Rubber Duck Cake
Let’s hop in a time machine with this Rubber Duck Cake! Back in the 80’s when the wonderful Women’s Weekly Children Cake Book was released. What a pure joy this book was and still is! Purely from a design perspective, this book is filled with interesting design choices.
Like for example, before I saw the cake we’re making today: The Famous Rubber Ducky Cake, I had no idea that ducks had an afro. And even though photographic documentation proves they don’t, I just think every single photo of a duck is now fake news. Ducks have afros. Not a joke, just a FACT.
Lately, I’ve been really fascinated with cakes from the ’80s.
It wasn’t just an amazing era for music, but the food was bonkers and so different back then. And in this day and age where we have over the top instagramable and TikTok food trends that are so fast-paced and almost disposable, it’s a comfort to be able to travel back to the ’80s and see what was so popular, and what people were drawn to. Simplicity. We don’t need a realistic fondant toilet roll cake. You can use buttercream and candy and make an awesome cake. That’s what the ’80s teaches us.
Nicks’s favourite thing…
I absolutely adore how cute this rubber duck cake is. I think it’s so retro and kind of ugly but in a really cute way. Isn’t it funny how far we’ve come in cake making? Simple new inventions have helped us create these incredible cake sculptures and edible art. But there’s something really charming about this cake and how cute it is!
What does Rubber Duck Cake taste like?
This rubber duck cake is made up of my super moist and delicious vanilla cake. It’s a great recipe because it’s easy to carve shapes like duck cakes!
What are the ingredients I need?
All-Purpose Flour – also known as plain flour.
Caster Sugar – Also known as superfine sugar.
Baking Powder – one of the things used to help the cake rise.
Salt – I used fine salt.
Unsalted butter – If using salted butter, leave out the salt.
Eggs – I used large eggs
Milk – I used whole milk. You may use plant-based or skim milk.
Vegetable Oil – You may also use sunflower oil.
Greek Yogurt – This helps the cake stay moist. You won’t taste it. Alternatively, you can use sour cream or leave it out of the recipe.
Vanilla Extract – Always use good quality vanilla extract.
Powdered Sugar – also known as icing sugar.
Yellow & Pink food gel – This is optional. You can use natural food coloring if you wish. But to get the color I did in the video use the Americolor brand.
Liquorice Strips – you can use any type of candy similar to liquorice strips.
Smarties – You can use anything similar to smarties.
Cheese flavored popcorn – I used cheese flavored popcorn purely because it looked nice and yellow.
Ruffled chips – There’s no substitute for a good ruffled chip duck lip!
Let’s go through each step.
Vanilla Cake
Please note: To make the cake in this you’ll need to double the cake recipe only. All other measurements are enough to fill, crumb coat and finish decorating the cake.
- Add the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt to a large mixing bowl and mix with a hand mixer until well combined.
- Next, add the softened butter and mix on low speed until the mixture reaches a crumbly, sand-like texture.
- Add the eggs, milk, oil, Greek yoghurt and vanilla, and mix on low speed until all the dry ingredients are incorporated. Scrape down the side of the bowl and mix for another 20 seconds.
- Fill the loaf tin about 3/4 of the way with batter.
- Add the remaining batter to the square tin. Bake for 50–60 minutes (the loaf will take about 30-40 minutes), or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. If the toothpick is coated with wet batter, continue baking for 10 minutes at a time until fully baked.
- Allow the cakes to cool to room temperature in the tins, then chill them in the fridge overnight.
Loaf Tin
- Use a serrated knife to slice the cake in half leaving you with two rectangles. Flip the rectangles so that the part you just cut is facing upward and the slightly flattened out sides are facing outward.
- To shape the ducks body, begin by cutting wedges on one end of the cake.
- Cut the bottom of the cake (where the kneck meets the body) on an angle to help it sit on the cake better.
- Cut wedges on the sides of the cake.
- Then begin carving away at the top where the head is to turn it into a ball shape.
- Go slow and carve away little by little.
- Now you’ve got the hear and kneck of the duck!
Square Tin (Ducks body)
- Use the knife to slice the cake in half leaving you with two rectangles.
- Use a serrated knife to flatten the top of the cake out slightly.
- Flip the rectangles so that the part you just cut is facing upward and the slightly flattened out sides are facing outward. To shape the ducks body, begin by cutting wedges on one end of the cake.
- Then cut a slightly deeper angled wedge on the other side of the cakes. The part with the smaller angles is going to be the front of the duck, the other side will be the back.
- Use the knife to cut an angled shape from the top of the back down to the bottom.
- Then cut a slightly curved shape on the top of the back of the duck.
- Lastly, cut an angled chunk out of the top of the front of the duck. This is where the body and kneck of the duck will meet. Place the chest piece on top and check that the angle is right. The chest piece should be on a slightly backward facing angle. Carve away any cake from the ducks body if needed to achieve this slightly angle.
Frosting
- To make the frosting check out the instructions here!
Assembly
- Use an offset spatula to add some frosting to what was the bottom of the cake, but now is the middle of the ducks body. And spread around evenly. This will act as glue to hold the cake together.
- Crumb coat the ducks body with a thin layer of frosting.
- Place the top cake piece on the body and use three long skewers to secure the two cakes together.
- Use a knife to cut off the excess bits of the skewers.
- Crumb coating is optional but recommended because it will help keep everything together and looking much neater. To crumb coat simply add a thin layer of frosting around the duck cake. Place in the fridge for one hour to chill.
- To finish the cake, add a thicker layer of frosting around the cake. It doesn’t have to be perfect, making it look slightly rough will give the duck a feathered body look.
- Finish by adding the ducks eyes (liquorice rings and orange smarties).
- Add the bow tie on the front and the buttons (red smarties)
- Then the final (and best) bit is the chip beak. Two single, perfect chips for the ducks beak.
- Slice and serve!
My top tips!
- This cake takes time to make. I wouldn’t recommend trying to make it all in one day. You could make the cake on Day 1. Carve and Crumb coat on Day 2 and Finish decorating on Day 3. Or complete it in 2 days. Makes it way less stressful!
Other fun kids themed desserts recipes you might like!
- Funfetti Cupcakes
- Strawberry birthday Cke Cupcakes
- Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal Cupcakes
- Freakfetti Cupcakes
- Highway Unicorn Cupcakes
- Hamburger Cupcakes
Make sure to follow me on social media!
Instagram @thescranline, Facebook and watch and subscribe to my videos on YouTube!
I hope you guys enjoyed this simple but delicious Rubber Duck Cake recipe with me. Please comment in the comments section below, or feel free to share with your family and friends on social media.
I’ll see you all on the following recipe. Happy baking!
N x
The Famous Rubber Ducky Cake (featured in Bluey!)
Vanilla flavoured rubber ducky cake, covered in buttercream and decorated with candy. Wonderful kids’ birthday cake idea!
Serves 20
Ingredients
Vanilla Cake
- 430 g all-purpose flour, plain flour
- 265 g caster sugar, superfine sugar
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp fine salt
- 125 g unsalted butter, softened
- 2 large eggs, 55g each
- 375 g full-cream, whole milk
- 125 g vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp Greek yoghurt, or sour cream
- 7 g vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
Frosting
- 500 g unsalted butter, softened
- 500 g icing, confectioners’ sugar
- 7 g tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 2 tbsp full-cream milk, room temperature
- 5 drops yellow food gel
- 2 drops pink food gel
Decorations
- Licorice strips
- 2 orange smarties
- 3 red smarties
- Red ribbon bow tie
- 1 cup cheese flavored popcorn
- 2 ruffled plain chips
Learn How To Make it! [VIDEO]
Instructions
Vanilla Cake
- Please note: To make the cake in this you’ll need to double the cake recipe only. All other measurements are enough to fill, crumb coat and finish decorating the cake.
- Preheat a fan-forced oven to 140C / 275F (160C / 320F for no fan). Spray a loaf tin 25 x 10cm / 10 x 4-inch and a square baking tin 20 x 20cm / 8 x 8-inch with oil spray and line the bottom and sides with baking paper. Set aside.
- Combine dry ingredients – Add the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt to a large mixing bowl and mix with a hand mixer until well combined.
- Add butter – Next, add the softened butter and mix on low speed until the mixture reaches a crumbly, sand-like texture.
- Add wet ingredients – Add the eggs, milk, oil, Greek yoghurt, and vanilla, and mix on low speed until all the dry ingredients are incorporated. Scrape down the side of the bowl and mix for another 20 seconds. The batter will be fluffy.
- Bake – Fill the loaf tin about 3/4 of the way with batter and then add the remaining batter to the square tin. Bake for 50–60 minutes (the loaf will take about 30-40 minutes), or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. If the toothpick is coated with wet batter, continue baking for 10 minutes at a time until fully baked. Allow the cakes to cool to room temperature in the tins, then chill them in the fridge for 2-3 hours or overnight.
Loaf Tin (Duck Head & Chest)
- Take the loaf cake out of the tin and discard the paper. Lay it on it’s side and cut a third off using a serrated knife. You won’t need the smaller piece. Cut an angle on one side of the larger piece. At about 1/3 of the way, cut little wedges all around the rectangle shape. The lower part will make up the chest and the rectangle/square shape will make the head. To round out the head cut angled wedges on each side of the top of the ducks head. Then continue rounding it out using the serrated knife. Get it as round as you can.
Square Tin (Ducks body)
- Trim and shape the cake – Use a serrated knife to flatten the top of the cake out slightly. Use the knife to slice the cake in half leaving you with two rectangles. Flip the rectangles so that the part you just cut is facing upward and the slightly flattened out sides are facing outward. To shape the ducks body, begin by cutting wedges on one end of the cake. Then cut a slightly deeper angled wedge on the other side of the cakes. The part with the smaller angles is going to be the front of the duck, the other side will be the back.
- Cut the angled and curved shapes – Use the knife to cut an angled shape from the top of the back down to the bottom. Then cut a slightly curved shape on the top of the back of the duck.
- Chest and head – Lastly, cut an angled chunk out of the top of the front of the duck. This is where the chest and head shape will sit. Place the chest piece on top and check that the angle is right. The chest piece should be on a slightly backward facing angle. Carve away any cake from the ducks body if needed to achieve this slightly angle.
Frosting
- A note on the butter – Make sure your butter is soft enough for easy mixing. Even if it's out of the fridge, it might still be too firm. To soften, microwave it on a safe plate for 10 seconds at a time, testing after each interval. If it needs more time, flip it over and repeat until it's soft with a little resistance.
- Cream the butter – Add the softened butter to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. You can also use an electric hand mixer for this recipe, but if you do use a hand mixer, just make sure your bowl is large. Mix the butter on low speed to begin with, then switch to the highest speed and mix for 5 minutes until the butter is fluffy and turns pale in color.
- Add sugar – Stop your mixer and scrape down the side of the bowl using a spatula. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract and mix again on low speed. LOW SPEED PEOPLE! The last thing you need is to end up in a sugar dust storm! (I’m speaking from experience…)
- Beat until fluffy – Once all the sugar has been incorporated, it’s safe to turn your mixer up to high speed. Continue beating on high speed for about 5–6 minutes, or until the butter turns pale in color and becomes fluffy again. If you want to soften your buttercream and make it a little smoother, add the milk and continue mixing for another couple of minutes on medium speed. At this stage, you can also add the yellow and pink food gel.
Assembly the ducks body
- Frost the pieces together – Use an offset spatula to add some frosting to what was the bottom, but now is the middle of the ducks body. And spread around evenly. This will act as glue to hold the cake together.
- Secure the cake with skewers – Place the top cake piece on the body and use three long skewers (about 20cm long with the pointy bit cut off to avoid injury) to secure the two cakes together. Use a knife to cut off the excess bits of the skewers.
- Crumb coat the cake – Crumb coating is optional but recommended because it will help keep everything together and looking much neater. To crumb coat simply add a thin layer of frosting around the duck cake. Place in the fridge for one hour to chill.
- Frost the cake – To finish the cake, add a thicker layer of frosting around the cake. It doesn’t have to be perfect, making it look slightly rough will give the duck a feathered body look.
- Add decorations – Finish by adding the ducks eyes on the head (licorice rings and orange smarties). Add the bow tie on the front just below the head, and the buttons (red smarties) along it’s front below the bow tie. Then the final (and best) bit is the chip beak where its mouth would be. Two single, perfect chips for the ducks beak.
Notes
Tools to use – Use a serrated knife for larger cuts and a paring knife for detailed carving.
Coloring the frosting – I used food gel to color my frosting. Specifically the americolor or chefmaster brand. Start with a few drops of food gel and gradually add more until the desired color is reached.
Chilling time – Chill the cake in the fridge for a minimum of 2-3 hours before carving to make it firmer and easier to shape.
Skewers – I use skewers to help keep the head and body together. I would recommend skipping off the sharp end to avoid injury. Make sure you remove the skewers before slicing up.
Storage – The cake can be stored in a large airtight container, in the fridge for up to three days. Let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.
Nutrition – is an approximate and is based on per serving. This cake serves about 20 with generous sized slices, but can easily serve more.
A note on measurements – this recipe is offered in weight measurements. This is in an effort to offer the most accurate way to get the best results. Cup measurements simply aren’t accurate enough for a recipe that needs precise measurements and cup sizes differ depending on where you are in the world. Here is where you can learn more about how to measure ingredients using digital kitchen scales.
Nutrition
Calories : 485kcal
Carbonhydrates: 44g
Protein: 4g
Fat: 30g
Saturated Fat: 20g
Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g
Monounsaturated Fat : 7g
Trans Fat : 1g
Cholesterol: 79mg
Sodium: 85mg
Potassium : 89mg
Fiber: 1g
Sugar : 26g
Vitamin A: 766IU
Vitamin C: 1mg
Calcium: 74mg
Iron: 1mg
Nutrition Disclosure
Gave this recipe a go?Mention @thescranline or tag #thescranline!
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61 comments
I’m making this cake this weekend for my child’s 5th bday after she saw it in a WW anniversary recipe book then on bluey. I’ve been following you for years and bless you for creating this post and video!!!
My question is, with the recipe for the vanilla sponge above, is that only a single batch or already? (3 1/2 cups of flour?)
Or do in need to double that? As in 7 cups flour etc??
Hi Tina! Apologies for the late reply. You’ll need to double it. so 7 cups all up. I would suggest making it in two batches as it can be a lot of batter to try to make in most home kitchen bowls.
Salt is missing from the recipe. Fyi
Just added it, thanks for letting me know! N x
Salt amount isn’t listed for the cake
1 tsp
I was wondering how much salt you use in the cake recipe? Otherwise I’m so excited to make this recipe for my 4 year old. He requested it because he saw it on bluey. And you give a very good tutorial 👍
1 tsp 🙂
1 tsp. Just updated the recipe N x
I tried to make the cake & it didn’t taste good or turn brown. I did use unbleached flour so I was wondering if that’s why? I do love the frosting though. it turned out perfect. very light
Hi Erika! Sorry to hear you didn’t like this recipe. I’ve had people write and let me know they loved it. I can only speak to how the recipe will come out if you use the ingredients and follow the steps outlined in the recipe I have written. I would encourage you to try again using the ingredients listed or find a cake recipe designed to be used with unbleached flour and then decorated it the way I’ve shown. Glad to hear you loved the frosting though! N x
Hello!
Thank you for the recipe!
Quick question if I assemble and crumb and then decorate on a different day, where do i store the cake? I live in queensland so its a bit warm at the moment.
Hi Jessie! In the fridge would be best if you can fit it! N x
Hi! This was so helpful! How do we get the chips to go into the cake though? Finding it really hard and even with a lot of icing it doesn’t seem to hold well? Do you just load up on icing?
Hi Birthday mum! Love the username! So the frosting should hold up the cake and the chips go into the frosting. It’s a fairly thick layer of frosting. Hope that helps! N x
This blog was a genuine lifesaver now that Bluey has brought the cursed duck cake back to life. Adding the pink to the yellow food dye was a revelation. Highly recommend people trying the recipe give themselves three days to make the cake, plus watch the YouTube tutorial.
Awww thanks so much Bronte! N x
Can I use a 10×10 square pan instead?
Should be ok! N x
My batter came out thicker? My yogurt, milk, and eggs were still cold though do you think that’s why? I’m pretty sure I measured everything right?
Hi Miranda. That would definitely be why! N x
Is there an egg substitute you’d recommend due to having an egg allergy? I’ve used yogurt before, but since that’s already called for in another part of the recipe, I’m not sure it would work with this specific recipe. Thank you!
Hi Kristen! I haven’t personally used egg alternatives in this recipe but I’ve heard flaxseed is an option. You’d have to google the ratios etc to try it out. Hope that helps! N x
Am I reading the cooking temp correctly (for us Americans) – it’s 320 degrees F? I don’t understand the “from 275 F to 320F”… help!
Hi Jan! That’s correct. For a convection oven (no fan) it’s 320F. For a fan forced oven it’s 275F.
Hello! I’m interested in making this adorable cake for my little one’s birthday, but I usually bake gluten free. Do you know if switching the flour in your recipe with gluten free flour would leave the cake sturdy enough for all the carving?
Hey FoxPirate! That’s awesome you want to make the cake for your little one’s birthday! I haven’t tried this with gluten-free flour myself, but from what I know, gluten-free cakes tend to be a bit more fragile and might crumble when you try to carve them. I’d suggest using a good gluten-free flour blend with xanthan gum or adding a stabilizer like that to help hold everything together. You might also want to chill the cake a little longer before shaping to make it firmer. Let me know how it goes! N x
Hello. My son wants a chocolate cake instead of vanilla. Do you think this recipe would work if I took out some flour and added cocoa? TIA 😊
Hi Rae! I’d recommend using my chocolate cake recipe instead 🙂 N x
Hi Nick, which of your chocolate cake recipes would I use? The easy chocolate cake or the sheet cake? (Thanks so much for the video BTW!)
Hey Carmen! So glad you enjoyed the video! For this cake, I’d recommend going with the easy chocolate cake recipe. It’s sturdy enough for carving and decorating, which is exactly what you need here. Let me know how it goes! N x
My son turns four today and has been begging for this Duck cake now for months after seeing it on Bluey! I’ve never carved a cake before but it looks pretty decent. I added lemon zest to the cake and zest and juice to the frosting to make it a lemon cake (we love lemon!).
I love all the photo instructions as well as the video! Thanks for the recipe! Everyone loved it!
Hey Alex! I’m so happy to hear the cake was a hit, and that your son got his Bluey duck cake! Love that you added lemon zest and juice to make it a lemon cake, sounds delicious. Huge congrats on carving a cake for the first time too, sounds like you nailed it! Thanks so much for trying the recipe and sharing how it went! N x
Good recipe and tutorial. But the weight of my duck head ended up tearing the duck’s body in half like the Titanic. So…I guess, be careful of that? We had a good laugh about it.
Hahaha, sorry about the duck head but I’m glad you guys enjoyed it! N x
Can I use a hand mixer to make the frosting?
Absolutely! N x
Do you have to use a tin rectangular pan or can it be glass?
Is that parchment paper you used to line dishes?
Hi Emily! The reason i use a rectangle tin is because it helps me get the shapes I want when i trim the cake up. I haven’t tested the recipe in any other way. And yes! I used parchment paper to ensure the cake doesn’t stick to the tins 🙂 Hope that helps! N x
While watching your video I clicked on link to butter cream recipe and followed it. However, when I looked back to the butter cream recipe on here, it is totally different. The one I made said to add salt and only half the amount of the powered sugar and it was way too salty…..
I mixed the food gel colors and mine came out orange sherbet color instead of yellow, like i was hoping for….
Hey Emily! Thanks for letting me know, and I totally get the confusion. I’m always updating my recipes, so sometimes the video version and the recipe card here might not match. For the best results, I’d recommend following the frosting recipe in the recipe card for this one, as it’s the most up-to-date version. For the color, start with just the yellow and add a tiny bit of pink at a time to avoid that orange sherbet shade. Hope that helps! N x
Hey Nick thanks for the recipe! I’m making this for my daughter’s third birthday party after seeing it on Bluey. My only question is about the baking time. I baked them for the amount of time it told us to but they’re nowhere near done. When I poured the batter in, there was just so much batter, maybe I shouldn’t have put it all in? Maybe my pans aren’t as deep or something? I’ve had them both in for 65 minutes and they’re not really close to being done yet. I followed the directions word for word. So I’m puzzled. I am using the convection oven at 275. I hope they turn out 🤞🏼
Hey! I hope your daughter’s birthday went great and that the cake turned out beautifully! It sounds like the pans might not have been deep enough, or the batter could have been filled a bit too high, which can extend the baking time. Convection ovens can sometimes bake a bit unevenly too, so it’s good to check the cake with a toothpick at regular intervals. If you had to bake it longer than expected, you totally did the right thing by giving it more time. I’d love to hear how it all went! N x
Awesome tutorial, just what I needed to make my grandsons birthday cake. What size tins do you use?
Thanks so much! Tin sizes are in the first portion of instructions in the recipe card which is located at the bottom of the post! N x
Do I leave them in the tins when I chill in fridge overnight? Also, do all ingredients need to be room temperature?
Hi Sarah! Let them cool in the tins for 10 minutes than transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. And yep, all ingredients at room temperature.
Excited to try the recipe, I don’t think there’s enough advertisements on here though cause I can almost follow the step by step. 🙃 It’s pretty ridiculous
Cool, I like earning a living so…
The advertisements made it impossible to follow the recipe. The recipe itself tastes like chalk, and I followed the instructions to a T. It made me vomit, my kid spit it out, and I wasted my time and money making it.
Cool. So it’s a pretty standard sponge cake recipe and it’s quite delicious, I’ve been making it for about 8 years now. I’m wondering Tyler, did you use chalk in your version of the recipe? That would explain the flavor.
I’m going to regret asking this question, but as I’m a masochist, because clearly I have all the time in the world to get everything ready and an outfit sewn up by Saturday (it’s Thursday), but here it goes… Do you have any cake pop recipes that you recommend, or any other suggestions to use up the discarded bits that you cut off the cake to shape it?
P.S. The snark on some of your replies has me rolling!
Haha! I’m glad you find my snarky replies hilarious! I’ve had to tone it down a bit to focus on making my replies a little more helpful—though there’s always room for some fun with certain comments. As for cake pops, I don’t have any recipes for them right now, but if you’ve got any suggestions, let me know! Personally, I’d just snack on the cake scraps (best part, right?), but if you’re looking for cake pop recipes, I’d say head over to Bakerella’s site. She’s the one who invented them! Good luck with everything, sounds like you’ve got your hands full! N x
When doubling the batches of batter making them in two batches, do you put a full batch of the batter in each cake pan?
Hey Susan! Good question! When doubling the recipe, the larger cake tin will need a little more batter than the smaller one. Just aim to fill each pan about three-quarters full to give the cakes room to rise without spilling over. Hope that helps, and let me know how it turns out! N x
Hi Nick,
Thanks for this recipe. I am braving it for my son’s 4th birthday! Wanted to ask your thoughts on reducing the sugar in the sponge recipe – will it dramatically impact the texture of the cake?
Wish me luck!
Thanks,
Samira
Hey Samira! So glad you’re giving this a go for your son’s birthday! Reducing the sugar isn’t the best idea, as it can result in a cake that’s not as soft and won’t have the right texture. Wishing you lots of luck, and I’m sure it’ll turn out amazing! N x
I’ve been meaning to reply to say how great the cake turned out ( and I did reduce the sugar which made it a bit less fluffy but still very tasy)! I used blue buttercream on one side and pink on the other side (my son’s favourite colours). He loved it! Shame there isn’t an option for me to post a picture of the cake. Send me your email address and I can send you some pics if you’d like to see.
Thanks a lot for posting the recipe.
Hey Samira! I’m so glad to hear the cake turned out great, and I love that you used your son’s favourite colours—such a lovely touch. Reducing the sugar will make it a bit less fluffy, but I’m happy it was still delicious! I’d love to see your pics, feel free to send them to me on Instagram. I’m @thescranline. Thanks so much for trying the recipe and sharing how it went! N x
I was reading instructions on how to shape the cake and could not figure it out but your video made it super clear, thanks!
Hey Sara! So glad the video helped make things clearer for you—that’s exactly why I made it! Hope the cake turned out amazing, and thanks for letting me know! N x