How a Last-Minute Hobby Lobby Run Saved This Disney Castle Cake✨🏰

Some cakes are planned.

Some cakes are engineered.

And some cakes… are a full-blown fairytale adventure!

When I got this Disney-inspired castle cake order, it was all of the above — complete with late-night problem solving, a last-minute Hobby Lobby run, and just enough fondant challenge to keep things exciting.

Let me take you behind the scenes of how this castle came to life.

The Vision

From the beginning, the goal was clear: a clean, dreamy castle with soft pinks, pale blues, and gold sparkle — something straight out of a Disney fairytale.

To make that happen, I relied on a combination of cake + structure, because gravity is not your friend when you’re building towers!

Here’s what went into the build:

• Fondant (using Cake Couture fondant — free recipe on our website!)
• Paper towel cores for tall towers
• Ice cream sugar cones for rooftops (to be covered in fondant)
• Styrofoam dummies (more on that drama below)
• Colour Mill cake colors in Baby Pink, and Baby Blue; and Chef Master's Coal Black 
• Brick and wood impression mat 👉 Yes — it’s available in our shop and it does SO much of the heavy lifting!

The Structure

I decided to use a 14" x 14", two-layer square cake tier for the base of the cake, shaping it into an octogon by cutting into the corners to make room for the towers. This bottom tier would be covered with stone impression.

I also decorated a regular large round board (bought from Home Depot) with white fondant. Make sure once covered with fondant, let the fondant firm up overnight.

Pro-tip: whenever covering a board, place cardboard that is slightly smaller than the cake tier itself in the center. This will help you save on fondant as well as add more structural integrity to the board! 

Once placing the octoganol tier on the board, I added brick detail using our brick impression mat to individual sections of gray fondant — this mat is honestly one of my must-have tools for whimsical cakes.

Above this bottom tier, I used a 12" x 12", two-layer cake tier covered in baby pink fondant. This combination looked so nice and clean with a solid structure to support the surrounding towers!

Additionally, each tower was created by cutting paper towl holders and covering each one, also with brick-impressioned gray fondant.

  

The Cake Mix-Up (AKA: When Math Betrays You)

Let’s talk about the moment.

Mid-build, I realized ine if of the top square tiers was turning out to big. Unfortunately, it was not going to work. At all.

Cue in the internal panic.

Instead of scrapping the design, I pivoted:

• Swapped the problematic square cake with styrofoam
• Jumped in the car
• Raced to Hobby Lobby for a last-minute foam replacement

Thankfully, I found a few items I could glue together to get what I needed. 

Was it stressful? Yes.

Did it save the entire structure? Also yes.

I made sure to text the customer to let them know about the problem, and that they would be getting this larger cake seperately from the finished castle. 

Pro tip: Styrofoam is not cheating — it’s strategy. 

Fondant Reality Check (Prepare. In. Advance.)

In all of this, I’ll be honest — I almost ran out of fondant.

And that’s when I was reminded of one of the most important cake lessons I now swear by:

Prepare your fondant colors DAYS in advance.

Not only does this:

• Save time during assembly
• Reduce stress
• Allow colors to deepen and stabilize

…it also prevents that dreaded moment where you’re praying your last scraps stretch far enough to cover a tower 😬

If you’re attempting a cake like this, prepping pinks, blues, grays, and golds ahead of time is a total game changer.

Building the Castle (One Tower at a Time)🏰 

Once the base was secure, the magic really started:

• Brick textures wrapped every tier
• Towers stacked using paper towel cores for height and stability
• Fondant cones transformed into rooftops
• Hand-painted gold accents brought the fairytale glow
• Tiny flags added movement and whimsy

Watching it all come together — from simple shapes to a full castle — is honestly one of my favorite parts of cake design.

Final Thoughts

This cake was a reminder of why I love doing this:

• Creativity mixed with problem-solving

• Imperfect moments that lead to better designs

• And a final result that feels truly magical

If you’re dreaming of building a cake like this yourself:

• Grab a solid brick impression mat

• Use structural supports generously

• Prep fondant early

• And don’t panic when plans change — castles are built one fix at a time 🏰

💗 Tools & Resources Mentioned:

• Brick impression mat — available in our shop

• Cake Couture fondant — free recipe on our website

If you love seeing the real process behind cakes (the wins, the chaos, and the creativity), you’re in the right place.

✨ More magic coming soon.

Happy cake decorating!

Christie