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Updated on December 7, 2021 by · This post may contain affiliate links ·

Pug Cake Tutorial

Skill level: Advanced

Guest instructor Natalie Sideserf from Sideserf Cakes joins us today for this awesome, super realistic Pug cake.

Learn how to pose, sketch and plan out this lovable pug dog cake design. Natalie offers several tips and tricks that she uses when creating dog cakes like this one.

Natalie breaks down how to sculpt the face, the ears and facial features, how to sculpt the legs and tail and how to texture and paint lifelike colors onto the pug to make it look just like the real thing.

There's a lot to cover in today's tutorial, so let's get our tools together and let's get started!

2:25:28 Minutes of Instruction

What You Will Learn

  • How to sculpt a realistic Pug dog cake
  • Learn how to plan out and design the cake structure
  • Natalie's tips and tricks to get realistic texture and details
  • How to sculpt the facial features, paws, toes, tail and more

Tutorial Chapters

  1. Sketching the body 0:38
  2. Planning out the structure 4:27
  3. Cutting threaded rod and boards 6:18
  4. Building the structure 10:47
  5. Adding structure to the board 15:34
  6. Covering in foil tape 20:18
  7. Building up the belly 23:44
  8. Stacking the cakes 31:06
  9. Carving the cakes 33:36
  10. Covering in buttercream 38:05
  11. Sketching the face 40:45
  12. Covering in modeling chocolate 42:34
  13. Blending the seams 46:03
  14. Sculpting the face 50:06
  15. Adding the eyes 1:10:07
  16. Making the jawline 1:18:15
  17. Making face wrinkles 1:23:50
  18. Making the ears 1:26:57
  19. Making head wrinkles 1:30:32
  20. Making the right arm 1:32:17
  21. Making the toes 1:37:02
  22. Making the left arm 1:39:29
  23. Making the back legs 1:42:48
  24. Making the tail 1:52:22
  25. Adding hair and texture 1:53:39
  26. Painting the eyes 1:57:54
  27. Painting the face 2:03:47
  28. Painting the body 2:16:22
  29. Making the carpet board 2:17:54

More Course Preview

About Liz Marek

Liz Marek is a professional cake artist, sweet and savory recipe developer, and the founder of Sugar Geek Show, where she teaches cooking, baking and cake decorating through detailed tutorials, food science explanations, and kitchen-tested recipes. She has been creating recipes and teaching baking techniques since 2008, helping bakers of all skill levels gain the confidence to make professional-quality desserts at home.

Liz is known for breaking down complex cooking and baking concepts into simple, approachable methods. Her work focuses on helping people understand not just how a recipe works, but why it works. Through Sugar Geek Show, she shares step-by-step recipes, cake decorating tutorials, and practical baking guides designed to make professional techniques accessible to everyone.

Over the years, Liz has taught thousands of students through online tutorials, classes, and educational content focused on real kitchen results. Her recipes are carefully tested and written to help people succeed the first time they make them.

When she’s not developing recipes or teaching baking techniques, Liz also hosts curated travel experiences for women through her travel brand Soul Sisters.

You can find Liz’s latest recipes, baking tutorials, and food science tips at Sugar Geek Show.