Recipe courtesy of Molly Yeh
Tie-Dye Tutu Birthday Cake
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- Level: Intermediate
- Total: 3 hr
- Active: 1 hr
- Yield: 12 servings
Molly loves dreaming up and baking cakes for her loved ones. This particular confection is a raspberry and blueberry infused tie-dye version of a cake she makes for every family birthday. It has hints of almond that complement the vanilla and then the whole thing is decorated with traditional American buttercream in the shape of a tutu for her daughter’s 3rd birthday and current tutu obsession.
- Level: Intermediate
- Total: 3 hr
- Active: 1 hr
- Yield: 12 servings
Ingredients
Cake:
Frosting:
Directions
Special equipment:
three 6-inch round cake pans; a large piping bag; a #124 petal pastry tip; a ballerina topper- For the cake: Arrange an oven rack in the middle position. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease three 6-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
- For the dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, sift the flour and baking powder. Add the salt and whisk together to combine.
- For the wet ingredients: In a liquid measuring cup, whisk together the heavy cream, sour cream, vanilla and almond extract. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the granulated sugar, butter and coconut oil on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Reduce the speed to medium-low and add one-third of the dry mixture. Mix until just combined, then add half of the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Repeat with alternating dry and wet additions, then finish with the remaining dry. Mix until just combined.
- Remove half of the batter to a medium bowl and set aside. Divide the other half of the batter equally between the three prepared baking pans. With the reserved half of batter, remove half into a separate bowl. Into one bowl, add 1 tablespoon of powdered, freeze-dried raspberries and stir to combine. Into the other bowl, add 1 tablespoon of powdered, freeze-dried blueberries and stir to combine. (For deeper colors, you can add a drop of pink and purple food coloring, respectively, as desired.) Dollop each of the raspberry and blueberry batters into all 3 cake pans. Using a butter knife or small offset spatula, swirl the dollops into the batter to create a tie-dyed or marbled effect. Gently tap the cake pans on the counter once or twice to eliminate any big air bubbles.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few crumbs, begin checking for doneness at 22 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes in the pans, loosen the edges with a butter knife or offset spatula if needed, and turn onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- For the frosting: Combine the powdered sugar, butter and salt in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low until you’re confident that the powdered sugar won’t fly everywhere, then increase the speed to medium and continue to mix until smooth. Add the heavy cream, vanilla and almond extract, increase the speed to medium-high and continue to mix for a few more seconds, until combined and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Remove two-thirds of the frosting into a bowl and mix in 1 tablespoon each of freeze-dried raspberries and blueberries and a few drops of lavender food coloring until you reach the desired color. Set aside.
- Into the remaining frosting, add drops of pink food coloring until you reach the desired color. Add the pink frosting to a large piping bag fitted with the #124 petal tip.
- To assemble and decorate: Level the tops of the cakes with a serrated knife. Place a dollop of frosting onto a 6-inch cardboard cake round (to act as a “glue”) and place one layer of cake on top. Add a thin layer of purply-berry frosting. Using an offset spatula, spread the frosting into an even layer. Top with the second cake, cut-side down and apply another coating of berry frosting. Repeat with the final layer and frosting. Frost the cake all over with the remaining berry frosting.
- With your pink frosting, pipe a tutu around the lower half of the cake. Place a ballerina cake topper onto the center of the cake, then decorate around the ballerina with the gold dragees and pastel sprinkles.
- Store leftovers, covered, at room temperature for up to 4 or 5 days.
