Introduction: Portal/Rickroll Cake
Every year I make a birthday cake for my wonderfully geeky boyfriend. The past two years I made him a Cthulhu themed cake, so this year it was time for something different. His birthday fell on D&D night, so the whole geek crew would be gathered together. The crew has been bitten by the Ric Astley bug, and so it seemed fitting that I should Rickroll them all.
For this cake you will need:
One cake mix
Two nine inch round pans
Something for between the layers
A bunch of frosting ( I made 2.5 batches)
Tips for frosting the Rick cake (some simple round tips will do)
A Hat box large enough to fit over your cake ( I got a plain brown one from a craft store)
Chocolate
Whipped Cream
Cherries
A single candle
Step 1: Make the Real Cake
Make the cake in two nine inch round pans, bake as per instructions on the recipe or box you are using and let cool. Cut the layers so they are flat and even, and save the pieces you cut off. Fill it and frost it with plain white frosting. Make sure to put it on a plate large enough to hold your hat box.
Step 2: Draw Rick
I found a photo still from the video and traced the outline so I had a starting point. I chose the shot with him in a black and white shirt because it meant I had to make less colors of frosting. I was on a time crunch.
I freehanded the outline with a toothpick and then filled in the colors.
Step 3: Finish Real Cake
Once Rick was on the cake I added the famous lyrics and some killer sprinkles I found on sale that screamed "80's!!"
Step 4: Make the Cake That Is a Lie.
Take your hat box and place over the cake. I cut an inch off the bottom of mine to make it more cake sized, and it still was so huge I couldn't believe people fell for it. You may want to cut yours down to a more reasonable size. I smashes the edges a bit with the back of a knife to make it look less perfect.
I frosted it and as I did I wiped my knife over the cake bits I cut off earlier. This left crumbs in the frosting, again diverting suspicion from my large perfectly level cake.
chop the chocolate and placed it on top. Since my hat box was still so large I ran out of chocolate, which is why only the top is done. Decorate the top, and stick in a candle.
Step 5: The Reveal
Let someone volunteer to cut the cake and rush to a computer to cue up the "Never Gonna Give You Up" MP3. The person with the knife will quickly realize that something is wrong. In my case, as everyone was urging him to hurry up and cut the cake already I ran in and grabbed the hat box and pulled it off. They all looked horrified as I seemed to destroy the cake. Then the wave of recognition washed over all their faces as they realized that the cake had been a lie and they had just been rickrolled... by a cake.

First Prize in the
Cake Contest

Participated in the
The Instructables Book Contest
117 Comments
12 years ago on Introduction
you forgot decorations such as: fish shaped crackers, fish shaped sediment, fish shaped resins, fish shaped solid waste...
Reply 3 years ago
*wheeze*
12 years ago on Introduction
when i get my geeky boyfriend i wanna make him a cake like this :-)
*i am so determined to marry a geek because I'm a geek* :-D xxx
12 years ago on Introduction
LOVE!!!!! Stealing this idea for my hubby's birthday!! :D
13 years ago on Introduction
I wanted to post the picture of one we did for our teenage daughter. She was surprised but the look on her best friend's face was absolute shock. What a fun prank!
Reply 12 years ago on Introduction
That's amazing. I gotta ask since hands are on the "cake"...was the lie cake really frosted or is it somehow permanently decorated?
Reply 12 years ago on Introduction
It was frosted with royal icing and sprinkled with dried out chocolate fondant which that I grated. Royal icing sets up rock hard. I keep it stored in a hatbox and it still looks good.
They make display "buttercream" cakes in bakeries by frosting foam with royal icing and it lasts for years so I plan on keeping it for a while. I've been meaning to drill into the top and make a candle "handle" out of a dowel so I can use it as a cake saver.
13 years ago on Step 5
This is awesome. :P I wish I had a geekman to bestow this sort of thing upon!
13 years ago on Step 5
the cake is not a lie !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
13 years ago on Introduction
this is so geeky that I am inspired with awe. well done!
13 years ago on Introduction
I love this! Will definitely do this for my boyfriend's 21st! Great idea.
15 years ago on Introduction
Siiiigh. I'm impressed with your cake full of lies, but is it really necessary to have a Rick Roll cake?
Reply 14 years ago on Introduction
Absolutely. I love seeing art from memes. Great stuff, this!
Reply 13 years ago on Introduction
Yeah! next someone should do a "all your base are belong to us" or "ITS OVER 9000!!!!!!!!1!!!!1!!!!one!!!!" cake! (or even THIS IS SPARTA!!!)
Reply 14 years ago on Introduction
yes. yes it is.
13 years ago on Introduction
This was a triumph.
I'm making a note here: HUGE SUCCESS.
It's hard to overstate my satisfaction.
Aperture Science:
We do what we must because we can.
For the good of all of us
Except the ones who are dead.
(Chorus 1)
But there's no sense crying over every mistake
You just keep on trying till you run out of cake
And the science gets done and you make a neat gun
For the people who are still alive.
I'm not even angry.
I'm being so sincere right now.
Even though you broke my heart and killed me.
And tore me to pieces.
And threw every piece into a fire.
As they burned it hurt because
I was so happy for you.
(Chorus 2)
Now these points of data make a beautiful line
And we're out of beta we're releasing on time.
So I'm GLaD I got burned think of all the things we learned
For the people who are still alive.
Go ahead and leave me.
I think I prefer to stay inside.
Maybe you'll find someone else to help you.
Maybe Black Mesa -
THAT WAS A JOKE. HA HA, FAT CHANCE.
Anyway, this cake is great:
It's so delicious and moist.
(Chorus 3)
Look at me still talking when there's science to do.
When I look out there it makes me GLaD I'm not you.
I've experiments to run there is research to be done
On the people who are still alive
And believe me I am still alive.
I'm doing science and I'm still alive.
I feel FANTASTIC and I'm still alive.
While you're dying I'll be still alive.
And when you're dead I will be still alive.
Still alive
Still alive
14 years ago on Step 4
I like the D&D books in the background :)
14 years ago on Step 5
OMFG! LIE CAKE! BRILLIANT!
15 years ago on Step 5
Holy crap that's absolutely genius. Complete and utter genius! my hat doth go off to you.
Reply 14 years ago on Step 5
maybe that liecake could be used as a hat....