This cake is a must make if you love vanilla. It is so moist and easy to make that I have a feeling it will become your new go to cake recipe. If you love coconut like me you can sprinkle the toasted flakes between each layer so every bite has a little.
How to Make an Easter Cake
1. Sift the flour, baking soda and powder, salt and sugar into a bowl then whisk together and set aside.
2. Whisk together the milk, sour cream, vanilla, eggs and butter. You can use very soft room temperature butter or melted and cooled butter.
3. Add the wet mixture to the dry.
4. Mix until just combined then pour batter into your three buttered and floured six inch pans. I always use cake strips for FLAT layers, if you’re not familiar with them check this post out!
5. Cream the butter and salt then sift the powdered sugar in batches, mixing until combined before adding the next batch. Finish off by beating in the blue food coloring. If you used a yellow butter for your frosting then adding blue will give you a nice Robin’s Egg color. You may beet to add a drop of yellow if your butter was exceptionally white.
6. Pipe buttercream between each layer as you assemble. If desired you can add a sprinkling of toasted coconut as well for added taste and texture.
7. Cover the cake completely in buttercream.
8. Smooth the cake’s top and side, then use an offset spatula to pull in the corner while slowly rotating the cake. Clean the tool off after each pass.
9. Mix the cocoa powder and vanilla in a small bowl to create a slurry then dip a clean brush in and use your finger to flick it onto the cake and chocolate eggs. You can practice on a piece of paper first to get the hang of how much of the liquid to add you your brush as well as the distance to hold your brush from the cake and eggs and overall technique. Lay some paper towels down or be prepared to clean up stray chocolate splatters.
10. Pipe a buttercream ring on top of the cake, gently press in the toasted coconut to make a nest, and finally place the chocolate eggs.
I wish you could reach through the screen and grab this piece now. So moist and the vanilla was just right. I chose blue for the buttercream but you can leave it white or dye it any color you’d like! This recipe makes three six inch layers. If you’re making an eight inch cake double the batter and if you’re making nine inch layers triple the batter recipe.
Pro Tips for the BEST Robin’s Egg Easter Cake
- If you’re not using 6-inch pans, double the recipe for 8-inch pans or triple the recipe for 9-inch pans.
- Measure your flour correctly! Adding too much flour to the recipe is the most common mistake. The best, and easiest way to measure flour is by using a scale. If you don’t have one then fluff your flour with a spoon, sprinkle it into your measuring cup, and use a knife to level it off.
- If you see little clumps of butter after you mix the wet ingredients don’t panic, it all works out by the time you mix in the dry ingredients. You can even use melted butter and warm the milk and sour cream up a bit if you like.
- You can substitute whole milk yogurt for the sour cream if desired, I do it all the time and can’t really tell the difference.
- To get FLAT layers that are moist inside and out try using cake strips! You can buy a set on the shop page or make your own from foil and paper towels at home. I made a whole blog post on it so check it out if you’re interested!
- If you think American buttercream is too sweet then try mixing up a batch of silky Italian meringue buttercream, you might just fall in love!
- You can assemble and decorate most of the cake ahead of time and chill it then add the nest on closer to the serving time. If you’re concerned about the eggs and coconut shifting around you can “glue” it all together using some caramel or buttercream.
- You can assemble and decorate most of the cake ahead of time and chill it then add the nest on closer to the serving time. If you’re concerned about the eggs and coconut shifting around you can “glue” it all together using some caramel or buttercream.
- These also make great cupcakes if you want a smaller set of treats. Just top with buttercream and then roll in the toasted coconut to create the nest then place the eggs.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you make robin egg blue icing?
For this cake I used a turquoise blue which mixed with the light yellow frosting for a perfect robin’s egg blue but you can use a mixture of blue and a drop of green to achieve the same color. Mix in SMALL increments until you have the correct color.
Can you make this cake in advance?
Yes! You can make the cake and freeze it, top with the coconut nest and chocolate eggs before serving.
Where can I Find Robin’s Egg blue chocolate eggs?
While Cadbury mini eggs are the most commonly found, Hershey’s mini eggs come in bright pastel colors including the blue seen in these photos.
If you’ve tried this Easter Egg Cake recipe then don’t forget to leave a rating and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!

Easter Egg Cake
Video
Ingredients
INGREDIENTS
For the Cake:
- 1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour 213g
- 1 cup sugar 228g
- 1/4 tsp baking soda 2g
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder 6g
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter 176g, room temperature
- 3 egg whites
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup sour cream 133g
- 1/2 cup whole milk 113g
For the Vanilla Buttercream:
- 2 lbs confectioners sugar 907g
- 1 lb butter 456g, unsalted, room temperature
- 3 tsp vanilla
- 1 tbsp milk
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- Blue food coloring
For the Assembly:
- ½ cup coconut 40g, toasted, sweetened
- 2 tsp cocoa powder nice quality
- 4 tsp vanilla extract
- 6 chocolate eggs mini
Instructions
For the Cake:
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- Spread coconut flakes out on a baking sheet. Cook for about 5-10 minutes mixing once in between, they will toast quickly. Set aside to cool.
- Increase temp to 340 degrees F. Butter and flour three 6-inch pans. I use cake strips on my pans for more even baking as well.
- Sift the dry ingredients (including sugar) together in a large bowl.
- Beat the wet ingredients together in a medium bowl.
- Add the wet to the dry and mix until just combined.
- Divide the mixture evenly into the cake pans.
- Bake at for about 25-30 minutes or until the centers are springy to the touch.
For the Vanilla Buttercream:
- Beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add the confectioners' sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/4 tsp salt, and milk. Mix.
- Add blue food coloring until you get robins egg blue.
- Transfer to a piping bag. Snip off the tip.
For the Assembly:
- Pipe buttercream between each cake layer.
- Pipe an outer layer and smooth out with a bench scraper.
- Mix cocoa powder and vanilla or alcohol. Using a paint brush, splatter the cake and chocolate eggs to create a speckled look.
- Chill for about 10-15 minutes.
- Pipe a ring of buttercream on the cake. Press toasted coconut flakes onto ring. Create a nest shape.
- Add eggs to the inside of the nest.
Notes
- If you’re not using 6-inch pans, double the recipe for 8-inch pans or triple the recipe for 9-inch pans.
- If you see little clumps of butter after you mix the wet ingredients don’t panic, it all works out by the time you mix in the dry ingredients. You can even use melted butter and warm the milk and sour cream up a bit if you like.
- You can substitute whole milk yogurt for the sour cream if desired, I do it all the time and can’t really tell the difference.
Nutrition
Miranda says
Thanks for the cake strip tip! I always wondered how you got your cakes so flat, they’re beautiful!
John K. says
Miranda,
You’re welcome! Cake strips are incredible! Hope you enjoy this cake!
John
Amy says
Hi!! I love everything you do!! Definitely aspire to be have my baked goods as popular as you and they are!
I am making this cake for MY BOSS this weekend with my super vanilla bean cake. Could you tell me which color blue or blend to use? I have the americolor set if that helps!
Thank you!!
Amy
Rachel says
Hi, John! What color and brand of food coloring did you use to get that shade of robins egg blue for the icing? Thank you!
Katelin says
I was wondering the same thing!
Kitty says
This cake looks delish !!Is there a substitute for sour cream which I can use? As sour cream is not available in my country?
John K. says
Kitty,
You can use plain greek yogurt as a substitute for sour cream! Hope you enjoy!
John
Ashly says
Beautiful cake! How tall are you cake pans? I was able to find 6″x 3″ on Amazon. Also did you bake all three pans at the same time? Thank you!
John K. says
Ashly,
I use and own multiple 6×3 cake pans! I always bake the layers at the same time in the oven! Hope that helps!
John
Judy says
Where did you get the chocolate eggs? I’ve looked around, and can’t seem to find them in this color. Most I’ve found are too bright, or in every color except robin’s egg blue.
jkanell says
These eggs are Hershey’s. Picked them up at the drug store.
Kelly says
Where did you get this cake stand? It’s beautiful!
Katherine says
Such a perfect color for easter! LOVE
Ava says
Beautiful cake! Can’t wait to try this!
Ali says
Love this, John! This is probably a dumb question but can I use this cake recipe for a rainbow layer cake? AKA can I use whole eggs and add food coloring? (I would assume so!)
John K. says
Ali,
You can definitely use this recipe for a rainbow cake! Don’t use the eggs yolks, specifically so the cake isn’t yellow! Let me know how it turns out!
John
Ali says
John, it was amazing! Please check it out on my instagram @loveysbakery !!