Hi everyone! I’m a bit pressed for time, so here’s a quick and easy New Year’s cake you can make from a single 9×13 sheet cake. If you need more servings, simply use a larger pan or stack two sheet cakes—this design scales easily.
To begin, I made a template by tearing a sheet of parchment the size of the cake. I adjusted the numbers until the spacing looked right, then cut them out. This gave me a reliable carving guide that I could lay directly on the cake.
I used a doctored cake mix to make the crumb slightly denser—denser cakes hold up better when carved. Use any recipe you prefer; we like our White Almond Sour Cream Cake (cake mix). Freezing the cake briefly before carving helps reduce crumbs, though it’s optional.
After carving, I applied a thin coat of vanilla buttercream to the whole cake.
For a smooth finish I used the hot-knife method since I was out of paper towels. I chilled the frosted cake until the icing was just set, then smoothed it with a very hot spatula, adding fresh buttercream where needed for a clean surface.
I keep every cake on a cardboard cake board so it’s easy to move. For this design I trimmed the board to the cake shape with an X-Acto knife. I used a toothpick to trace the number outlines on the frosted cake—these guide the detailing that comes next. (I later moved the cake onto a base made from two stacked cake boards covered in black plastic for presentation.)
To emphasize the shapes, I filled small holes in the “4” and “2” with black sugar pearls. I rolled a thin rope of pre-colored red Satin Ice fondant to outline a clock that sits inside the “0.” A gold dragee marks the clock’s center; the clock face and hands are added later with fondant pieces.
I added a few fondant accents, though all of these could easily be replaced with buttercream piping if you prefer. The “1” became a tuxedo with a fondant bow tie and piped buttercream buttons. The “4” got a party hat made from fondant with red stripes and buttercream fringe piped using a grass tip.
To make a gold pom-pom for the hat, I wrapped tinsel around a lollipop stick and secured it with floral wire, then anchored the stick in the cake. Alternatives include piping buttercream with a grass tip or fringing a narrow strip of paper wrapped around the stick if you prefer edible decorations.
The clock numbers were cut from fondant with tappit cutters. I also gave the “1” a cummerbund by placing a black fondant rectangle across its base and adding a couple of horizontal impressions with a knife for texture.
For the “2” I made a simple champagne bottle from tinted fondant (Wilton leaf green). I used a template to cut the shape, let it set briefly to firm up, then outlined it with a food coloring pen and added a small fondant label. I placed the bottle on the “2” and piped swirls of buttercream with a Wilton #2 tip to suggest bubbly accents.
After adding a few sugar pearls to the buttercream swirls, I placed the clock hands (thin strips of fondant) onto the clock and dusted the cake with sparkling sugar for a celebratory finish.
To define the numbers, I piped an outline with a Wilton #2 tip. For a playful touch, I piped a vertical white line on the lower half of the “1” to mimic pants. Finally, I added a shell border around the cake base using a Wilton #21 tip.
Ready for the reveal—this cake looks like a party!
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. There are endless variations you can try to make the cake your own—have fun experimenting!
Thanks for stopping by, and best wishes for a happy, healthy New Year!