This Amazon Box & Zulily Package Cake might have been my favorite cake from 2020! This fondant covered cake was 100% edible with loads of details to make it realistic. Keep reading for all the details so you can make one too!

Like many cake decorators, I didn't get to do a lot of cakes in 2020 but the few I did, I loved and this was a favorite for sure!
I've always been a faithful Amazon shopper - to the point that we know our UPS man by name and he gave me a toy UPS truck for Christmas because he sees us so often 😁
Anywho... so when I got the request for an Amazon Box & Zulily Package Cake... I had to do it!
I did question my own sanity at first, though. Why? Because the cake was ordered only a few weeks after my hand and arm surgery and I was still in the early days where I didn't have a lot of use of my hand. But with Sarah's help, we were able to knock this one out of the park.
Now, let me tell you all about the cake!
The Amazon Box Cake
The Amazon Box Cake was a 9x13 sheet cake, which I torted and filled with chocolate buttercream. It was just over 3-inches tall with the filling. I also covered it with chocolate buttercream.
I baked the cake in my Magic Line Sheet Pan which gave me really sharp corners straight out of the pan. You can read about my favorite sheet cake pans here.
The outside layer of buttercream was pretty thin so I could keep those sharp corners. Next, I measured all the sides and top of the cake, then placed it in the freezer to chill.
While the cake was chilling, I rolled out fondant to cover the cake. I rolled it around 2-3mm thick. Then using the measurements, I cut panels of fondant for the top and all sides.
Freeze the fondant panels before applying!
This next step is important... I froze the panels before adding them to the cake. That way they didn't stretch or bend - they stayed very sharp and flat. You can see from the photo above from the backside, it all stayed very sharp.
To adhere them, I brushed the back of each panel with a thin layer of water, then stuck it on the cake and used a fondant smoother to press it into place.
Let me back up for a minute and talk about the fondant. I used homemade marshmallow fondant primarily but mixed in a tiny bit of brown fondant to give it a light tan color. I didn't want it to be fully brown because after I applied it to the cake, I used cocoa powder and petal dust to give it more texture.
The last thing I did on the box is apply the Amazon labels. I ordered the edible images from an Etsy shop, customized with my clients address and birthday (which is why part of it is blurred).
Then I cut them out (there were multiples on each sheet) and applied to the fondant using a thin layer of shortening. If you haven't ever worked with edible images, they're also much easier to handle if popped in the freezer for a minute. They peel much easier without tearing when not at room temp.
So that was the Amazon Box Cake! Next...
The Zulily Package Cake
For the Zulily Package, I mixed a little purple fondant with royal blue to get as the Zulily package color. The image for it was also an edible image I ordered from Etsy.
I wanted the package shape to be organic and realistic. To start, I rolled out two pieces of fondant to the size I wanted the package to be. I laid one flat on my surface, then I used cake pop dough on the inside - mostly putting it on the 'bottom' end of the package.
Next I put the edible image on the second piece of fondant (again, adhereing with shortening), and laid the whole thing on top of the firt piece with cake. Then it was time to see if my idea was gonna work.
I stood the bag up next to the box and let it kind of flop over naturally. It took some adjusting to get it to look like I wanted, but overall, I was very happy with it. Before delivering, the edible image had started to crack on one of the folds and I'm not sure how I could've prevented that, but the overall look was still spot-on.
Shop here:
The Wood Grain Cake Board
The last thing I'll mention is the cake board. I decided to have the Amazon Box & Zulily Package Cake sitting on what looked like a wooden table. To get this effect, I rolled out fondant (the same color as the box - the homemade marshmallow fondant and brown fondant mixed), then used a wood grain mat to texture it.
Next, I used a long metal ruler to make the "boards". After that, I painted the board with a mix of brown gel coloring and confectioners glaze. After it set, I dusted some areas with black petal dust, and voila... it was perfect!
In the end, the client and her daughter absolutely loved the cake! And even among my friends and family, it was easily one of my most talked about creations in 2020!
Did I miss any details on the Amazon Box & Zulily Package Cake? Please leave me a comment below and I'll answer if I can!
More realistic cakes you'll love:
Stack of Law Books Groom's Cake
Ginny
What a great cake! When I started reading about the Amazon cake, I got confused and thought Amazon was sending sheet cakes (by order) to a customer so all they had to do was frost it. It wasn't until I was half way through reading that I realized the cake looked like an Amazon package. Haha on me. You had me convinced about the Amazon look alike, that's for sure. Job well done. 🙂
Gina D from Texas
Wow! Amazing! And I absolutely love it! Thanks for sharing.
Lela
OK to begin I thought the box was real when I opened the email.Awesome and the Coke ...I hear that spew when you open it. I did not know about the edibles. I will check them out. I learn something new every time I view your postings. I got a few new cake baking tools for Christmas and I am about to start practicing. I am going to try some of you special cakes. I am not ready for this level yet. thanks keep up the awesome work.
Rose
Haha - thanks so much for making me laugh this morning! ♥️
Gina
Your work is absolutely amazing! I’m always in awe when I see what you’ve come up with.
Rose
Thanks so much Gina!
Stacy
Thats incredible. I appreciate you explaining so much of this. I never would have thought to do the cake ball dough. We are so new to the whole cake thing as it is. Really remarkable work! Thanks for sharing.
Rose
Thank you Stacy!
Paula Guillot
Absolutely amazing!!! Great job!!!!
Do you use a certain vendor for your edible images thru Etsy? I've been getting mine when needed through our local grocer.
I was wondering about the length of the AMAZON tape edible image or if you had to piece it together - if you did it doesn't show - looks AMAZING.
Rose
I don't use any specific Etsy shop - just whoever has what I'm looking for 🙂 For the tape, I put the seam under the label with her name on it!
Donna L
Those cakes are SO realistic! Props to you and Sarah for a top notch job! I hope you have recovered well from your hand/elbow/arm surgery.
All the best,
Donna
Rose
Thanks so much! Most days my wrist is great! I still have pain from time to time, especially when the weather changes or I have a lot of cakes.
Margaretha Madison
OMG that Amazon cake looks so real. I work at Amazon. Amazing work. I would of loved to see them inside of the cake and a picture of the pan you used. Luv it
Rebecca Manzella
I love your posts, they are so detailed with instructions & Items to buy. Your Amazon & Zulily cakes are truly amazing.
Paula Guillot
Rose,
I am making a box cake this weekend and I'm wanting to do the outside in buttercream. Have you tried that yet?
So many clients do not want fondant the last few years.
Thanks,
Paula
Rose Atwater
I have not tried to do this particular design with buttercream. I have had clients request all-buttercream cakes more often as well but I only do them on a case-by-case basis. If I feel like a design could not or should not be done in buttercream, I'm honest with the client. I have lost some orders, but I'm okay with that. I will not do a cake if I feel like I can't do my best work.