Happy Birthday Hello Kitty

Hi! I’m Rox of RoxStarBakes! I'm a baker and super fan of adorable and cute baked goods (give me all the kawaii!). I started sharing my dessert journey on my Instagram in 2017 as a weekend baker. ​To see more cute cakes and creations, you can find me at YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok.

I was asked to design a cake for the birthday girl (and Friend of the Month), Hello Kitty! I was inspired by her pink bow and her friend Tiny Chum! This cake is decorated with German Shortbread Cookies in the shape of Hello Kitty, Tiny Chum and colorful balloons - that are so crumbly, melt in your mouth and subtly sweet. If this cake wasn’t cute enough, I made miniature sprinkle cupcakes to accent the cake. This is the perfect birthday cake for Hello Kitty and any Hello Kitty fan!

Let's get started!

Part 1: Cookie Decorations

Difficulty: Medium

Tools:

  • Parchment paper
  • Baking sheet
  • Cake pop sticks
  • Mixer
  • Spatula
  • Bowl
  • Sieve
  • Saran wrap

Ingredients:

  • 2/3 C (150g) unsalted butter, cut into cubes, slightly soft but cold
  • 6 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
  • 1 1/3 cup (200g) potato starch
  • 3/4 cup (100g) cake flour

Cookie colors:

  • Hello Kitty: White, Black, Yellow, Pink
  • Hello Kitty hands: White
  • Balloons: Your favorite colors!
  • Tiny Chum: Light brown

COOKIE DIRECTIONS:

1.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2.  In a large bowl, using a hand or stand mixer, cream the butter and confectioners’ sugar until pale and fluffy. Start on low and slowly increase to high. Here’s what the creamed butter mixture looks like:

3. Sift the potato starch and cake flour together into the butter sugar mixture. Occasionally scrape down the sides. This will get to a crumbly state:

4. At the crumbly stage, mix with a spatula until the dough comes together. As it comes together it will look like the following two images:

5. Next, tint each portion of dough with food coloring and knead until the coloring is evenly incorporated. Color as you go, little by little until you get the desired color shade.

6.   For Hello Kitty’s hands:

  • Place parchment paper on top of template.
  • Make little balls with white dough and use the back of a brush to make indents. Here are what Hello Kitty’s hands end up looking like:

  • When complete I add these to a baking tray. And cover with saran wrap to keep moist.

7.   For Hello Kitty’s face:

  • Use a template and place under a piece of parchment paper.
  •  Place two cake pop sticks down.
  • Shape an oval on top of two cake pop sticks. This will help anchor the cookies when we stick it in the cake later.
  • Using more dough, pinch two triangle pieces for her ears. Attach the ears by pressing the wider portion to the top of the body. Blend the batter to make the ears and face seamless.

8.  To make Hello Kitty’s bow:

  • On the template, where Hello Kitty’s bow will go, place some dough down so there is something for the bow to lean on.
  • Form two large pink triangles with soft “corners” and place.
  • Form two small pink circles and place.
  • Form a larger pink flat circle to hold together the bow.
  • I use a knife to transfer the bow to her head. If it doesn’t attach, add a little water using a food only brush.

9. To make Hello Kitty’s eyes and nose:

  • Use template and place under a piece of parchment paper.
  • Make two small black lines, curve the lines and place over the parchment.
  • Make small yellow oval and place on the parchment.
  • Then flip and place this on top of the plain face and peel away once adhered.

Note: This is optional, but if you’re having a tough time with this part, using candy melts to form her eyes and nose is an option too!

  • Wrap everything in cling wrap. Refrigerate for at least half an hour. Remove plastic wrap and bake Hello Kitty’s face and hands for 30 minutes at preheated 250F.

10.   For balloons:

  • Use template and place under a piece of parchment paper.
  • Because these are taller and further from the cake, I do a little more to reinforce the cookies to the lollipop stick. For each balloon, place a little piece of dough on the center of the template. Press the stick into the dough.
  • Then add the “tied up” portion of the balloon to the stick.
  • Then form the balloon shape.
  • Add a glare in white.
  • Each balloon weighs about 30 grams.
  • Wrap everything in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least half an hour. Remove plastic wrap and bake for 25 minutes at preheated 250F.

 

11.   Tiny Chum cookies:

  • Color remaining dough brown.
  • Roll out dough with rolling pin to ¼” thick.
  • Use a cookie cutters to form the Tiny Chum bear shape and his face.

  • Wrap everything in saran wrap. Refrigerate for at least half an hour. Remove plastic wrap and bake for 10 minutes at preheated 250F.
  • Let the cookies cool on the pan completely.
  • Then use two heart sprinkles to form a ribbon. I put a little candy melt in the center of these sprinkles and then I add a little sprinkle to the bow for a pop of color

Tip: Don’t make Tiny Chum too thin – it makes his limbs very fragile. 

  • Usually the small parts stick just fine to the body. If you have difficulty, brush a little water to help adhere.

Part 2: Cake Decorating

Difficulty: Medium

Tools:

  • 5-inch cake pans
  • Cake board
  • Angled spatula
  • Cake scraper
  • Piping bag
  • Your favorite tiny piping tip
  • Edible luster dust
  • Food brush

Ingredients:

  • 1 box of cake mix
  • 3 eggs
  • Oil
  • Buttermilk

  • Sprinkles

  • Peanut butter cups

  • Your favorite frosting

CAKE DECORATION INSTRUCTION:

1. I made two sets of bite sized cupcakes – one set for the side of the cake and one set for the top of the cake. For the cupcakes that go on the top of the cake, I color the miniature peanut buttercups in pink luster dust.

2. Color two sets of swiss meringue buttercream in pink white and pink. Pipe a little frosting with your favorite tip (I love the 32 tip!) onto mini peanut butter cups to make a “cupcake”. Add some sprinkles.

3. Let sit in the fridge for ½ an hour. Then cut the cupcakes into half with a warm knife

1.   Cake assembling:

  • Make a box of “white cake” mix but replace the water with milk.
  • Add floured jimmy sprinkles to batter. I use a white cake mix and add sprinkles so I can get more color in the batter. More sprinkles, more fun!
  • Bake three 5-inch cakes according to the recipe.
  • Once the cakes are cooled – level the cakes.

2. Color the swiss meringue buttercream in pink.

3. Adhere your first cake to a cake board with some frosting.

4. Fill your cake with your frosting and use an angled spatula to evenly disburse it.

5. Then add your next cake layer and repeat step five until totally stacked.

6. Crumb coat the cake with frosting to lock in the cake moisture.

7. Then frost the cake with the pink frosting.

8. Remove excess with cake scrapers.

9. To decorate, apply bear cookies holding cupcakes and bears without cupcakes.

10. If it is having a hard time sticking adhere with some chocolate.

11. Add some cupcakes to the cake directly.

12. For the final touches - top the cake with the Hello Kitty face cookie. Add some peanut butter cups under Hello Kitty’s face.

13. Add Hello Kitty’s hands to the top of the cake near Hello Kitty’s face.

14. Next, add the balloons to cake.

15. And finally, add some additional cupcakes to the top of the cake.

And voila! Happy Birthday Hello Kitty!! Now you can celebrate and share with your friends and family. 

Hello Kitty Birthday Cake 

Please note: Sanrio has invited, but does not necessarily endorse, the comments of this guest blogger. Any ideas or instructions for homemade products featuring Hello Kitty or other Sanrio characters are authorized for personal use only. A separate license from Sanrio is always required to sell or distribute any products featuring Hello Kitty or other Sanrio characters.  The contents of this blog are the copyrighted works of Sanrio.