A cake for your mermaid birthday party that will never be forgotten!
MAKES: 6 Layer 6” Cake
Ingredients
CAKE
2 sticks (226 g.) organic butter, softened
340 g organic sugar
2 tsp organic vanilla extract
4 organic large eggs
1 cup organic milk
340 g all natural cake flour
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking powder
BASE
3 sticks (340 g) organic butter, softened
680 g organic powdered sugar, sifted
1 tbsp + 1 tsp organic vanilla extract
2 tsp water
½ ColorKitchen Blue Color packet
WAVE
1 stick (113 g) organic butter, softened
226 g organic powdered sugar, sifted
½ ColorKitchen Blue Color packet
2 tsp water
MERMAID
1 stick (113 g) organic butter, softened
226 g organic powdered sugar, sifted
1 tbsp water
1 Color Kitchen Blue Color packet
1 Color Kitchen Pink Food Color packet
1 Color Kitchen Green Color packet
SAND
4 organic graham crackers
Tools:
6 – 6” cake pans
parchment paper
piping bags
decorating tips #864, 199, 21, 32, 15, 56, 4
cake spinner
cake round (optional)
cake spatula
bench scraper
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar and vanilla extract.
Add the eggs and mix on low until combined, scraping sides of bowl if necessary.
In a separate bowl, add the cake flour, baking powder and sea salt and whisk together.
Add the milk and cake flour mixture to the mixing bowl, and mix on low until you have a smooth cake batter.
Separate the cake batter into 3 different bowls, each should weigh about 450 g. each.
In the first bowl, add 2 tsp. Color Kitchen Foods Blue Dye. In the second bowl, add 1 tsp. Color Kitchen Foods Blue Dye. And, leave the last bowl without color. This will create an ombre cake once it is baked.
Next, line the six 6” cake pans with parchment paper.
Pour batter evenly into each cake pan about 227 g each, all colors should be poured into 2 cake pans, so you’ll have 2 cake layers of each color.
Bake for 17 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
Once the cakes have cooled, start the frosting for the base layer. This the light blue frosting that the entire cake is frosted with. In your stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, add the butter, powdered sugar, blue dye and water. Mix on low until all ingredients are combined, then speed mixer up to high for 1 minute or until light and fluffy.
Place the darkest cake lay on a cake spinner or stand. Place a generous amount of frosting and spread evenly. Top with the second cake layer that is the same color.
Repeat this process with the next shade of blue and then the white.
Crumb coat the cake, and then frost it so it is smooth. You don’t have to worry about getting the bottom part of the cake super smooth because you are going to cover it up with the waves anyways.
Now it’s time to make the waves frosting. In the bowl of you stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, add the butter, powdered sugar, blue dye and water. Mix on low until all ingredients are combined, then speed mixer up to high for 1 minute or until light and fluffy.
Put in a piping bag with decorating tip #864. Pipe a wave motion, it should feel like you’re drawing a sideways “S”.
Next, it’s time to make the Mermaid frosting. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, add the butter, powdered sugar and water. Mix on low until all ingredients are combined, then speed mixer up to high for 1 minute or until light and fluffy.
Once the Mermaid frosting is made, separate it into 3 bowls. They should weigh 113 g. each. In the first bowl, add ½ tsp. green dye and stir to combine completely. In the second bowl, add ½ tsp. blue dye and ½ tsp. pink dye and stir to combine completely. In the last bowl, add ½ tsp. blue dye and ½ tsp green dye, and stir to combine completely. You will end up with green, purple and teal.
Put the Mermaid frosting in piping bags with decorating tips. I used #56 for the teal, #4 for the purple and #15 for the green. Then I switched them out a couple times for #262 and #24. You can use any tips you like, I just found that the smaller ones that resembled star tips worked the best for filling in the scales.
Draw Mermaid fins around the cake. I got 4 Mermaid fins total, but you can do more or less. I piped scales on all the fins and then just filled in randomly with colors. This is your opportunity to have fun and do freestyle!
Once the Mermaid fins are complete, switch out the tips for #199, #21 and #32 and pipe dollops on the top all the way around the cake for the boarder.
If you want to add sand to the top, add the graham crackers to a food processor and grind until you have a sand like texture. Sprinkle the sand all on the top of the cake.
Eat cake!
Baker’s Note: To make this cake gluten free, just substitute the all natural cake flour for an organic gluten free flour mix. Also, make sure to either omit the sand or use gluten free graham crackers.