Snowflake Cake

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Can a Christmas cake be chic??  I had this idea of piping candy melt snowflakes for an ombré cake and I love how it came out! So simple but delicate and beautiful. Also, completely delicious!

About the Snowflakes

• Candy melt is really easy to work with but it does harden quickly so keep a HOT glass of water close by while you pipe and dip your piping bag into it at regular intervals to keep the candy melt at the right temperature. Click here for the printable template I used as a guide for my snowflakes.
• I used the printable template with some parchment paper taped over and the snowflakes came right off after cooling on the counter for a few minutes.

Your snowflakes don’t have to be perfect and uniform, real ones are all a bit different after all! You will be whipping up a batch of Italian buttercream for this cake so click over for my IMBC recipe and step-by-step. You will divide the buttercream into several batches and tint them in various shades of blue for the ombré.

If you find cake decorating to be a bit intimidating then check out my How to Decorate a Cake post, it has lots of helpful tips and a full how to video.

A Few Tips

• 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.
• 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 don’t want to make Italian buttercream you can use the American variety. I just prefer the smoothness and taste of the Italian variety. I know it’s a pain to make two different types of frosting though!
• To pipe the two-tone frosting you fill one bag (1/2 way full) with white frosting, one bag with blue frosting and then put both bags in a third piping bag. No need for a tip, just snip about an inch off each bag.

Steps to Make This Cake

If you’ve tried this cake then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!

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Snowflake Cake

Candy melt snowflakes make this peppermint-kissed cake a showstopper.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Servings 10

Calories 240 kcal

Author John Kanell

Ingredients

INGREDIENTS

For the Buttercream:

• 3 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 lb confectioner's sugar
• 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
• 3 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
• blue food coloring
• red food coloring

For the Cake:

• 1 2/3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter room temperature
• 3 egg whites
• 3 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1 teaspoon peppermint extract

For the Snowflakes:

• ⅔ cup candy melt
• parchment paper

For the Italian Buttercream:

• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/3 cup sugar
• pinch kosher salt
• 16 oz unsalted butter cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon cream tartar

Instructions

INSTRUCTIONS:

For the Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Butter and paper three 6-inch cake pans. I use cake strips on my pans for more even baking.
3. Sift and mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.
4. Beat the wet ingredients together in a medium bowl.
5. Add wet to dry ingredients and mix until combined
6. Divide the mixture evenly into the cake pans.

7. Bake for about 30 minutes until the centers are springy to the touch.

8. Let cool completely.

For the Buttercream:

1. Whip the butter for about 5 minutes using a paddle attachment (stand-up mixer).
2. Beat in the confectioner’s sugar slowly
3. Add the cream and vanilla. Beat until you have an even, fluffy consistency.

4. Transfer a white batch to a piping bag. Add red food coloring to another batch and transfer to a piping bag. Snip off the tips of both and add to a larger piping bag. Pipe a spiral between each layer. 

   

5. Pipe and smooth a crumb coat with excess. 

For the Italian Buttercream:

1. Beat the egg whites, salt and cream of tartar, slowly add in 1/3 cup of sugar and continue beating until soft peaks form. In a medium saucepan add the remaining sugar and 1/3 cup water then place on medium-low heat. Stir until sugar melts and becomes clear.Maintain at medium-high heat until temperature reads 235-240F. 

2. Drizzle the sugar into the mixer immediately. Run mixer until meringue is cool/tepid. Add room temperature butter into running mixer one tablespoon piece at a time. 

3. Add the salt and vanilla if using. Beat until butter is combined and mixture has reached a silky consistency.

4. Create a gradient by adding different amounts of blue food coloring to remaining buttercream batches. Transfer each color to its own piping bag. Pipe the ombre color and smooth with an offset spatula. 

   

For the Snowflakes:

1. Melt candy melts in the microwave.
2. Transfer to the piping bag and snip off the tip.
3. Pipe snowflakes onto a piece of parchment paper. This can be done freehand or over a snowflake stencil.

For the Assembly:

1. Pipe the red and white buttercream between each cake layer.
2. Pipe white, then blue buttercream, lightest to darkest starting from the bottom.
3. Smooth with an offset spatula.

4. Add snowflakes.

   

Recipe Video

Recipe 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.
• To get FLAT layers that are moist inside and out try using cake strips! You can buy a set online 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!
•  

Nutrition Facts

Snowflake Cake

Amount Per Serving (1 slice)

Calories 240 Calories from Fat 108

% Daily Value*

Fat 12g18%

Saturated Fat 5g25%

Cholesterol 24mg8%

Sodium 188mg8%

Potassium 33mg1%

Carbohydrates 24g8%

Fiber 2g8%

Sugar 19g21%

Protein 5g10%

Calcium 40mg4%

Iron 0.5mg3%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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