Mini Gold Medal Cakes

Let the games begin! So the Rio 2016 Olympic Games are right around the corner, and since they don’t come around often, they’re definitely an occasion to celebrate. Even if you are just watching with family at home, you can add a little sweetness in, right? Behold, mini gold medal cakes! Let me tell you a little story of how these mini gold medal cakes came to be…

As the Olympic Movement’s longest continuous partner, and worldwide sponsor, Coca-Cola has created the #ThatsGold campaign (read more about it below), and when they reached out to partner with me, it was a no-brainer! I love finding a way to celebrate happy, everyday moments which is right in line with their mission too. 

Most of us will likely not stand up on the podium to accept a gold medal, but that doesn’t mean that gold medal moments don’t exist beyond the podium. They’re the happy moments in life everybody can experience and enjoy, whether they’re small achievements or major ones. When you achieve something amazing or witness someone else do the same, or do something positive, #ThatsGold. They all deserve celebrating, gold medal style.

When I think of my own life, I can definitely find a few gold medal moments almost daily. If you’re a parent, then you fully understand that every day is a gold medal moment (am I right?!)! We have to start celebrating these achievements! For me… it might seem like a silly one, but it’s a major gold medal moment for us! My daughter finally passed survival swim lessons. We committed over 3 weeks of driving over an hour each way to work in the pool. These are much more intense than traditional swim lessons so I knew I had to find a way to make her feel very special. That’s where these mini gold medal cakes came to life.

They’re so cute and easy to make! I love serving up mini desserts because they’re the perfect party size (especially for Olympic Games home viewing parties). My daughter absolutely adored her mini gold medal cake. It was a huge surprise for her one evening, and you could see her beaming with a smile from ear to ear. I’m fairly certain she felt exactly what those athletes feel up on that gold medal podium. The moral of the story is that we all have our own gold medal moments, so it’s time to celebrate these occasions, big and small.

Now let’s chat about how to make these mini gold medal cakes, shall we? Don’t worry, they’re easy! You just need a few little items. For the pound cake, you can use a store-bought cake or make your own with your favorite pound cake recipe (I love this one here). I suggest pound cake because it’s dense but you could certainly use a chocolate cake or other flavor as well.

Print Recipe

Mini Gold Medal Cakes

Ingredients

• 12 slices pound cake
• 1 cup frosting I used vanilla buttercream

• 1 cup white fondant

• edible gold leaf sheets can be found here 

• round cookie cutter I used 3”
red, white, and blue ribbon

Instructions

• Be sure your pound cake slices are even in height (use a knife to even them out across the top if necessary). Next, use the round cookie cutter to cut out 12 rounds. Set aside.
• Roll out fondant until 1/8” thin. Use same cookie cutter to cut out 12 rounds of the fondant. Take a damp paper towel and dab the top of each fondant round until sticky but not too wet. Remove a single transfer sheet of the edible gold leaf (don’t worry, it’s fully edible!). Lay across the fondant circle and press gently with a finger across the top. Slowly peel back the transfer layer to reveal your gold circle.
• Top each pound cake circle with a dollop of frosting (this will act as the “glue” to hold your gold circle on). Top with your gold circle and gently press down.
• Use an ice pick or wooden skewer (anything with a sharp thin point) to make a small hole at the top of each cake. Roll the end of your ribbon and carefully insert through the cake. Glue the ends of the ribbon together. Hooray! All done!

So you might have noticed that amazing gold Coca-Cola bottle in the photo above? I know, it’s AMAZING! I’m pretty sure it’s now a permanent fixture on my desk. GOOD NEWS is that I’m giving one away to a lucky reader!

GOLD COCA-COLA BOTTLE GIVEAWAY DETAILS

Share your gold medal moments with me! I want to know what you’ve done (or witnessed) lately that deserves celebration. Submit a video, photo or written submission for the chance to win a one-of-a-kind Coca-Cola #ThatsGold prize! Just send your entry to courtney@pizzazzerie.com no later than August 12th at 11:59pm. Get those entries in! And be sure to share your #ThatsGold moments with friends, family and @CocaCola on Twitter and Instagram to inspire more everyday moments made gold and spread happiness during the Olympic Games.

See more and tune in to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games starting August 5 through August 21 only on NBC!

This prize was provided by The Coca-Cola Company. The Coca-Cola Company is not a sponsor, administrator or connected in any other way with the #ThatsGold project.