I was asked to make an Xbox controller Groom’s cake for my friend Mikie’s wedding reception. Here are the steps it took to make this cake a success.
STEP ONE:
I baked two rectangular layers of milk chocolate cake, placed buttercream filling between the layers, and used a stencil I created on my computer to cut the cake into the correct shape.
STEP TWO:
I frosted the entire cake in white buttercream and allowed the icing to crust (appoximately 20 minutes).
STEP THREE:
Once the icing had crusted, I used regular Viva paper towels to smooth the icing. This step helps the surface of the cake to more closely resemble plastic–a definite must when you are creating an Xbox controller! ((Note: I realize I could use fondant to give it a ‘plastic’ look…I just don’t think fondant tastes as good as buttercream, plus it’s more difficult to cut when you are ready to serve the cake.))
Next, I piped gray-tinted buttercream on the edge of the cake to match the controller.
STEP FOUR:
Using a #12 tip, I created the buttons and triggers on the top edge of the cake to match the controller.
STEP FIVE:
I used a second printout of my stencil to make all the buttons and joysticks the correct size. All buttons were created out of fondant that I tinted to match the buttons on the actual controller. All pieces were cut and shaped and left to dry overnight.
STEP SIX:
Using the actual controller as a model, I placed the fondant buttons in the correct positions on the cake. I then piped the details on the buttons using thin consistency buttercream.
STEP SEVEN:
Using the actual controller as a model, I placed the 3-D fondant joysticks in the correct positions on the cake.
DONE!
The finished product…an Xbox Groom’s cake, iced and ready for my friend Mikie’s wedding reception.
The finished product as compared to its inspiration.
As much as I dislike its taste, fondant does hold a shape pretty well. Thus, all the buttons and joysticks were completely 3-D and made out of tinted fondant.
WOW!! That is awesome! Great job.
Very cool!
Abbi – that is ridiculously impressive. very cool.
LOVE the journals!
Sa-weet!
Who would have thought?? My son and I were discussing what kind of cake he wants for his 14th birthday. He said “wouldn’t a cake shaped like an x-box controller be cool!?” I thought, Google it! Low and behold – here it is…how wonderful. Never worked with fondant before but I’ve played with a lot of playdough and made some pretty good cakes if I do say so myself…wish me luck!!
Awesome! Glad I could help! Let us know how it turns out!
My son turns 13 on the 22nd. He lives, eats, breaths, XBOX 360.
I love challenges and thought….. hmm an XBOX cake could be cool. sooo, is there any chance of these “stencils” being online somewhere?? I went out and bought the fondant but am glad that you used buttercream. I too don’t like the taste of fondant and now that I see it can be done with buttercream, ROCK ON!!
Christine, I would love to see pics of how yours turned out.
To make my stencil, I found a good overhead-view photo of the controller and enlarged it to the size of my sheet cake. Then, I traced the outline using Adobe Illustrator and printed that to use as my stencil. Unfortunately, my computer crashed since then and my stencils were lost. However, you could just as easily print the enlarged photo and use that as your stencil.
If you are feeling particularly adventurous and want to try your hand at making your own fondant, there is a GREAT two-part tutorial on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yj4KGtBaDg and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHbpquC3IEA I’ve made this before and it’s TASTY and super-easy to make since you use a mixer!
Let us know how your cake turns out! Would love to see a pic!
Hello!!!!! I am a 10 year experience baker. I have my owm business in Puerto Rico. I love this cake. I was googleling & decided to write “How to make an XBOX 360 game cake” & I saw your page. It is awsome. Send me your email so I can send you the one I will make of the Actual XBOX box & 1 controller. God Bless.
I am planning on making this cake for my husbands birthday, you did such and amazing job! I am new to decorative cakes and had a question. What size of cakes did you make? and how did you get the icing so smooth with the paper towel? THanks
I love both the OU cake and this Xbox one… my husband, who is turning 29 this month, could easily have Xbox & OU as middle names! Thanks for some kick *ss ideas! Keep up the awesome work!
Hi Ashlee! Thanks for the comment! I sent you an email to answer your questions in detail! Hope it helps! Let me know how your cake turns out!
Hi!
I too am going to make this cake this weekend and was wondering what size pans you used for the cake? It is an adorable cake! My husband will LOVE it!
You did an amazing job! My son would love this and I really want to try it. I am also trying to figure out how you got your buttercream so smooth? Also, what did you use to get your colors (for buttons) so vibrant? Thanks so much!!
Hi, was wanting to try making this for my boyfriends birthday and was wondering how much of each ingredient you used? i dont want to use a sponge cake recipe and end up with it being too small to cut out a controller shape so i was wondering how big you made it? Thanks in advance x
Hi Abbi! I also wanted to know what size and how many cakes you made for this controller and how you managed to get the icing so smooth with a paper towel? Your cake looks amazing, and Im considering following your directions a 12 year olds birthday party. Thanks!
Wow! This is wonderful! My husband is addicted to Xbox and has a birthday coming up. I would love to try to make this. However, I have lots of questions. What size of cakes did you make? Did you make the cakes from scratch or use a box mix? Where did you buy fondant from? Any extra details would be much appreciated!!!! Thanks so much!
I would love to know what size pan you used,Ive used the viva trick.best ever,thanks
Hi! I love this because it is butter cream. I t looks awsome! I was needing to know how you made the joysticks and what size pan you used. I am goin to try to make this for my 14 yr old this weekend. Thank you so much.
Hi Abbi,
As of about 2 hours ago I decided to let my soon to be 15yr old son to have some friends over Friday night for his bday. He lives and breathes Xbox so of course I google cakes and I love how easy your cake looks!!
Few questions, ok maybe just one, but what size cake pan did you use?
Not sure if we are using fondant or not…thinking more along the lines of using candy in place of the fondant, but still not sure.
Thank you so much
Tracy
This looks great my son is turning 2 next month and this is all he likes to do is play xbox 360 I so want his cake to be an xbox 360 cake but I’m not that talented
awesome cake!!! my boyfriends birthday is coming up and he would die for this cake..i just have a quick question, how do you make the buttercream gray?? do you just put food color in??
Abbi! I love this! My mine and my husband’s second year anniversary is coming up and I’m going to make this for him! I was wondering though how on earth you made the thumbsticks with the raised based and hole?!
Also, I didn’t see a response from you regarding what size pans you used. Sorry if I missed it somewhere, but… what size pans did you use?!
Thanks! This is AWESOME! <3
hi i am going to make this cake for my 7 year old son next friday and i would like to know what pan size you used and how many cake mixes and how does the viva paper towel trick work. I am excited to make this cake and also how do i make the joysticks thanks
Thanks a lot for posting this! It was a big help! I made this for my husband’s bday & he LOVED it!!
Instead of making using gray fondant (couldn’t find black food coloring to make gray ANYWHERE), I used blue fondant for those parts instead—-still looks EXACTLY like the controller & I love the way it looks 
So, thanks again.
Awesome! Glad I could be of service! The black food coloring is actually a “paste color”…made by Wilton. You can usually find them at Hobby Lobby or Michael’s. But it sounds like you did a great job improvising!
Looks great. I am going to make it for my 10 year old. What size pan did you use?
Do you mind sharing the cake recipie andhow much of each ingredient you used? i dont want to use a sponge cake recipe and end up with it being too small to cut out a controller shape so i was wondering how big you made it, and waht size pan to use.
My son is Turning 7 om MOnday and having his party the following weekend. I can’t wait to create this masterpiece you made. Thanks so much for sharring
awesome cake! i want to make it for my boyfriends birthday. =] i actually use a piece of computer paper to smooth my buttercream icing and not a paper towel. i dont know which works better but i thought i’d add that in. =)
I’m going to make this for my boyfriend this week. He’s a black ops fan
this is fantastic, its my fiances birthday this thursday,and im planning on making this for him, fingers crossed
This is amazing, and I will be attempting it for my boyfriends birthday. What size cake pan did you use for the main cake? Im going to try and do a victoria style one as that’s his favourite! Thank you so much for posting this! I’m quite new to cake baking so all the help is really appreciated!
Hi there!
Wow, thank you so much for this post! I made an xbox controller cake for my husband’s birthday and it turned out wonderful. BTW, I put a link of this post on my blog if that’s ok. You can check out how my xbox cake turned out on my blog:
http://www.thecreateryshop.com/2011/04/make-xbox-360-controller-cake.html
Thanks again!
Brilliant! Grandson Ruben wanted X-box controller, thought that I would see if anybody else had tried making one. Didn’t want to use icing paste, so am pleased with buttercream suggestion.
Off now to start baking.
Thanks Abbi.
awsome! im gunna make this 4 my dad it looks pretty ez but we will c and if i can make it u can cuz im onlii 11yearz oldd
<3
I can’t wait to try this for my younger sons b-day (11th). Your instructions look easy to follow. Thanks for making them so simple to understand. I let you know how it came out. Again – Thanks for all your advise. Kathy
Hi Kathy!
Thanks for your comment and welcome to Z as in Zebra! Glad I could be of assistance. Best of luck on creating this cake for your son. I am sure he will LOVE it!! I’m excited to hear how it turns out.
I just made this cake yesterday and it looks great – thanks for the help! The only thing I did differently was use fondant for the strip on the side of the controller, mostly out of laziness!
Great instructions!
Great! Glad I could help! Always happy to be of service. Would love to see a picture, if you have one to share!
This cake is amazing, I got a request to make an xbox controller cake today and well lets just say I just started making cakes so this is gonna be my first challenging cake. After coming across your page I feel like I can do it now. Thanks for all your info you provided, I just have to go and find a pix to copy. Oh and what size cake pans did you use?
Hi Love this cake, its my partners 40th and le loves xbox! I’m pretty new to cake making and reaaly would like more help please…
1) what size cake tins?
2) how do u make it smooth with kitchen paper?
3) in all how long did it take?
Any other info would be very much appreciated
Thanks
My boyfriends 16th birthday is next month and besides me the thing he loves most is XBOX 360. He is always talking about it. So i though i’d talk to his mom and then look on google and look at game cakes. I found yours and thought it was just what i was looking for. Thank you so much i cant wait to make it for him. He is going to be so happy:)
my sons idea.. so I google it and here it is! Thank you. Now I have to 25 days to bring it to life.:)
his 9th birthday party is going to be so cool.
Hi Abbi, You have made such a fantastic cake. Can I ask what size tray you used and how you made the joysticks???
My son is going to be 7 years old in 9 days and I am going to try and make this for him as a surprise, as he is xbox mad and I know he would love this. Many thanks.
Hi Abbi! I love this cake and my son is having a video game truck party for his 9th birthday in 2 weeks. This would be perfect. Can you please tell me what size pan I would need and maybe explain the napkin trick. Thanks so much for sharing, I think I may be able to pull this off alone (without the help of a bakery)
Hi I was asked by a friend to make an x box controller, so happy to find guidelines to follow, I have questions I see others have asked but didn’t see the answer. Are the tints for the fondant all wilton pastes? Also what size pan did you use? Also how did you get the joystick to raise? Also the circles around each piece, are they fondant or just piped buttercream? Thanks! Hoping mine turns out as great as yours!