Easy DIY Planes Fire & Rescue Birthday Cake for a Fireman Birthday Party

Here’s the DIY Planes Fire & Rescue birthday cake that I made for my son Liam! 🎂 Cute little forest on top, chocolate bark on the sides, and flames for my 4-year-old fireman!

DIY birthday cake for a firefighter birthday party

This handmade fiery Piston Peak National Forest birthday cake was the centerpiece in Liam’s Planes Fire & Rescue birthday party theme. We decorated the house with national park signs, large cardboard trees, camping-checked tablecloths, wooden plates, oodles of flames, and Piston Peak Rescue Team badge garland.

Editable trees made using pretzel sticks

But back to the Planes Fire & Rescue birthday cake… The pretzel stick trees! How cute are these trees?!? This white and green Christmas forest tree cake inspired me to make a version with a flaming Piston Peak National Park.

Easy fireman birthday cake for beginners

This Planes Fire & Rescue cake is a really easy birthday cake for beginners to make. Truly! Making the trees and flames is quick and easy …kind of like playing with Play-Doh.

I made three shades of green for the forest trees and all kinds of shapes and sizes. This step was super fun and my 6-year-old daughter had a lot of fun helping make trees and flames.

Start by making a “tree stump” cake with chocolate bark

I love that the cake itself looks like a tree stump. This effect is super easy too: all you have to do is melt some chocolate, spread it thin, and break it apart, and put it on the cake …this Christmas tree cake chocolate bark tutorial is super easy to follow and creates a neat edible bark effect.

Keep reading to see how to make a DIY flaming Piston Peak National Forest birthday cake for a Planes Fire & Rescue birthday party!

Supplies for making an Easy DIY Planes Fire & Rescue Birthday Cake with Forest Trees and Flames:

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How to make an Easy DIY Planes Fire & Rescue Birthday Cake for a Fireman birthday party theme

Step 1: Bake your cakes

First, make two 8″ cakes using the vanilla cake recipe from Cakegirls; this birthday cake recipe tastes the best. Make it a few days in advance and freeze it per their instructions.

Step 2: Make fondant trees

Let’s make some edible trees! Gather white fondant, green food coloring, pretzel sticks and toothpicks.

Put a little green food coloring into the white fondant and pull it like taffy to mix in the color.

Once the fondant is fully green, take a little bit and roll into a ball. Tip: Roll it until there are no seams or lines in it to make smoother trees.

Roll the ball into a cone shape and put a pretzel stick in the middle. Set it on cookie sheet covered with parchment paper or freezer paper.

If the fondant starts to get a little sticky, add a bit of confectioner’s sugar to it.

Make as many green trees as you’d like. Then take a bit of green fondant and add some yellow food coloring to make some yellow green trees.

Look at that cute little forest!

Step 3: Make edible flames for the fireman cake

Now for the fire! Use red and orange fondant or color white fondant with food coloring. Shape the flames by hand and put a toothpick in the bottom. Leave the forest trees and flames out overnight to harden.

Step 4: Make edible bark to make the cake look like a tree stump

Now for the tree bark around the cake. Melt some dark chocolate candy melts following package directions. Follow the directions here to spread it thinly on wax paper, roll it up, and pop it in the fridge to harden. Then break it up.

Step 5: Ice the fireman cake with buttercream icing

Meanwhile, make the buttercream icing. I used the Cakegirls buttercream icing recipe — it tastes like a bakery. I added a few tablespoons of cocoa powder to make it tan. Spread the icing on the top of the first layer.

Step 6: Add mini chocolate chips (optional)

This step is optional but delicious. Add mini chocolate chips on top of the buttercream.

Step 7: Add another cake layer and finish icing the cake

Add the top cake layer and ice the top and sides. Good news for beginners like me: the icing job on the sides can be messy because the bark will cover it anyway. Well, maybe not quite this messy …I cleaned it up and smoothed it out before moving to the next step.

Step 8: Add tree bark to the outside of the cake

Take the hardened chocolate bark out of the refrigerator and break it into pieces. Add the pieces to the icing sides.

Keep going until the sides are covered. This is where I stopped and refrigerated the cake until the next morning to finish it up because I wasn’t sure if the pretzels would get too soggy siting in the icing overnight (?) Not one to take chances with sweets I decided to add the forest trees and flames the morning of the party.

Step 9: Add pretzel trees cake toppers into the cake

Here’s how you put in the trees without breaking the pretzel sticks: First, use a lollipop stick to make a starter hole, then remove and replace with a tree.

Step 10: Add flames cake toppers to the fireman cake

Then add the flames on toothpicks. Push the toothpicks down far enough so that they’re hidden inside the cake.

I left some room in front for the candles.

Step 11: Add candles to your fireman birthday cake

And now the forest fire cake is ready for a Dusty-style Fire & Rescue!

Happy birthday, my 4-year-old fireman!

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See more easy DIY fireman and Planes Fire & Rescue birthday party ideas:

Modern fireman “fire and flames” happy birthday banner for a fireman birthday party

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Make a DIY personalized fireman iron-on t-shirt for a firefighter birthday party

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DIY personalized firefighter favor bags for a fireman birthday party

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Printable firefighter birthday party invitation for a fireman birthday party

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Copyright stuff: You’re more than welcome to use this free project and tutorial for personal use. Contact me for commercial use and etsy sales.

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