Second perhaps only to slime, Krabby Patties are one of the most iconic things that come to mind when we think of Nickelodeon. We’ve seen them in bright colors, in hotdog form, and adding massive volume to Squidward’s thighs, but these little guys really take the cake! And WE have the secret formula:
(Difficulty Level: Hard)
What You’ll Need
Fudge chocolate cake mix
Butter pecan cake mix
Mini ball pan
Sesame seeds
9” round cake pans
Vegetable oil or butter for pan prep
Flour for pan prep
Red fondant
Yellow fondant
White fondant
Green fondant
White frosting
Green frosting
Circle cutters, 3 different sizes
1” scalloped circle cutter
3” square cutter
Purple dust
Clear edible gel (optional)
Petal decorating tip
Pastry bag
How to Make
Step 1: For the burger buns: Prep mini ball pan and 9” round pan with shortening/flour or baking spray. Add some sesame seeds to the bottoms of the mini ball pan BEFORE adding cake batter. Fill each cavity halfway with the butter pecan cake mix, and add remaining mix to the 9” round cake pan/s. Bake according to box instructions for cupcakes. Baking time will vary depending on oven and amount of cake batter used – check cake early and regularly to prevent burning. Let cake sit in pans for 10 minutes before transferring to cooling rack. Once the cake is cooled completely, cut off the bottoms of the half-sphere cakes to create the bun tops, and use a 3” round circle cutter on the 9” round cake to cut out circles for the bottom half of the burger buns.
Step 2: For the meat patty: Bake chocolate fudge cake according to box instructions in either a 9” round pan or a 13×9” baking pan. Keep in mind that the smaller the pan, the thicker the “patties” will be. Once baked and cooled, use the 3” circle cutter to cut out chocolate circles of cake to be the patties. Attach patty to the bottom half of the burger bun using white frosting in a mayonnaise-like fashion.
Step 3: For the cheese: Dye or use pre-made yellow fondant, and roll to a uniform 1/8” thickness on a mat dusted in cornstarch to prevent sticking. Use a square cutter to cut out slices of cheese. Drape the fondant slice over the patty so that the corners hang down realistically.
Step 4: For the onions: Roll out white fondant to a uniform ¼” thickness on a mat dusted in cornstarch to prevent sticking. Use a 3” circle cutter to cut out the circles of onion. Use progressively smaller circle cutters to imprint concentric circles in the fondant circle, creating a realistic onion look. Use a small amount of purple pearl dust and imitation (clear) vanilla extract mixed together as paint for the edges of the onion slices. Attach onion fondant to the cheese slice using a dab of white frosting. Position so that the onion visible hangs out.
Step 5: For the tomatoes: Dye or use pre-made red fondant, and roll to a uniform ¼” thickness on a mat dusted in cornstarch to prevent sticking. Use the 3” circle cutter to cut out tomato slice. If desired, paint edges of tomato in clear edible gel to add gloss. Attach to onion slice using a dab of white frosting. Position so that the tomato hangs over the edge on the opposite side of the onion slice.
Step 6: For the pickles: dye or use pre-made green fondant, and roll to a uniform ¼” thickness on a mat dusted in cornstarch to prevent sticking. Use the 1” scalloped circle cutter to cut out at least 3 pickle slices per burger. Using the paint brush, a pen, or a similarly round tool, impress ridges into the surface of the pickle slices to create a realistic cut pickle look. Attach multiple pickle slices to the tomato slice using a dab of frosting.
Step 7: For the lettuce: Cut off the tip of a pastry bag and fit it with a large petal frosting tip. Fill the pastry bag with green frosting. Practice creating a frosting ruffle on a scrap piece of paper or the countertop. Ruffle frosting around the top of the burger stack, creating a border about 1/3 in to the center of the burger. When finished, place the burger bun top onto the icing. There should be no visible gaps in the ruffled frosting, so that it looks like one big piece of lettuce.
Make these Krabby Patties for your child’s next birthday and then to make the day extra special join the Nickelodeon Birthday Club and set up a personalized phone call from SpongeBob himself (or one of 10 additional characters). It’s free and easy!
