Believe it or not, I had no idea what a swimming pool cake was until about two months ago, and ever since my glorious discovery, I’ve been obsessed with them. Is it possible to rewind back to my childhood and request this cake every year for my birthday? Summer 2016: I’m spreading the gospel of the swimming pool cake. To be honest, I’m still not sure what makes a *true* swimming pool cake, but I figured I’d do what I do best: Take a stab at doing it myself! This is the perfect dish to bring to a pool party or Fourth of July potluck, so add it to your short list of easy summer DIYs!

I know what you’re thinking, and yes, yellow cake and blue raspberry jello seem like a formidable combination. But hear me out: The classic jello dessert alternative is jello salad (gross), so the novelty of this cake alone will make it a hit at your next party.

Make sure you pay attention to the scale of miniature people vs. beach accessories. Otherwise, you’ll end up with golf cart-sized beach balls. Oops.

Ingredients:

— whipped cream

— boxed cake mix

— blue raspberry jello

Materials:

— cupcake tin

— 9 x 9-inch glass dish

— cake stand or serving plate

— mini spatula

— miniature beach scene figurines

Grab your materials and let’s get this pool party started!

Follow the directions on the jello box and pour the jello into the glass dish. Pro tip: lightly spray the bottom of the dish with cooking spray for an easier release.

Follow the instructions listed on your cake mix and bake the batter into cupcakes. Don’t worry about the cupcakes being perfect, you’ll be cutting them up :)

Okay, folks, this is BY FAR the trickiest part of making a swimming pool cake. THE RELEASE. Take it from me, the fail queen of jello cakes (three attempts and counting), that this tip is crucial. When your jello sets and you’re ready to release it onto the cake stand, be sure to dip the dish into warm water for three seconds. This will help loosen the edges of the jello and allow for a seamless transfer. Center your cake stand on top of the jello and flip both the stand and dish upside down.

Boom! Your jello should slide right out of its dish.

Pop the cupcakes out and cut them in half to make the sand dunes. Use the whipped cream as glue to attach the cupcake dunes to the blue jello.

We chose to line the entire perimeter of the pool with cupcake sand dunes, but feel free to get creative! This jello pool world is your oyster.

Cover up any large gaps between the cupcake sand dunes with more whipped cream. You can sweep the knife in an upward motion to create waves.

Create the illusion of breaking waves by carefully sweeping whipped cream directly onto the jello, then start building your beach scene!

Maybe your beach guests are tanning, or visiting for their honeymoon.

“This cake is so pitted, man.”

I definitely had a little too much fun making this one.

What other summer treats are you baking up? Show us your projects by tagging us on Instagram + using the hashtag #iamcreative!

Production and Styling: Marianne Koo

Photography: Brittany Griffin