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cooking up a storm at the edge of the world

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The Ultimate Super Mario Birthday Party!

Published on March 9, 2015 โ€ข Last updated February 23, 2018 by Elizabeth

In collaboration with Dr. Oetker Baking.

Ultimate Super Mario Party

I absolutely love organizing and throwing birthday parties for my children. It’s one of those things I can get completely immersed in what with all the planning and creativity. I also might be overcompensating for the fact I’ve never had a birthday party of my own! They don’t get a big party every year, sometimes it’s just cake and ice cream with a few friends, but every now and then we go all out and throw a whopper of a party.

This week saw our youngest son turn six years old. A perfect time for throwing one of those no-holds-barred birthday parties where the entire class gets invited for a spree.

Our youngest wanted a Super Mario birthday party, so, although it took a bit of forward planning, a super Super Mario party he got!

THE INVITATIONS

DIY Super Mario Birthday Party Invitation {Full Tutorial}

First thing is first, a top-notch party requires top-notch invitations! There is quite a variety of ready-made Mario themed invitations out there, but for this party that wouldn’t do. I had to make something unusual, and when I found this idea over onย Celebrate the Big and Small I knew those were what I wanted to make, with a few adaptations.

You can find a step-by-step tutorial of how I made these pop-up slider Super Mario Birthday Party Invitations here.

THE FOOD

Three tiered Super Mario Birthday/Wedding Cake

No matter where you are in the world, festive gatherings almost always involve food. There’s just something thoroughly enjoyable about feasting with friends and family.

The centrepiece of any birthday party is, of course, the birthday cake. A search through Google Images for Super Mario Cake inspiration led to my nearly six-year-old (at the time) discovering the wonderful Super Mario wedding cakes on the net. He was in awe of the sheer grandness of them and really, really wanted one.

So I made one! When else was I going to get the chance to play with coloured ready-to-roll icing on a scale like this?

Super Mario cake detail

SUPER MARIO BIRTHDAY PARTY CAKE

I made a three-tiered cake, as you can see. It took one full day to make. In the morning I made, using no fewer than 12 eggs:

Bottom layer: 2 x Nigella Lawson’s Buttermilk Birthday Cake. Get the recipe.

Middle layer: My tried and tested Wicked Chocolate Cake recipe (using Dr. Oetker cocoa powder). Get the recipe.

Top layer: Dr. Oetker’s Celebration Lemon Madeira Cake. Get the recipe.

The following afternoon I set to icing and decorating. I cheated by using Betty Crocker’s ready-made vanilla buttercream and chocolate fudge frostings to sandwich the layers together and spread a thin crumb layer over each cake. Dr. Oetker Regal-Ice Ready to Roll Icing in white was used to cover each cake as a base for the coloured frosting.

[amazon_link asins=’B00W3B5OZK,B0051C16PA,B00XEPJCVQ’ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’elizskitcdiar-21′ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’5a666549-188f-11e8-9366-457b970641de’]

The next few hours were spent with Google Images open with various Super Mario video game screenshots, getting ideas to play with the copious coloured ready to rollย icing I had on hand.

The pillars? Repurposed button tubes from our local arts & crafts shop! I washed and dried them and pushed the open end through the cake to the cake base and covered the outside in coloured icing. Super glue was used to fix them to the cardboard cake tray base above.

[amazon_link asins=’B002TIF8D0,B0091GQSD2,B01MECRUQ0′ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’elizskitcdiar-21′ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’849c5da5-188f-11e8-b6ec-83a372bcb35b’]

A Super Mario figurine set was used to put the final touches on the cake. A cake on this scale might look grand and scary to attempt to make, but I assure you, it was really quite simple, just time-consuming.

Super Mario Birthday Party

Party food was mostly fresh fruit, snack crackers, bread sticks, cheese puffs (fireballs!), marshmallows (ice power!), and assorted sweeties. Most of my effort had gone into making the cake and game components, so I cheated by using ready-made party foods.

[amazon_link asins=’B072QWJRK2,B01EAWKKPS’ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’elizskitcdiar-21′ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’a53565e6-188f-11e8-8a84-69cf69588d6a’]

I did, however, make Dr. Oetker’s Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes to share with all the kids. The recipe was super quick to whip up and bake. I made the minty frosting (with the addition of an extra tablespoonful of milk as the frosting was too thick to pipe) and spooned it into a piping bag to bring to the party venue. I couldn’t, for the life of me, source any polka dot sprinkles on Shetland (I tried 15 different shops!) so I substituted with gold pearls instead (fireballs!).

Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

The children were due to arrive in about 10 minutes by the time I began to pipe the frosting on the cupcakes, and I realised I’d brought the wrong piping nozzle, so I didn’t use one. I hastily pressed some gold pearls onto the frosting and DD came up to me and said: “Mam, that looks like dog poo!”. Gold-studded dog poo!

A clear case of when a recipe goes terribly wrong and looks nothing like the photograph on the website! Nonetheless, they tasted lovely and chocolatey and there were no leftovers (I managed to scoff a bite of my daughter’s cupcake to at least taste-test it!). You can find the recipe (and what they’re supposed to look like over on the Dr. Oetker website).

Dr Oetker evenbetterbaking

Dr. Oetker wants to celebrate all things chocolate this March, so they are challenging all bakers to make and share a chocolatey bake. Tweet @DrOetkerBakes using the hashtag #evenbetterbaking with a photo of your bake, tell them who you are sharing it with and you might win a deluxe hamper of chocolate products! You can also find them on Facebook.

Super Mario Birthday Party

THE GAMES! THE GRAND SUPER MARIO OBSTACLE COURSE!

https://www.elizabethskitchendiary.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Mario-Party-DX-EKD.mp3

 

Now, I’m quite lucky in that my husband is a sound engineer and enjoys a good challenge. “What about a Super Mario Obstacle Course?” one of us thought, and the other added: “With sound effects!”.ย “The children get to BE the characters in the video game!”

Have a listen to the audio clip above – this was played over the speakers when all the party guests had arrived.

Well, that was it. The kitchen was papier mache central for the next week with obstacle course components in the making. My husband, aka Audioboy Productions, set to work on the soundboard ย – an app he downloaded onto my iPad and added all the game sound effects. He stood in the corner, watched the children go through the course, and played the appropriate sound effect for each room/action.

Mario Power Up Cube

1. START – THE SUPER MARIO POWER UP CUBE

The games began with each child rolling the Super Mario Power Up Cube. They were awarded either a 1UP (a second go if they got caught during the course), Fire Power (orange ball pool balls) or Invincibility (a handmade fabric star which made them invincible for a short while).

Super Mario Obstacle Course

2. JUMPING OVER THE BRICKS AND BANGING THE COIN BOXES WITH YOUR HEAD

The children took turns playing the different characters in the games. Some held foam filled fabric coin boxes, which, when bumped with the head, the corresponding sound played and a gold foil covered chocolate coin dropped to the floor (it had been balancing on the top). They also had to jump over bricks (standard Amazon.co.uk boxes filled with fabric scraps for weight, covered in papier mache and painted to look like bricks).

DIY Super Mario Piranna Plant

3. DODGE THE PIRANHA PLANT!

One child got to be the piranha plant, standing in a giant papier-mache covered protein powder bucket while holding the felt piranha plant itself (hastily created that morning with cardboard, felt and super glue!).

Mario Dungeon Fireballs

4. THE DUNGEON FIREBALLS!

Cue the dungeon music and an onslaught of fireballs. The children seemed to love jumping over this obstacle the most, spending quite a bit of time here. If they spent too much time, though, the music changed to indicate hurry up!

Super Mario Chomps and Haunted House

5. CHOMPS!

A square of black electrical tape signified the area where the chomps had to be carefully dodged. These black balloons, with mouths and eyes glued on, were taped to the floor via a length of black cardstock chain.

[amazon_link asins=’B001Y7LU52,B004JUONR8′ template=’ProductCarousel’ store=’elizskitcdiar-21′ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’581ddf37-1890-11e8-90d0-2797074efdc8′]

6. THE HAUNTED HOUSE!

Then, the haunted house music began and each child had to dodge the Boo ghosts! Anyone who has played Mario will know the ghosts can only come towards you when your back is to them, so this made for a very interesting obstacle! The ghosts were white balloons with black and red permanent marker faces.

The Super Mario Grand Star Pinata

7. JUMP TO REACH THE GRAND STAR (PINATA!)

The finale was where they had to jump to reach the Grand Star Pinata. Afterwards, the children took turns to try and break the papier-mache pinata open with a broom handle. It was filled with sweeties and gold covered chocolate coins.

Super Mario Birthday Cake

All in all, it was a pretty fantastic party, and the birthday boy and all the guests had a blast. Have you ever had a Super Mario Birthday Party? Do you have any tips to add? What would you have done differently?

 

Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary received a Dr. Oetker chocolate hamper and a supermarket voucher for ingredients to make and share a recipe from their website. All opinions expressed are our own and this is not a paid post. This post contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click through to Amazon through any of them and make any subsequent purchase within the next 24 hours we will earn a small commission.ย 

Category: All Manner of Sweet Things, Baking, Cake, Chocolate, Recipe

About Elizabeth

Solivagant. Foodie. Calls Shetland home.

Previous Post:DIY Super Mario Birthday Party Invitation {Full Tutorial}DIY Super Mario Birthday Party Invitation {A Step-by-Step Tutorial}
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Ursula Hunt

    April 28, 2015 at 11:15 am

    This looks like you had great fun

    Reply
  2. Choclette

    March 31, 2015 at 10:05 am

    Gosh, gosh gosh Elizabeth, what a fantastic mother you are. That looks like a dream of a birthday party and a most amazing cake. I bet those kids had fun. Thanks for joining in with We Should Cocoa ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
  3. Heather Haigh

    March 27, 2015 at 11:13 pm

    What a superb cake! I’m in awe.

    Reply
  4. Paul Wilson

    March 18, 2015 at 1:10 am

    What a super cake.

    Reply
  5. Jane - Our Little Escapades

    March 17, 2015 at 10:40 am

    What an amazing birthday party. I bet the kids loved it. I’m wondering if the other mums are wondering how will their future parties compare ;0). You really did an amazing job, I don’t think I would be able to do anything like that.

    Thanks for linking up with Small Steps Amazing Achievements :0)
    x

    Reply
  6. Susie Gall

    March 17, 2015 at 12:08 am

    WOW!!! This cake is one of the most adorable cakes I have seen and so well done. The complete party looks like a beautiful labor of love and I’m sure one little six-year old boy feels especially blessed. Terrific job!!

    Reply
  7. Cindy @ Hun... What's for Dinner?

    March 16, 2015 at 11:54 pm

    That Mario Cake is phenomenal! What a fun birthday party ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
  8. Kerry-Ann Pope

    March 16, 2015 at 11:36 pm

    OMG this is amazing, it is my boys 9th birthday on friday and he would absolutely love this party. I was going to make a cake and then pop a Mario & Luigi figure on top but this has gave me so much inspiration. I would definitely be attempting some of these things in preparation for his party at the weekend now.
    You are so talented.

    Reply
  9. Debra @ Bowl Me Over

    March 16, 2015 at 10:51 pm

    Holy cow you have mad baking skills …. not to mention a whole lot of patience! What a fabulous cake and fun, fun party!

    Reply
  10. Honest Mum

    March 14, 2015 at 4:48 pm

    Oh wow! This party looks amazing! My boys would love this!

    That cake is brilliant! You are one super talented lady!

    Thanks for linking up to #tastytuesdays

    Reply
  11. Janice

    March 13, 2015 at 10:46 pm

    Well, that is quite some party. Your cake is amazing and I love how you created the games and your husband made the sounds, I’ll bet all the kids loved it.

    Reply
  12. Janine

    March 13, 2015 at 9:42 pm

    Amazing! Looks like you put so much work into this, but it definitely appears to have paid off.

    Reply
  13. Helen

    March 12, 2015 at 2:33 pm

    That cake is beyond incredible. I totally want it for my 30th birthday. I love Super Mario.

    Pirahana Plant is ace too!

    Reply
  14. Maya Russell

    March 12, 2015 at 10:56 am

    WOW! Amazing cake. Looks like they all had an amazing time.

    Reply
  15. Yet Another Blogging Mummy!!!

    March 11, 2015 at 11:02 pm

    What an absolutely amazing cake. And the party sounds such fun too #TastyTuesdays

    Reply
  16. Notyet100

    March 11, 2015 at 10:24 pm

    Cake looks super gorgeous awesome

    Reply
  17. Annie Hall

    March 11, 2015 at 12:07 pm

    Flippin’ amazing! Well done you! Awesome cake… everything!

    Reply
  18. Erica Price

    March 11, 2015 at 12:03 pm

    Fantastic! You’ve clearly put a lot of work into this. My son loves Super Mario too, although I think he’d choose a Pokemon party given the choice.

    Reply
  19. Anne

    March 11, 2015 at 11:48 am

    Wow. fabulous party, fabulous cake, even your gold studded dog poo cupcakes are fab ๐Ÿ˜‰ I want that party! (well, I mean I want it for my kids obviously, not sure I’d get away with that theme for my 50th!)

    Reply
  20. Keep Calm and Fanny On

    March 11, 2015 at 11:36 am

    Wow, how amazing! I bet all the kids will remember this party for ever, well done! You’ll probably be head-hunted now by party planners, but best of all is your son had an amazing time – look at his face! Hope you loved it too!

    Reply
  21. Johanna GGG

    March 11, 2015 at 2:17 am

    that cake is magnificent – we had a 6 year old birthday party recently and I am in admiration of you spending a day on the cake – I didn’t quite have the time I wanted for ours but it was close enough. Did you hire out a hall for the party? The kids look like they were having a ball.

    Reply
    • Elizabeth

      March 11, 2015 at 9:18 am

      Thank you Johanna – yes, I did hire the local hall for our party. It’s only ยฃ20 to hire, so well worth it when compared to some other venues (plus it supports our local community!). Cake decorating can take an absolute age – and it’s difficult to find recipes which will last a few days (at least) to allow enough time to decorate and transport.

      Reply
  22. Lucy @SupergoldenBakes

    March 10, 2015 at 10:28 pm

    I am in absolute awe! I have to admit I loathe children’s parties and thankfully my son (4) hates them too so I haven’t been required to provide this kind of extravaganza! I take my virtual hat off to you. Don’t thinks I could do it in a million years. Your are amazing. Thanks for linking to #CookBlogShare

    Reply
    • Elizabeth

      March 11, 2015 at 9:19 am

      Oddly enough our youngest doesn’t like attending other people’s birthday parties – he finds them too noisy and will usually refuse to go, but he insisted on having a big one for himself! Thanks for hosting such a super linky to share my post with too ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply
  23. Charlotte

    March 10, 2015 at 8:06 pm

    Wow!! Your cake was incredible! I’m too scared to try tiers in case they all topple over.

    It looked liked a fantastic party. It must have taken you ages to prepare all of the games. I always look back on my childhood birthday parties with very happy memories and I’m sure after that party he’ll always be able to do the same.

    Reply
    • Elizabeth

      March 11, 2015 at 9:20 am

      Tiers can be tricky, but the way I did it this time worked fine. Super glue! ๐Ÿ˜€ Haha! It was a super party and I’m so chuffed all the kids had a great time. It’ll be even better in their memories when they’re all grown up too.

      Reply
  24. Marta @petiteraisin.ca

    March 10, 2015 at 5:30 pm

    *jaw dropped* That cake is UNREAL! And what a great party – looks like fun was had by all. Kudos to the 3 tiers and all the detail!

    Found ya over at Tasty Tuesdays

    .:Marta:.

    Reply
    • Elizabeth

      March 11, 2015 at 9:24 am

      Thank you Marta ๐Ÿ™‚ I’m really rather pleased at how well it turned out. It’s nice when an idea in my mind turns into a reality!

      Reply
  25. Becci

    March 10, 2015 at 4:57 pm

    What an absolutely epic themed party! I’m sure it’ll be the talk of the playground for many weeks to come. The cake looks incredible as do all the props, invitiations and the game ideas – brilliant!

    Reply
    • Elizabeth

      March 11, 2015 at 9:25 am

      Thanks Becci – yes, my son was saying they were all talking about it at school on the Monday, and some had even written in their journals about it! ๐Ÿ˜€

      Reply
  26. Jo of Jo's Kitchen

    March 10, 2015 at 2:17 pm

    That cake is amazing!

    Reply
    • Elizabeth

      March 11, 2015 at 9:25 am

      Thanks Jo ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply
  27. Emily Leary

    March 10, 2015 at 12:57 pm

    That cake is STUNNING! I’m jealous of your skills.

    Reply
    • Elizabeth

      March 11, 2015 at 9:26 am

      Aw thanks Emily! It’s not that hard really – I just treat the coloured ready to roll icing like playdough! ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply
  28. Isabella

    March 10, 2015 at 9:39 am

    As a child of the 90’s I am so jealous! what an amazing party, I love the games and that cake is just fab!

    Reply
    • Elizabeth

      March 11, 2015 at 9:27 am

      I never would have thought that when I was playing Super Mario Bros when it first came out all those years ago that I’d be making my child that themed birthday cake! ๐Ÿ˜€

      Reply
  29. Seychellesmama

    March 10, 2015 at 9:13 am

    Wow this is amazing!!! You have really gone all out
    That cake is unbelievable!! I’d love to have this party for myself let alone for my son haha! Popping over from #tastytuesdays

    Reply
    • Elizabeth

      March 11, 2015 at 9:27 am

      We don’t throw them a party every year, in fact, this was his first big party, so I wanted it to be memorable. ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply
  30. Sarah Maison Cupcake

    March 9, 2015 at 5:35 pm

    Wow that cake looks awesome! Thanks for submitting to We Should Cocoa!

    Reply
    • Elizabeth

      March 11, 2015 at 9:29 am

      Thanks Sarah ๐Ÿ™‚ My fail safe chocolate birthday cake recipe worked really well in the middle tier of this cake. That’s the one I put in all their party bags. ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply
  31. Dominic

    March 9, 2015 at 5:09 pm

    utter, utter genius cake… I want that birthday party when I’m 45 later this year!

    Reply
    • Elizabeth

      March 11, 2015 at 9:30 am

      Heehee, pay for my flights and accommodation and I’ll throw you this party! ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply
  32. Foodie Quine

    March 9, 2015 at 5:00 pm

    I am in complete awe! I know absolutely nothing about Super Mario but that Party – and Cake – looks amazing!

    Reply
    • Elizabeth

      March 11, 2015 at 9:30 am

      Aw thanks Claire! ๐Ÿ™‚ It’s such a fun video game to play. We got the Super Mario Bros Wii for Christmas and it’s bedlam when four of us play all together at once!

      Reply
  33. Sisley White

    March 9, 2015 at 4:49 pm

    Absolutely incredibly cake! It looks like such a fantastic birthday party.

    Reply
    • Elizabeth

      March 11, 2015 at 9:31 am

      Thank you ๐Ÿ™‚ We had a super time at the party!

      Reply
  34. Alison

    March 9, 2015 at 1:32 pm

    Wow what an amazing cake and fab ideas for a party. It looks like a great day

    Reply
    • Elizabeth

      March 11, 2015 at 9:32 am

      Thanks Alison, it was certainly a memorable day!

      Reply
  35. Angela Webster - Cosmic Kick

    March 9, 2015 at 12:17 pm

    ๐Ÿ˜ฎ Can you organise my OH’s 30th next month please?! ๐Ÿ˜€ This is amazing! I love the Boo’s! I love the Piranah plants! I love it all.

    Reply
    • Elizabeth

      March 11, 2015 at 9:32 am

      Haha! ๐Ÿ™‚ So glad you like it, and I hope your son has a fab party too!

      Reply

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