Violet Layer Cake with Violet Ganache, Violet Italian Meringue and sugared edible violets

Bubble turned 21 and we celebrated with a little party at home with friends and family. 

Over the years I have made some wonderful and fancy cakes for Bubble. Often she chose my strawberry flavoured cake recipe which has been a favourite for years.

But this being a milestone birthday I decided to come up with a new flavour based on Bubble's favourite macaron flavour which is violet.

The actual cake design was pretty, elegant and understated. which is a bit of a reflection of the amazingly lovely person Bubble has become (and really has always been).

Last year while traveling in Vienna we picked up sugared violets and I crushed these and added them to the Italian Meringue Buttercream which was flavoured with Violet essence. Then I covered the cake with a whipped violet ganache, lightened with a dollop of the buttercream and decorated it with gold splashes and more sugared violets.

It was exquisite. 

We also had a 4 layer chocolate cake cover with Lindt milk chocolate and topped with chocolate macarons plus raspberry and violet macarons (CLICK HERE FOR MY FREE RASPBERRY MACARON RECIPE).

#Note that violet extract/essence and sugared violets are speciality items and can be difficult to source. Here is a link to violet extract (CLICK HERE) and a link to sugared/crystalised violets (CLICK HERE). 

If you do not care for violet flavour or its a bit tricky to source, try using raspberry with freeze dried raspberries which would be delicious and just as pretty.

Happy Baking

XX

Linda M

Violet Layer Cake Recipe and Assembly Instructions

Ingredients (recipes below)

3 X 6" vanilla cake 

Violet Italain Meringue Buttercream 

Whipped Violet Ganache

extra crystallised violets to decorate (CLICK HERE FOR A LINK)

edible gold paint (link here)

1. Assemble the Cake

Trim cake as necessary to removed brown edges (optional you can leave it as is if you prefer)

Pop one 6" vanilla cake onto a 6"cake board. Secure the bottom with a little buttercream to hold it in place. Top with a generous 1/2 cup of Violet Italian Meringue Buttercream and then another layer of cake. Repeat the process adding another generous 1/2 cup Violet Italian Meringue Buttercream and then the final third layer of cake. 

Give the cake a quick thin crumb coat of reserved vanilla buttercream*

Place cake into fridge to firm up to make decorating easier.

*The sugared violets in the Violet Buttercream make it difficult to get a smooth finish, but it's all ok you will be covering in a layer of ganache soon.

Note - If it is warm you may need to do each layer and pop the cake into the fridge to firm up so it doesn't slide off.

2. Decorate the Cake

Remove the stacked cake from the fridge. I put my cake onto a cake decorating turntable. 

Using the violet ganache cover the edges and top with a reasonably thick coating of the ganache. I simply used a palette knife to cover the cake but use whatever process you are used to. 

To make the sides smooth I used a metal scraper held at a 45degree angle and turned the cake turntable while holding the scraper still. Fill any holes in the ganache with reserved ganache (or ganache that you have scraped off) and repeat the process until you are happy. You may need to pop the cake in and out of the fridge as required depending on the temperature. 

I use a metal scraper for tall cakes (CLICK HERE) which works best for me

Note - perfection is overrated if you are making this for your friends and family. Smooth until you are happy and ignore any dents and spots. No one will notice them.

Add gold splashes and crushed sugared violets randomly but sparsely. No need to go overboard. I mixed my edible gold dust with rose spirits and splashed on with a paint brush by lightly tapping the brush handle against my hand.

Fluffy Vanilla Cake makes 3 x 6" cakes

Ensure all ingredients are at room temperature, otherwise the butter will not mix in well.

80g (3oz) egg yolks (approximately 5 eggs)

225g (7+7/8oz)sugar (I used caster sugar or superfine if you only have regular white you can use that)

75g (2 + 5/8oz) butter melted and cooled

165g (5 + 3/4 oz) egg whites

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla essence

225g (7+ 7/8oz)plain flour (all purpose flour)

3 tsp baking powder

125g (4 + 3/8oz) milk

Preheat oven to 175C (350F) grease and line 3 X 6" round baking tins with parchment paper.

In a large bowl whisk the egg yolks with 1Tbsp of the sugar at medium high speed  light and fluffy. This will take a while and the mixture will become a lighter colour and very fluffy. It is important that the mixture is lightened/whipped enough at this stage.

Add the butter and mix until the mixture is thick and pale. If the butter solidifies (due to different temperatures of yolk and melted butter) keep on mixing until smooth.

In  a seperate bowl mix the egg whites, cream of tartar and salt until soft peak stage. Gradually add the remaining sugar and mix until the egg white mixture is thick and glossy and reaches stiff peak stage. Mix in the vanilla.

Sift together the flour and baking powder and gradually fold into to the egg yolk mixture in batches. Add the milk and fold until just combined.

Take a generous heaped spoon of the egg white mixture and fold into the egg yolk batter to lighten it and then add the remaining egg white mixture folding gently to retain as much volume and air as possible.

Pour the batter evenly into the 3 baking tins. My tins had 295g in each of the 3 tins.

Bake for 20-25 mis until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. The sides will be coming away from the edge of the tin and it should lightly spring back when touched and be golden brown in colour.

Allow to cool completely before decorating (I made my cakes a few days before, double cling wrapped them, froze them and then removed from the freezer and defrosted in fridge the morning I decorated the cake.)

Violet Italian Meringue Buttercream

1 1/2  cup Italian Meringue Buttercream (recipe below)
1 1/2 Tbsp Crushed sugared violets (or to taste)
1/2 tsp violet extract (or to taste) CLICK HERE FOR LINK/SOURCE FOR VIOLET EXTRACT

Mix the violet extract into buttercream, taste and add more extract if required. Gently fold in the crushed sugared violets.

Whipped Violet Ganache Frosting(makes enough ganache to just cover a 3 layer by 15cm/6 inch cake)

330g (11 + 5/8oz) good quality white chocolate (I used Callebaut) 
110g (3 + 7/8oz) cream
1/2 tsp violet essence (violet flavour/essence varies add to taste)
few drops gel violet colour and pink
1/4 cup Italian meringue buttercream (recipe below)

Chop chocolate into little pieces if necessary then place with cream into a microwave safe bowl. I usually use glass/pyrex for heating chocolate. Mix the chocolate and cream around so the chocolate is covered with cream. Microwave on high for 1 minute, let sit for a minute, microwave for another 30 seconds, let sit for another minute and then stir with a whisk. I find that using a stick blender makes the smoothest most perfect ganache but I usually just use the whisk. 

If you have any little lumps try to mix them in. Your chocolate and microwave may be slightly different than mine so you might need to heat for another few lots of 30 seconds.

Add the violet flavour to taste and food colour to achieve your desired look. I added a few drops of violet which for me gave the ganache a greenish/blue tinge and then a drop of pink to achieve the colour in the pictures.

Allow to sit at room temperature or in the fridge until it has thickened. It should be like a thick custard that you can spoon.

In a stand mixer bowl whip the ganache until light and fluffy scraping down the sides as needed then add the buttercream and whip. Check the flavour and colour and add more if required.

Mini Batch of Italian Meringue Buttercream 
Your bowl and whisk need to be squeaky clean to whip egg whites. I use a stand mixer with a pouring shield to make this butter cream, the sugar syrup is very hot, make sure you take appropriate safety precautions when pouring the hot sugar syrup mixture. Not suitable for young children to make.

38g (1 3/8oz) water

150g (6oz) white sugar 

75g (2 3/4oz) egg whites

1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
225g (8 oz - 2 sticks) unsalted butter cut into smallish cubes

Place sugar and water into saucepan over high heat and bring to boil. Conintue to  heat until the sugar syrup mixture reaches 115 C (240F). Brush down the the sides of saucepan with a wet pastry brush as required to stop sugar crystals from forming.

Place the egg whites in the bowl of your mixer (make sure the bowl is quite large). When the sugar syrup reaches 110C (210F) start to whip the egg whites at high speed.
Once the sugar syrup reaches 115C (240 F) carefully pour the syrup into the whipped egg whites whilst the mixer is still beating on high.

Continue to beat until the egg and sugar mixture cooled to room temperature (or the bowl feels cool to touch) and then start to add a few cubes of butter at a time. Add the vanilla and salt.

The mixture will probably become quite liquid, but continue to beat until it thickens and all the butter is evenly distributed. May take around 10 minutes.

Original photos and recipe from the Bubble and Sweet blog ©Linda McCubbin 2025. I love when people share my blog ideas and give credit. Please feel free to link back to my blog for non commercial purposes or contact me. Affiliate links and adds may earn me money, however all ideas and opinions are my own.

Linda Mccubbin is a blogger, baker, maker and author of the cookbook ' Sweets on a Stick': More than 150 kid friendly recipes for cakes, candies, cookies and pies on the go!. Published in the US in 2011 (under my previous name Linda Vandermeer).

Ring of Roses Strawberry Layer Cake

It's just been our birthday time of the year when we are lucky enough to celebrate a birthday every month, and no matter what ever else happens in life or how old we are, Birthday Cake is always a must.

Bubble's birthday is the first off the rank and she chose strawberry cake which has been a family favourite since as long as I can remember. It is a pretty pink cake flavoured and coloured using jelly crystals (jell-o box) which makes for a consistent cake all year round. My family recipe has had a few tweaks over the years so I've included the current recipe below.

The birthday girl decreed only a small amount of frosting. I decorated simply by covering with Italian Meringue buttercream (recipe below), adding some texture with varying shades of contrasting buttercream and edible gold and added a ring of big sweeping rose swirls on top using a 1M tip alternating between pink and white and then with random piped leaves. The pink colour is sugar flair dusky pink/wine and the green is sugar flair eucalyptus. Italian Meringue buttercream uses whipped egg whites and a sugar syrup and takes a bit more work than simple American buttercream. I like to use it as it is lighter and less sweet to my taste. 

To give the cake a bit of a lift I added pistachio cream between each layer, which to be honest, although nice was not really worth the effort (**keep your eyes out for a pistachio ganache recipe I have coming up which will be worth the wait). The pistachio cream was from Costco but seriously you can just leave it out and the cake will be just as lovely.

If you want to see another version of this strawberry cake decorated in a different way check out this sweet strawberry candy girl cake here on my blog. 

xx

Linda  

Pretty rose swirl strawberry cake - makes a 6 inch 3 layer cake

- 3 x 6" strawberry cakes (see recipe below)

- 1 x batch Italian Meringue buttercream (see recipe below)

- 1 cup Pistachio cream (optional) warmed in microwave just for a short time until it easily is spreadable but not hot.

Assembly Instructions

You can make this cake 2 or 3 days before you serve. Bake the cake, cool and wrap in plastic wrap. I trim the brown edges off this cake but you don't need to, I do it because I like the look of the sliced cake. You will however need to trim off any domed top to make 3 cakes approximately the same height.

-Place the bottom layer onto a 6"cake board (or straight onto a plate or stand if you are not using the cake board). 

-Pop a small dollop of buttercream under the cake to secure it in place and then using an offset spatula spread a layer of buttercream over the top. 

-Put some buttercream into a piping bag wth a large round tip and pipe a dam around the edge of the cake (see picture below). Spoon in half the pistachio cream and pop into fridge to chill until buttercream is firm. 

- Remove from fridge and top with a thin layer of buttercream to seal the pistachio cream. Add the next layer and repeat the above steps of spreading a layer of buttercream, piping a dam,  adding the pistachio cream and placing in fridge to chill again.

- Remove from fridge, top with a thin layer of buttercream to seal the pistachio cream, add the final cake layer and cover with a thin crumb coat, smoothing the sides and top. Place into fridge to chill until buttercream is firm to touch.

- Reserve around 1 1/2 cups plain white buttercream and colour the remainder in pink.

- smooth the pink buttercream over the cake in a thin layer, if you can't get it perfect do not stress, this cake has an imperfect textured look to it. If you have a cake turntable and a cake scraper it is easier to achieve a smooth finish, but if not use a knife or offset spatula to the best of your ability. I have been known to use a clean plastic ruler in a pinch. 

- Put the remaining pink and the white buttercream into seperate piping bags with a 1M tip and pipe the roses. If you look at my cake closely you will notice that there are only 3 pink swirls and 5 white swirls, with some pink stars piped in-between. The key here is to do what you want, it's your cake be creative. I also piped a border around the bottom with a small star tip. Then I coloured a small amount of the remaining white buttercream green (eucalypt) and piped the leaves. Pop into fridge to chill until firm.

I wanted a rustic casual look and added some of the left over buttercream to the sides randomly and smoothed it in with an offset spatula. Finally after another quick chill I added some edible gold leaf.

Sweet Strawberry Layer Cake (divide the batter into 3 x 6" pans to make a 4" high filled cake)
The jelly (jello) used in this recipe is the dry sugar crystals in the packet. If cake flour is not available use 310g (11 oz) plain (all purpose) flour and add 40g (1 3/8 oz)of cornflour (corn starch) instead.
*Note I like to use weight instead of cup measurements as standard cup sizes are not the same in USA and Australia.

350g (12 3/8oz) cake flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
200g (7oz) sugar
1 packet strawberry jelly crystals (jell-o) 85g (3oz approx)
225g (8 oz) unsalted butter at room temperature
4 large eggs at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
240ml (8 1/2oz) full fat milk
135g (4 3/4oz) no fat greek yogurt 

Preheat oven to 170 C  (340 F) fan forced. Line the base and sides of 3 x 15cm (6") tins or 2 x 20cm 8" tins.

Sift the flour and baking powder and set aside until needed.

In the bowl of a large mixer at high speed cream together the butter, sugar and jelly (jello) crystals until light and fluffy.

Reduce speed to low and add the vanilla and then eggs one at a time mixing until combined and scraping down the sides as required.

Add 1/3rd of the flour mixture, mix at low speed until just combined scraping down sides as required. Add 1/2 the milk and mix until combined and then another 1/3rd of the flour mixture once again mixing and scraping down the sides.

Add the remaining milk and all of the yogurt and mix until combined and then the final third of flour making sure the sides and bottom of bowl have been scraped down and no lumps of flour are remaining.

Divide the mixture evenly between the prepared tins.

Bake until the cake is cooked all the way through and a skewer inserted comes out dry approximately 45 minutes.

Italian Meringue Butter cream This batch will make enough to fill and cover the cake and extra to decorate with buttercream flowers as in the example.

Make sure your bowl and mixer are clean to whip egg whites. I use a stand mixer with a pouring shield to make this butter cream, the sugar syrup is very hot, make sure you take appropriate safety precautions when pouring the hot sugar syrup mixture. Not suitable for young children to make.

300g white sugar (12oz)
75g (2 3/4oz) water
5 egg whites
450g (1 pound - 4 sticks) unsalted butter cut into smallish cubes
1 tsp vanilla extract

Place sugar and water into saucepan over high heat and bring to boil. Conintue to  heat until the sugar syrup mixture reaches 115 C (240F). Brush down the the sides of saucepan with a wet pastry brush as required to stop sugar crystals from forming.

Place the egg whites in the bowl of your mixer (make sure the bowl is quite large). When the sugar syrup reaches 110C (210F) start to whip the egg whites at high speed.

Once the sugar syrup reaches 115C (240 F) carefully pour the syrup into the whipped egg whites whilst the mixer is still beating on high.

Continue to beat until the egg and sugar mixture cooled to room temperature (or the bowl feels cool to touch) and then start to add a few cubes of butter at a time. Add the vanilla.

The mixture may become quite liquid, but continue to beat until it thickens and all the butter is evenly distributed. If necessary pop the mixing bowl into the fridge to cool down a little then continue to mix.

I love when people share my blog ideas and give credit. All posts contain original ideas, photography and recipes by Linda McCubbin unless otherwise credited. Please feel free to link back to my blog for non commercial purposes.

Pink and gold celebration cake

I'm moving house which is quite a big thing after living in the same place for 16 years and has not left me a lot of time to post here on the blog.

Eeeek, the stuff I have accumulated over that time ...... It was hard at first but it actually feels good to let go of so many of those things.

So to celebrate (and use up some of my supplies so I don't need to move them) I decorated a cake.

Ok y'all know I pretty much make a cake to celebrate the opening of a letter, but that's a good thing right?

This cake is fondant covered with edible gold then rough buttercream, sixlets and pearls and a single macaron up on top.

It's elegant and beautiful but still a bit fun and you aren't quite sure what is hiding inside. (I recommend either Cookies and Cream Cake or Strawberry Layer Cake)

Because my gold was not on transfer sheets it is a bit textured, which looks great with the added layers of buttercream applied with an offset spatula.

This cake is perfect for hiding any little imperfections on the cake while still managing to look perfectly put together.

Anyhoo I best go pack some more boxes and take some stuff down to charity.

Linda Vandermeer is a blogger, baker, maker and author of the Children's cookbook Sweets on a Stick: More Than 150 Kid-Friendly Recipes for Cakes, Candies, Cookies, and Pies on the Go! Published in the USA in 2011 the book is still available at Amazon and many online bookstores.

Affiliate links may earn me money and contribute to supporting this blog.

Original ideas, photography and recipes Linda Vandermeer please do not reuse without permission except for non commercial purposes where you may use 1 image, give credit and link back to original post.

Swan Princess Birthday Party

It's party time again around here and Bubble celebrated with a swan princess party with a pretty mint, gold, white and black theme.

It was a low key event with just a few friends so I decided to have it indoors and turned my creative craft space into the dessert table which worked well and ended up being a great decision as the weather threatened rain as the party was starting.

Party Decorations

OK I know you all want to know it, where did I get that amazing green feather garland 'cause it's pretty gorgeous, and let me tell you even more so in real life. I picked it up at Lark to decorate Bubble's bedroom with and when it arrived it just begged to be used for my party table seeings as it matched the plates I bought perfectly.

Yup, I saw these plates online a little while back and I had to make them mine. They might be some of the most awesome paper plates I have ever seen. No I am not being paid to say this I just like to share this stuff so y'all can have pretty parties too. I bought them from Lark, they are made by Bash Party Goods.

The honeycomb balls were from discount dollar stores they were a couple of dollars each for the large ones and the smaller ones were in packs of 3 for the same price.

I made the swan pinata which involved the (humane) sacrifice of a unicorn pinata, I will do a post with a few progress pictures shortly.

I also made my own glitter dipped balloons by spraying adhesive glue spray to gold balloons and then sprinkling glitter onto them.

A few hours before the party I popped out for coffee with a friend and afterwards found those multi sized gold glitter dots at a discount store down at the local shop which were perfect placed randomly on the wall either side of the garland. The whole pack of dots cost $2.50 and if I don't keep them the kids will use them for craft so it's pretty much win win.

The geometric mint vase holder/ tealight holders were from the reject shop, and the cake stand and candy jars I have had for years.

Party Food with links to my recipes on this blog

We had an elegant mint green colour butter cream cake which was actually a chocolate layer cake filled with cookies and cream (CLICK HERE FOR CAKE RECIPE).

 It was decorated with edible gold edged macarons (including a couple of empty macaron shells on the side of the cake) and some stars of buttercream piped randomly with a #195 tip. I stacked filled and decorated the whole cake in under an hour which was a lovely change for me.

Macarons in a matching mint shade (CLICK HERE FOR MY MACARON RECIPE) for the party table and as I made them myself I was able to make a variety of sizes to decorate the cake with.

Simple swan cookies in mint and white decorated with a little edible gold leaf which once again were quick to make (CLICK HERE FOR MY COOKIE RECIPE and how to add gold leaf to cookies).

We had chocolate covered Oreo's in ombre shades from black through to green with a little edible gold leaf. There was matching candy sixlets and bon bons.

Funny side story the whole reason I went for a swan party was to make choux swans after I got the Retro Baking (The Australian Women's Weekly) and I didn't end up making them or the really cool cake pop idea I had.

Yup this is my creative space room all dressed up to party.

CLICK HERE for details and more pics from when I renovated it

Finally I picked up some bunches flowers from the grocery store for under $30 for the lot and split them up between glass jam jars and one larger vase to fill up the spaces on the table and yay now I have fresh flowers for the rest of the week.



Linda Vandermeer is a blogger, baker, maker and author of the Children's cookbook Sweets on a Stick: More Than 150 Kid-Friendly Recipes for Cakes, Candies, Cookies, and Pies on the Go! Published in the USA in 2011 the book is still available at Amazon and many online bookstores.

Affiliate links may earn me money and contribute to supporting this blog.

Original ideas, photography and recipes Linda Vandermeer please do not reuse without permission.

Sweet Strawberry Layer cake

I have such a treat for you this week. I am finally sharing my sweet strawberry layer cake recipe here and yes I don't know why it has taken me so long although perhaps you will forgive me when I tell you I have been tweaking it over the years to come up with the delicious version in the top photo.

Picture by Alyce and Colette Photographers

The secret my dear friends is...........strawberry jelly (jello) crystals which gives the cake both the flavour and the colour in one go.

I have been using it for years as it's such a favourite with the kids.

In fact when I made it for Sweet's recent birthday after not using it for a year or so and The Destroyer was licking the bowl* he said it tasted like berry pancakes and told me that if the finished cake tasted the same it would be the most amazing cake I ever made.

*(I know he shouldn't do that with raw egg but seriously I am only human and he was begging.)

(for this version replace the yogurt with strawberry puree)

The 3rd picture above is of an older version of the cake back when I used to add puree strawberry in place of yogurt, which is still good and I'm telling you just in case you would like to try it out yourself.

The finished cake cuts very well and is quite moist so you can make it a few days ahead and decorate as needed. The only downside is that it has quite a brown hard crust which I think is better removed for decorating if you want the cake to look nice once sliced. But I pretty much do that for all my cakes anyway.

I like to fill this cake with a light vanilla Italian Meringue Buttercream which I guess kinda makes it a strawberry and cream layer cake and totally delicious and I have included a recipe at the bottom of the post.When filling I find it best to chill the cake in the fridge for a few minutes between each layer.

I hope you try my strawberry ckae and that it becomes a family favourite for you like it has for me.

Sweet Strawberry Layer Cake (divide the batter into 3 x 6" pans to make a 4" high filled cake)
The jelly (jello) used in this recipe is the dry sugar crystals in the packet. If cake flour is not available use 310g (11 oz) plain (all purpose) flour and add 40g (1 3/8 oz)of cornflour (corn starch) instead.
Note I like to use weight instead of cup measurements as standard cup sizes are not the same in USA and Australia.

350g (12 3/8oz) cake flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
200g (7oz) sugar
1 packet strawberry jelly crystals (jello) 85g (3oz approx)
225g (8 oz) unsalted butter at room temperature
4 large eggs at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
240ml (8 1/2oz) full fat milk
135g (4 3/4oz) no fat greek yogurt (I use Chobani)

Preheat oven to 170 C  (340 F) fan forced. Line the base and sides of 3 x 15cm (6") tins or 2 x 20cm 8" tins.

Sift the flour and baking powder and set aside until needed.

In the bowl of a large mixer at high speed cream together the butter, sugar and jelly (jello) crystals until light and fluffy.

Reduce speed to low and add the vanilla and then eggs one at a time mixing until combined and scraping down the sides as required.

Add 1/3rd of the flour mixture, mix at low speed until just combined scraping down sides as required. Add 1/2 the milk and mix until combined and then another 1/3rd of the flour mixture once again mixing and scraping down the sides.

Add the remaining milk and all of the yogurt and mix until combined and then the final third of flour making sure the sides and bottom of bowl have been scraped down and no lumps of flour are remaining.

Divide the mixture evenly between the prepared tins.

Bake until the cake is cooked all the way through and a skewer inserted comes out dry approximately 45 minutes.

Italian Meringue Butter cream This batch will make enough to fill and cover the cake and extra to decorate with buttercream flowers as in the example.

Make sure your bowl and mixer are clean to whip egg whites. I use a stand mixer with a pouring shield to make this butter cream, the sugar syrup is very hot, make sure you take appropriate safety precautions when pouring the hot sugar syrup mixture. Not suitable for young children to make.

300g white sugar (12oz)
75g (2 3/4oz) water
5 egg whites
450g (1 pound - 4 sticks) unsalted butter cut into smallish cubes
1 tsp vanilla extract

Place sugar and water into saucepan over high heat and bring to boil. Conintue to  heat until the sugar syrup mixture reaches 115 C (240F). Brush down the the sides of saucepan with a wet pastry brush as required to stop sugar crystals from forming.

Place the egg whites in the bowl of your mixer (make sure the bowl is quite large). When the sugar syrup reaches 110C (210F) start to whip the egg whites at high speed.

Once the sugar syrup reaches 115C (240 F) carefully pour the syrup into the whipped egg whites whilst the mixer is still beating on high.

Continue to beat until the egg and sugar mixture cooled to room temperature (or the bowl feels cool to touch) and then start to add a few cubes of butter at a time. Add the vanilla.

The mixture will probably become quite liquid, but continue to beat until it thickens and all the butter is evenly distributed. May take around 10 minutes.

Linda Vandermeer is a blogger, baker, maker and author of the Children's cookbook Sweets on a Stick: More Than 150 Kid-Friendly Recipes for Cakes, Candies, Cookies, and Pies on the Go! Published in the USA in 2011 the book is still available at Amazon and many online bookstores.

Affiliate links may earn me money and contribute to supporting this blog.

Original ideas, photography and recipes Linda Vandermeer please do not reuse without permission.

Rustic naked cake how to

Naked cakes and semi-naked have been pretty fashionable at weddings, anniversaries and birthdays the past few years. Pretty much they are just a cake without all the extra fondant and buttercream which some people actually prefer.

Plus they can be perfect if you want to make your own rustic version. In fact the one in the picture I made with a shop purchased cake then decorated with pesticide free flowers and herbs from my garden and the whole thing cost less than $10.

Although don't go rocking up to your cake decorator expecting the same, they actually put quite a bit more effort into than I did and they probably can barely turn the oven on without it costing $10 (let alone make a wage). Plus in Australia I don't think it would be legal for them to stick flowers from their own garden onto a cake.

But like I said if you want a really rustic pretty cake without all the fuss this is the perfect cake for you.

I've popped a guide as to how I made the cake down below but if you are making one yourself or even just ordering one for an event here are a few things to think about:

- How hot is it going to be? Is your event in summer? You don't want to end up with a slippery slidy mess of cream and wilted flowers. Think about what type of frosting you are going to use and make sure there is a fridge handy. Then pop the flowers, fruit and a dusting of sugar on top just before you need to display the cake.

- How long will it be out? Cake decorators often use recipes that can be out of the fridge for quite a while. I used cream cheese frosting which is highly perishable and should not be left out for hours on end. If you are concerned a whipped ganache made by boiling cream and adding to white chocolate is a safe fall back.

- Where are your flowers from? The flowers in my garden are pesticide free because I am too lazy to spray them. If you're not sure if the ones you source are edible or if they have been sprayed be careful about placing them on the cake, You might want to make a barrier of parchment paper. Also it should go without saying, but....never ever ever use poisonous flowers.

- Will my frosting hold up the weight of the cake? I used a light sponge, if you are using a heavier cake you might want to use a frosting that will hold up better (ie whipped ganache or a sturdy buttercream).

- How high do you want the cake? If you are making a tiered cake you will need internal dowels and cake boards otherwise you will have a leaning tower of cake.  It will cost you way more than $10 and you may say some curse words like shoot and fudge if you're not used to making cakes. Same goes for a single tier but very tall cake.

- What type of cake stand should I use? Once again my cake was pretty light so I used a pretty 10" mint cake stand and it was able to hold up the weight. If you cake has a number of layers and is very heavy this type of stand may not hold the weight.



- Do you want a rustic look or a semi-naked finish? The cake I have pictured is very, very rustic. If you like a neater finish you should use a spatula to run around the frosting and make it even with the edges of the cake. For a semi-naked finish you will need some cake scrappers or similar to spread a thin patchy layer of frosting around the edge of the cake.

- Hey I don't like the brown edges on the cake can I cut them off? Of course you can, it's your cake, but it will be a crumby mess to do this and will take way longer than you think it will. Plus the cake will dry out faster. On the plus side it looks pretty.

- Do you want any other decorations? I love the trend of glittery or wooden signs on top of rustic cakes at the moment, or bunting can be cute as well.

Simple guide for Naked Cake
I purchased a store made cake, however you can make your own from scratch or use a packet mix. Use edible pesticide free flowers. If you are selling your cakes make sure you follow your local food and safety standards.

2 layer white cake (I picked up a sponge cake from Drakes/IGA on sale for $1.69)
Raspberry Jam  (optional)
Frosting (recipe below)
Edible pesticide free flowers, fruit, chocolates, macarons or herbs for decorating
Icing sugar (powdered sugar)

Cut each cake into half so you end up with 4 cake layers. If any of the cakes have a domed top trim it off to make the cakes flatter.

Spread 3 layers generously with jam if you are using it and leave one free of jam. The jam free layer will be the top/final layer.

Place the first jam topped layer on your cake stand or cake board and top with a thick layer of frosting and then place the second layer of cake onto the top of the first layer and gently press into place. Make sure the second layer of cake evenly centered. Spread a layer of frosting onto the top of the second layer do not press down very hard. Pop the 3rd layer of cake onto the top of the cake and then place the cake into fridge to chill for about 10 minutes.

Remove the cake from the fridge spread on another layer of frosting and top with the final layer of cake.

Place in the fridge to allow the frosting to set a little for 10 minutes and then remove from fridge and spread on the final layer of frosting.

Decorate with fresh flowers, fruit and herbs. Use a sieve or tea strainer to dust with a little icing sugar (powder sugar).

I find removing the flowers prior to slicing the cake is best.

Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

115 g (4oz) unsalted butter at room temperature
115g (4oz) cream cheese (full fat)
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
2 cups icing sugar mixture (powdered sugar) sifted

Mix together all ingredients until light and fluffy.

Linda Vandermeer is a blogger, baker, maker and author of the Children's cookbook Sweets on a Stick: More Than 150 Kid-Friendly Recipes for Cakes, Candies, Cookies, and Pies on the Go! Published in the USA in 2011 the book is still available at Amazon and many online bookstores.

Affililate links may earn me money and contribute to supporting this blog.

Original ideas, photography and recipes Linda Vandermeer please do not reuse without permission.