Step-by-Step Snowman Cake: Frosting and Fondant

Use this cake decorating tutorial to learn how to make an easy snowman cake using fondant. This project is perfect for making with kids and works well for winter celebrations, Christmas parties, or birthdays.

Thank you to Cakes.com for sponsoring this tutorial and providing the supplies used here. All opinions and photos are my own.

If you search cake-decorating resources, you’ll find many versions of the snowman cake. The snowman head or face is especially common because it’s simple and quick. I combined the popular head design with a full body to create a complete snowman cake with a hat, scarf, buttons, and facial features. The result was even cuter than I imagined. For other snowman-themed ideas, consider snowman cupcakes with donut toppers, snowman Oreos, or snowman ice cream cones—each is a fun variation of this theme.

How to make an easy snowman cake from scratch?

1. Bake and cool the cakes — Bake two round cakes in different sizes and cool them completely. Prepare the frosting while the cakes are cooling.
2. Slice, fill and stack — Cut each cake horizontally, add a thin layer of icing between layers, then reassemble.
3. Ice the cakes smoothly — Apply a crumb coat and a smooth final coat of frosting to both cakes.
4. Cover with white fondant — Roll and drape white fondant over each cake, trim the excess, and smooth the surface with a fondant smoother.
5. Assemble — Place the larger cake on the board as the body and the smaller cake on top for the head. Secure them on the board so they stay in place.
6. Make the hat — Use light blue fondant to cover the top portion of the head for the cap, add a rim and a pom-pom ball from blue fondant, and attach with a tiny amount of water or corn syrup.
7. Add hat decoration — Press small red diamond sprinkles or other festive sprinkles onto the hat for texture and color.
8. Create a scarf — Roll out blue fondant into two rectangular pieces, create natural folds, and attach them around the neck with a little water. Trim the ends to look realistic and add sprinkles or pattern sheets if desired.
9. Add buttons — Use edible dots or roll small fondant circles to make buttons and attach them to the body.
10. Finish the face — Cut an orange triangle for the carrot nose, form small black fondant circles for the eyes, and shape a thin black fondant strip for the smile.
11. Cheeks and final touches — Lightly brush pink edible lustre dust or use an edible marker for rosy cheeks. Scatter sugar snowflakes on the board to complete the winter scene.

Variations for a winter cake

Texture instead of fondant: If covering a cake in fondant feels intimidating, try desiccated coconut, white sprinkles, or sparkling sugar for a snowy texture.

Different expressions: Change the mouth shape to make puzzled, silly, shy, or very happy expressions. A small change to the black fondant mouth can change the whole personality.

Alternate colors: Switch scarf and hat colors to match event themes, or use seasonal palettes like red and green for Christmas.

Skip full coverage: Instead of full fondant coverage, ice the cake smoothly with white buttercream and add only fondant accents like the hat, scarf, nose, and eyes.

Face-only option: Create only the head as a single-layer cake to save time while keeping the design adorable.

Scale the size: This tutorial used 6″ and 8″ cakes, but you can scale up to 8″ and 10″ or 10″ and 12″ to serve more guests.

Try different flavors and fillings: Use any cake flavor and fillings you like — chocolate ganache, fruit preserves, or cream cheese frosting all work well with this design.

Tips and techniques for a snowman Christmas cake

• Trim fondant with a pizza cutter: It helps cut around round cakes smoothly and cleanly.
• Attach fondant with water or corn syrup: Use sparingly — a little goes a long way.
• Cool cakes completely: Frosting and fondant apply best to fully cooled cakes to avoid sliding or sweating.
• Use store-bought fondant: It saves time and is often available in ready colors.
• Cheeks alternative: If you don’t have lustre dust, use a light dab of pink fondant or an edible marker for rosy cheeks.

I received the decorating supplies for this tutorial from Cakes.com and was very pleased with the quality. Products arrived quickly and were packaged well.

The items I used included snowflake sugar decorations, diamond sprinkles, edible decorating strips, a simple Merry Christmas cake topper, pre-cut fondant dots, and white satin fondant. The pre-cut fondant circles were particularly helpful for saving time when making buttons and accents.

Storage of decorated cake

Refrigerate: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Note that fondant may become slightly sticky from refrigerator moisture.

Freeze: Freezing a finished fondant-decorated cake is not recommended because thawing causes condensation that can make decorations sticky. However, you can freeze unfrosted cake layers and icing separately for up to one month, then thaw and decorate when needed.

Room temperature: A decorated cake without perishable fillings can be kept at room temperature for 4–5 days if kept away from moisture and direct sunlight.

Another idea — fondant snowman topper

Make a small fondant snowman topper that you can place on a simple round iced cake. The topper can be made weeks in advance and, once fully dry and firm, stored in a cardboard box away from heat and humidity. Gum paste or modeling chocolate are also good alternatives to fondant for long-lasting toppers.

Basic steps to make a fondant snowman topper:

1. Roll two balls of white fondant, a larger one for the body and a smaller one for the head. Insert a toothpick or spaghetti into the body to secure the head.
2. Stack the head on the body and press gently so it sits firmly.
3. Shape small black fondant balls for eyes and buttons and press them in place.
4. Create the hat from flattened black fondant pieces, attach with a tiny amount of water, and add a small pom-pom.
5. Form a carrot nose from orange fondant and press into the face. Use a thin black strip for a smile or a black edible marker or royal icing for finer lines.
6. Roll thin fondant ropes for a scarf, twist or layer pieces for texture, and attach around the neck.

More winter desserts

• Nutter Butter Penguin Cookies
• Snowflake Cookies
• Snowflake Cake
• Snowflake Cupcakes
• Snow Ice Cream
• Penguin Cake

Recipe