Ever since I visited the Flour Shop and tried their famous Explosion cake, I’ve been obsessed with making one of my own. When A Girl in NYC (formally A Girl in LA) had its one-year anniversary, I went out and purchased all the ingredients to commemorate the occasion. Unfortunately, it looked a lot better than it tasted. Since then, I’ve made my fair share of cakes to celebrate Birthdays and just because. This has taught me, like with a lot of things, the more detailed the design, the more practice you’ll need. When looking for a recipe, I look for step-by-step instructions from mixing the batter all the way to the icing. However, I understand that messing up is part of the experience and it can even be a fun challenge to fix your mistakes. After searching Pinterest, I’ve discovered ten elegant cake recipes in florals, rainbows, watercolors, and funfetti that are perfect for welcoming the spring.
PS: I’ve also included my go-to tips for baking a cake.
Painted Butter Cream Cake
Lucky Charms Layer Cake
Chocolate Rainbow Cake
Vanilla Buttermilk Cake
Sugar Flower Cake
Retro Shag Cake
Leap Year Cake
Funfetti Layer Cake
Pink Buttercream + Chocolate
Abstract Watercolor Cake
Cake decorating tips + tricks:
1) Make sure you have the correct baking essentials before you start:.
- Measuring spoons and cups.
- Liquid measuring cup.
- Rubber spatula (for scraping the batter).
- Metal spatula (to help remove the cake from the pan).
- Wooden spoons.
- Whisk.
- Rolling pin (for fondant).
- Bowls (in various sizes).
- Mesh sieve (for sifting).
- Bakeware (this one comes with three different sizes, and this one comes with four 6 inch nonstick silicone pans).
- Wire rack (for cooling).
- Eclectic mixer (either handheld or a stand mixer).
- Rotating cake turntable (this one comes with an icing spatula, icing smoother, and decorating comb).
- Serrated knife.
- Cake smoother.
- Icing spatula.
- Pastry bag with tips.
- Wax paper.
2) Purchase a rotating cake turntable which will make decorating a lot easier.
3) Make sure your cake is 100% cool before you frost it. You can do this by putting it in the freezer.
4) Level your cake (slice off the top so that it’s completely flat) with a serrated knife.
5) Apply a crumb coat, which is a light coating of frosting that seals in any crumbs so they don’t get into the final layer of frosting.
6) Use an icing spatula to spread the frosting, followed by a cake smoother to cover it evenly.
7) To decorate, use a pastry bag with tips and be sure to practice first. Put your icing in the pastry bag and draw out your designs on a sheet of wax paper. This will help you get the hang of it.
8) If you’re new to cake decorating and are nervous about intricate designs, you can decorate with colorful sprinkles, edible glitter, shimmer dust, candies, sugar flowers, cake toppers, and candles.
*This article contains some affiliate links.
