Stranger Things Eleven Cake

Stranger Things Eleven Cake

Confession. I’m such a huge nerd for the creepy new Netflix original series Stranger Things. I love the sci-fi genre anyway, but throw in all of the 80’s period specific detail and I’m a total fangirl! Its visuals evoke feelings of 80’s movies past: E.T., The Goonies, Stand By Me, and so many others. I recommend watching it if you’re into nostalgia and don’t mind being creeped out. Plus, Winona Ryder’s constant panicked face gives me LIFE.

Stranger Things Eleven Cake

There are so many cool references that I could have included from the show, but I chose the ones that spoke to me the most for this cake (and ones I considered to be less spoiler-ish). I guess you could say that I made this cake for myself, but I hope other Stranger Things fans will love it, too.

The wall! One of the characters in the show can communicate by manipulating Christmas lights. I had a lot of fun painting this part of the cake – and if you’ve been hanging around here for very long then you KNOW I love an animated GIF. I made this one as homage to one of my favorite creepy scenes where Will is telling his mom to RUN! Eeee!

Stranger Things Eleven Cake

This side of the cake illustrates The Upside Down, which is a parallel dimension inhabited by something very frightening. It’s a dark reflection of our world. It looks cold and eerie with spores floating in the air.

Stranger Things Eleven Cake

Oh, 80’s music, how I love thee. There’s a scene in the show where The Clash is playing, “Should I Stay or Should I Go” and it so perfectly suits the terrifying situation that’s playing out. I decided to make a fondant cassette tape to represent this scene. The labels are made of edible wafer paper and food writers.

Stranger Things Eleven Cake

This cake starts with one of my favorite black velvet chocolate cake recipes, and then it’s marbled with red velvet. This was my nod to the red-on-black title screen. I’d planned something entirely different for the cake’s interior at first. I wanted to recreate the dim blue-teal atmosphere of The Upside Down, but the baked cake layers turned out looking more like an Earth Day cake with brilliant swirls of blue-green. But, hey! That’s how creativity goes sometimes. I’m kind of glad it didn’t work because the black and red marble is so striking, especially in person!

Now for the tutorial. This may be a bit lengthy but I’ll try to be as concise as possible. First, you’ll need to level the baked layers and cover the cake in white fondant. I frequently recommend this tutorial and this one, especially if you are a beginner.

Stranger Things Eleven Cake

1. Make the wall. You’ll need about 4 ounces of chocolate fondant, kneaded and rolled flat on a piece of parchment or waxed paper. Using a paring knife, cut an 8.5 x 2.5-inch piece from the fondant. Use a skewer or toothpick to striate the piece to look like paneling. Use the tip of the skewer to punch ‘nail holes’.

2. Dust the piece with dark cocoa powder using a small dry artists’ brush.

3. Use dots of light corn syrup on the undecorated side and adhere the fondant piece to the bottom side of the cake.

4. Use a small, barely damp sea sponge to apply food color to the top half of the wall. Dilute 1 tiny drop of yellow mixed with a dot of moss green gel food color in clear vanilla extract for the wall color.

5. Press a patterned paper towel over the food color paint (avoid patterns that include brand names).

6. Lift the towel away to reveal a ‘wallpaper’ pattern.

Stranger Things Eleven Cake

7. Tear away a tiny piece of a sea sponge and dip it in undiluted moss green food color. Press it onto the cake to create a leaf pattern.

8. Using a fine tipped artists’ brush, paint on dots of rose gel food color to add a floral element to the wall.

9. Use the same brush dipped in undiluted black food color to paint the letters onto the wall. You can find several examples of the wall online (like this one) as a guide.

10. Dilute a little of the black food color in a drop of clear vanilla extract, use the fine-tipped artists’ brush to paint the Christmas light wires above the lettering.

11. Use a large, soft dry art brush dipped in dark cocoa powder to create a darkened vignette around the edge of the lettering.

12. Paint black lines on the chocolate fondant to make the paneling more realistic. Brush the entire paneling piece with dark cocoa powder.

Not pictured: Use different hues of gel food color mixed with white food color to create the Christmas lights that hang from the wires. (See earlier animated GIF for example.)

Stranger Things Eleven Cake

1. Make The Upside Down. Roll and cut a black piece of fondant in the same way the chocolate fondant was cut for the paneling piece (8.5 x 2.5 inches).

2. Use blue gel food color mixed with white liquid food color to paint tree trunks with upward stretching limbs on the fondant. Dip a barely damp sea sponge in the paint and pat it on the limbs to create leaves.

3. Dip a sturdy flat head art brush (about 1-inch wide) into the paint mixture and then flick it onto the fondant by bending the brush head back with a finger and then letting it go. This creates the floating motes you see in The Upside Down.

4. Turn the fondant piece upside down. Attach it to the bottom edge of the cake with dots of corn syrup on the back side. Paint tree silhouettes upright on the white fondant in the same way you painted the blue trees, except use black gel food color barely diluted in clear extract.

Stranger Things Eleven Cake

A quick note about the cassette tape! As you can see, I used an actual cassette tape to make an impression into fondant. Please make sure the cassette tape is clean before you use it, because most have been gathering dust for decades. Prep it by wiping it down with a soapy cloth, then go over it with an alcohol pad. Get in any nooks and crannies that might be harboring debris.

1. Make the cassette tape.  Ask your mom or dad for an audiocassette tape, and then laugh about how old they are. Or, if you’re me, select one from a box in the attic. Roll a piece of well-kneaded (non-sticky) black fondant to 1/2-inch thick, and then press the cassette tape on top to make an impression.

2. Lift the cassette tape away to reveal the impression. Use a small paring knife to cut out the cassette shape.

3. Use a drinking straw to make the reel holes.

4. Cut two small pieces of edible wafer paper for the labels. Use a food color marker to write the names of the band and album name. You could label this as ‘mixtape’ instead to stay truer to the show. Attach the labels with a light coating of corn syrup on the backs of the papers.

5. Attach the cassette to the cake using corn syrup on the back. I used a small fondant punch to create a track pattern around the edges of the reel holes. This is optional, as not everyone will have this.

6. Dust lightly with silver luster dust– again, this is optional but it makes the details of the impression clearer.

Stranger Things Eleven Cake

1. Make the phone: The yellow rotary phone that becomes charred due to supernatural activity is a total throw-back and I love it! Cut a yellow piece of fondant free-hand into the shape of a receiver, and attach it to the cake with corn syrup.

2. Dry brush cocoa powder and black gel food color onto the transmitter and receiver to make it look as if it were burned. Ue the food color marker to draw haphazardly winding phone cords.

Stranger Things Eleven Cake

Make Eleven! Eleven is the central figure of the show. She’s got telekinetic powers, and she’s gentle and powerful at the same time. At first I really wanted to paint El in her sensory deprivation pool on top of the cake, but since quite a bit of time and effort had gone into painting the paneled wall portion, it seemed more accessible to go with a simple but effective design.

First, you’ll need to print this template at 100% (and please forgive me for such an unpolished template – it gets the job done). Cut the template out to an 8-inch circle.

Stranger Things Eleven Cake

Roll a large piece of black fondant to greater than 8-inches round. Place the template on top. Use an X-acto knife with a new blade to cut around El’s head. Remove the excess fondant.

Stranger Things Eleven Cake

Place the cut-out on top of the cake, again, you can adhere it with corn syrup.

When El uses her telekinetic powers, it taxes her physically and she bleeds from her nose. Mix red gel food color with a little white liquid food color and place a small amount just under the nose on the cut-out.

Stranger Things Eleven Cake

Eleven has a thing for Eggo waffles! I’d bought this silicone waffle moldwith the idea to make maple-filled chocolates, but I found it was perfect for making little Eggos for the top edge of this cake. Knead white fondant with golden yellow and brown food color to achieve the waffle color.

Press the fondant into the mold and remove immediately. Let the mini waffles air dry for several hours before applying them to the cake.

Stranger Things Eleven Cake

Pipe buttercream stars around the top edge of the cake, and place the waffles on top.

Stranger Things Eleven Cake

If you’ve stuck with me through all this instruction – THANK YOU! I hope you’ve enjoyed the tutorial as much as I enjoyed making the cake. It’s quite an endeavor, but if you don’t want to decorate the whole cake, the lighted wall and Eleven silhouette is easy enough.

Don’t let all the decoration fool you into thinking this cake isn’t tasty – it’s one of my favorite velvet cakes, ever! It has a wonderfully delicate crumb and rich chocolate flavor. I’m including the recipes for the cake layers below along with a link to my favorite vanilla buttercream.

Black and Red Velvet Marble Cake

Heather Baird
Use this cake as the base for the Stranger Things Cake. You’ll have a little bit of red velvet cake batter left over, which can be made into cupcakes if you desire. Use this American Buttercream to frost the cake, and 1 lb. white ready-made fondant to cover the cake. See blog post for complete Eleven cake tutorial.
5 from 4 votes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 12

Ingredients
 
 

Black velvet cake

  • 2 cups 260g all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cups 300g granulated sugar
  • 1 cup 125g unsweetened dark cocoa powder, (Dutch process preferred)
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 ⁄2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup 240 ml cold coffee
  • 1 cup 240 ml buttermilk
  • 1 ⁄2 cup 120 ml vegetable oil
  • 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons black gel food color I used Americolor Super Black

Red velvet cake

  • 1/2 cup 113g unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 1/2 cups 330g granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 oz. liquid red food coloring
  • 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 2 1/2 cups 325g all-purpose flour, sifted
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup 240 ml buttermilk
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon white vinegar

Instructions
 

  • Black velvet cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
  • Make a well in the center and pour in the eggs, coffee, milk and oil. Mix in the black food color; batter will be thin. Set aside.
  • Red velvet cake: In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla. Mix well.
  • In a small condiment cup, stir together liquid food coloring and cocoa powder until smooth and then add to the butter mixture.
  • Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add flour to butter mixture in three additions, alternating with the cup of buttermilk. Begin and end with flour. Scrape down bowl and mix well.
  • In a small condiment cup, combine baking soda and vinegar. Mixture will bubble and fizz. Pour into the cake batter and mix until well incorporated.
  • Spray three 8×3-inch round pans with flour-based baking spray. Pour approximately 2 cups of black velvet batter into each pan. Pour 2/3 cup of red batter on top of the black batter in each pan. Use a butter knife to swirl the red batter into the black batter. (Use leftover red velvet batter for a few cupcakes.)
  • Bake cakes for 25-30 minutes, or until the cakes spring back when pressed in their centers. Let the cakes cool in their pans for 5 minutes before turning them out onto a wire cooling rack.
  • When the cakes are cool, level the tops. Frost the cake as desired.
Keyword black velvet, dark cocoa powder, red velvet
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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Unknown
Unknown
7 years ago

Oh my gosh this cake is flipping amazing. Love it.

La Table De Nana
La Table De Nana
7 years ago

Absolutely fantastic..her profile is her exactly..everything..kudos.

Tina Vesić
Tina Vesić
7 years ago

Amazing work!!

Sally Monster
Sally Monster
7 years ago

Wow! This is amazing! I wish I had the cake decorating skills to make this! It's a work of art. <3

Haley
Haley
7 years ago

This. Is. Phenomenal!

Brandi
Brandi
7 years ago

I can't get over how awesome this cake is!! You're truly amazing!!! Like, WOW!!!

Mrs. Mac
Mrs. Mac
7 years ago

YOU ARE THE COOLEST. This cake is incredible.

Unknown
Unknown
7 years ago

This is absolutely gorgeous!! You are so talented!!

Jennifer
Jennifer
7 years ago

Incredible!!

Elizabeth - SugarHero.com
Elizabeth - SugarHero.com
7 years ago

Heather, this is a work of art! I adore your commitment to making gorgeous, delicious desserts.

Heather Baird
Heather Baird
7 years ago

Thank you, Elizabeth! I think we have that commitment in common. xoxo

Jen Hannigan
Jen Hannigan
7 years ago

OMG! Most elaborate cake I've ever seen. Incredible work. Wish we could have one at our Stranger Things themed Halloween party this year!

Anonymous
Anonymous
7 years ago

Oh my god this is one of the coolest cakes you've ever made! Thank you! <3 love you

Heather Baird
Heather Baird
7 years ago
Reply to  Anonymous

Your comment made my day! Thank you. Love you back!

Unknown
Unknown
7 years ago

I love everything about this cake! It's amazing!

Anonymous
Anonymous
7 years ago

I started watching Stranger Things *because* of this amazing cake and your great description of the show which made it sound so interesting! Now I've seen the show I can appreciate this cake even more. The detail and references are amazing! And the GIF is so unexpected and great 🙂

Tori
Tori
6 years ago

This is sooo amazing! I want to have a Stranger Things Season Two release party, and have this make an appearance. How much time would you estimate to make it?

Kenny Gamboa
Kenny Gamboa
6 years ago

I really appreciate all your instructions and tips, I’ll have to make one for a customer and your decorations will be very usefuseful, thanks from my heart and a big hug from Costa Rica ??

Wilma Fagundes Figa-Talamanca
Wilma Fagundes Figa-Talamanca
5 years ago

Me too, I'll start watching Stranger Things because of this cake of yours! I will make it for my grandchild who will be 14 next April. Absolutely! And I'm studying every detail on and on; may I ask you further help on how to "draw" the trees? A template maybe? they look so regular and done well, I don't believe I can do it well – and I like things perfect or almost. Please help. Thank you very very much for any suggestion. And compliments for this wonderful cake.

Wilma Fagundes Figa-Talamanca
Wilma Fagundes Figa-Talamanca
5 years ago

Wonderful! As Anonymous I'll start watching Stranger Things *because* of your incredible cake. I will certainly make this cake for my grandchild 14th birthday next April; I started studying your instructions and need help on how to draw the trees, with a template maybe? yours are so regular and beautiful! I won't be able to improvise a drawing on the spot, I need to have some pattern to follow . Any suggestion? And, please, how long in advance can I make the tree drawings,the cassette tape and the telephone? And the cake ? I know I'm taking too much of… Read more »

Heather Baird
Heather Baird
5 years ago

Hi! I'm so glad you are inspired to make the cake! I don't have any templates for the trees to share. They were free-handed, and it's funny you say they look uniform because I felt they were really irregular! My advice would be to not overthink the trees and just kind of go for it with a brush and some food color. Be sure to use a little clear extract with the food color so it dries quickly. You can paint the trees days in advance but hte cassette and telephone will need to be applied as soon as you… Read more »

Unknown
Unknown
5 years ago

Thank you very very much, I will do this way. Excuse for the 2 messages, I had not realised the first one had been sent. Thanks again.

RadDish
RadDish
4 years ago

This is truly amazing, & it takes a lot to impress me! This cake is awesome! I absolutely love it. & that gif…brilliant. A+

Sara Snyder
Sara Snyder
4 years ago

Hi Heather,

I'd like to try this with 9" cake pans. Any change to the baking temp or time for that extra inch?

Erica
Erica
4 years ago

Do you have to us the black dye to make it dark?

Moka
Moka
4 years ago

Could you put a picture of the side of the cassette and the phone? The cake is BEAUTIFUL

Elizabeth
Elizabeth
2 years ago

Was the entire cake covered in fondant first or did you paint directly onto the buttercream for the top half (the trees and Christmas lights on the top half)?

Ti Wohlt
Ti Wohlt
1 year ago

I am making this for my son’s 11th birthday next week! Because I am in grad school, work, and have three boys, I am going to make an edited version of a three-layer cake with the upside down on the top, surrounded by the Eggos (I have the mold). I am so flipping excited to do this for Rada. He is my youngest and the only one brave enough for the first go-’round of ST at our house. Now, my partner and other boys are watching from the beginning. He is going to be over the moon with his cake… Read more »

Lily
Lily
1 year ago

5 stars
This cake was delicious! Super chocolatey, super moist! Thank you so much for the wonderful recipe and great step by step tutorial!

Michella
Michella
1 year ago

5 stars
I don’t normally leave comments, but I feel like this really deserves one! First time baking a cake from scratch and it was a hit! Super moist and delicious. Will definitely do it again!