitted with a #21 open star tip with white frosting.
- Pipe stars over the top of the ears leaving about an inch around the edge.
- Finally, fill a pastry bag fitted with a #21 pastry tip with grey frosting.
- Pipe grey stars over the remainder of the cake including the sides.
Related Recipes
If you are hosting a koala-themed birthday party, you might like to make these other cute treats too.
If you are hosting a koala-themed birthday party or just love koalas and want to make even more cute treats, you might also enjoy making these adorable Koala Cookies.
Or these sweet Koala Pretzel Pops.
If you are hosting a bear-themed party, be sure to check out these polar bear dessert ideas and all of my bear-themed recipes.
Recipe
Bake and decorate this easy koala cake for a birthday party or any animal-themed event using three round cakes and three colors of frosting.
- 1 (15.5) ounce box white cake mix plus the water, egg whites, and oil called for on the package (SEE NOTES)
- ¼ cup instant white chocolate or vanilla pudding mix (dry powder)
- ¼ cup sour cream
- ⅓-1/2 cup black frosting
- ⅓-1/2 cup white frosting
- 2 cups light grey frosting
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Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
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Grease one 8-inch round cake pan and two 6-inch round cake pans with baking spray and line the bottom with parchment paper.
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Combine the white cake mix with pudding mix, water, egg whites, oil, and sour cream.
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Beat for 2 minutes on medium speed.
-
Pour half of the cake batter into the 8-inch round pan, then divide the remaining cake batter among two 6-inch round pans.
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Bake for 20-26 minutes removing the smaller cakes a few minutes before the larger cake.
-
Let the cakes cool for 15 minutes in the pan, then tip them out onto a cooling rack.
-
Allow the cakes to cool completely before frosting.
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Cut two ears from the smaller cakes.
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Arrange the three cakes together on a cake board so that the pieces create the koala's head and ears.
-
Fill a pastry bag fitted with a #18 open star tip with black frosting.
-
Pipe two eyes and a nose onto the large round cake.
-
Fill a pastry bag fitted with a #21 open star tip with white frosting and pipe stars over the top of the ears leaving about an inch around the edge.
-
Finally, fill a pastry bag fitted with a #21 pastry tip with grey frosting and pipe grey stars over the remainder of the cake including the sides.
CAKE MIX quantity - When I made my koala cake, I used a 15.5-ouce box which made enough cake batter to make an 8-inch round cake and two thin 6-inch round cakes. Cake mix sizes continue to shrink! You can add more flour to your cake mix to make it 15.5 ounces or you can make two cake mixes. If you use 2 mixes, you'll have enough batter to make an extra round cake or some cupcakes.
Store your Koala Cake at room temperature for up to 3 days.
You can refrigerate leftovers after that point but your cake will stay moist if left at room temperature. The refrigerator can dry out your cake.
You can also freeze the cake for up to 2 months.
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Janet Morgan says
Looks amazing, definitely going to try it.
Beth Klosterboer says
Thanks! I hope you have fun making your koala cake!!!
Kelly Spencer says
Hello, your koala cake .... why 1 box of cake and not 3? Thanks!
Beth Klosterboer says
I used a 15.5-ounce box of cake mix which when doctored with pudding mix and sour cream made enough batter to make one 8-inch round and 2 6-inch round cakes. Sadly, cake mixes have shrunk yet again! You can add more flour to your cake mix to make it 15.5 ounces or you can make two cake mixes. If you use 2 mixes, you'll have enough batter to make an extra round cake or some cupcakes or you can make taller cakes.
Lvac says
Bonjour, j'ai fais ce gâteau pour les 11ans de ma fille, fan de Koala.
Entant française la traduction n'est pas évidente j'ai donc fais 3 génoises bien haute. La tête fourré ganache montée chocolat au lait.
Pour les oreilles l'un kurd passion et l'autre ganache montée fruit rouge.
Le tout recouvert de chantilly mascarpone colorée.
Merci pour la recette mais surtout l'idée et la réalisation 🤩🐨
Translation
Hello, I made this cake for the 11th birthday of my daughter, a Koala fan.
Being French, the translation is not easy so I made 3 very high sponge cakes. The head filled with milk chocolate ganache.
For the ears, one Kurdish passion fruit and the other whipped red fruit ganache.
All covered with colored mascarpone whipped cream.
Thank you for the recipe but above all the idea and the execution
Beth Klosterboer says
Hi Lvac,
Your cake sounds amazing! Thanks for sharing a picture (via email). The Koala looks so cute. I hope your daughter loved her cute birthday cake.
Nicolette Romano says
Do you make the frosting?
Beth Klosterboer says
I used Wilton Decorator Icing but you can make homemade buttercream if you prefer. You can find my frosting recipe on my Panda Cake post here - https://hungryhappenings.com/panda-bear-cake/
Wendy says
If I make the box of cake mix as called for on the box, does it mean I won't have as much batter and be short for making the 8 and 2-6 inch cakes? Or will I be ok?
Beth says
You should have enough batter. The cakes may just be slightly thinner but they should be fine. I like the flavor that the pudding and sour cream add to my cakes but it isn't necessary to add those ingredients if you prefer a plain cake mix.
Shelley says
Is the pudding mix instant or the kind you cook?
Beth says
I use instant pudding mix.
Radini says
Thank you so much for sharing this beautiful idea! I'm not much of a baker or decorator but manged to do it thanks to your step by step guide.
Beth says
You are so welcome. I am so glad to hear you were able to make this Easy Koala Cake. I hope everyone enjoyed it!
The Partiologist says
I love your koala cake and how easy it is to make! Turned out adorable!
Beth says
Thank you! I'm glad you like the cake design.