Sunday, March 6, 2011

Purple Cake Tutorial

My daughter had a purple party.  She really wanted a cute dolly girl for the top of the cake so I decided to keep the outside of the cake simple.



Clothespin dolly girl!  She was so fun to make and I love how she turned out!  I used beads to make her hair.



The big surprise was the inside of the cake....



On the night before the party I was losing steam, I still had some decorating to do and I was tempted to ice the layers with white icing.  I am so glad I didn't.  I think the colored icing helps to make the look more dramatic!


You can make this cake too.
 In any color you like.
 Without too much headache.

I baked the cake(s) the week before.  This way I was able to bake them, wrap them up and freeze them and not have as much to do the night before the party.  I prefer to freeze my cakes for at least 24 hours before I decorate them.  They are easier to ice and cut and I think it makes it much more moist.

I mixed a small amount of white cake batter with wilton icing coloring.  I mixed lots into the first one to make a really rich, dark shade.  I baked this in a 6 inch round pan.  Then I took another small amount of cake batter (maybe 1 1/2-2 1/2 cups...I didn't measure!?) I added a bit less color to the next and a bit less as I went.

The night before the party, I mixed about 1/2 cup of icing in each of the shades of purple.   I made sure the cakes were even by slicing the rounded tops off the cakes.  I stacked the cakes and iced them with the appropriate colored icing between the layers.

I iced the whole cake with a crumb coat (icing made a bit thinner with a little bit of water.  This layer  will get crumbs in it but that's okay because it is not the final layer:)

Then I popped it in the freezer for 20 minutes.

Here's my lame {it's late, the lighting was bad, I was tired...} photo of my cake with the crumb coat on, all ready to be jazzed up!





Here's the tip that I used to make the rosettes.  It's just a swirl movement.  Here is a tutorial if you don't know how to make a rosette.  This tutorial is great for a few other little icing/piping bag tips!
My rosettes are much bigger than hers but it is the same concept. 
Why is her icing so white and mine a bit yellow?  Because she used Crisco instead of butter.  I personally find Crisco gross, unnatural and well, disgusting.  That's just my opinion.  Lots of bakeries use Crisco and people seem to enjoy it just fine:)



And WA-LA!  Cake is done, ready for a spectacular presentation at the party!!

9 comments:

Jenny said...

thanks for sharing! I love this cake! I was thinking, hmm, wonder why she didn't make a purple cake...then i saw the pic of the inside. wowza!
I may get brave enough to try it one day....

Amy said...

beautiful cake - i have not dared to try the rosette effect on cakes yet, or the ruffuled effect for that matter. But it looks so gorgeous I may have to give it a try. Love the purple, too. QUESTION: do you ever have a problem with condensation and frosting a frozon cake? Or the colors bleeding while it is thawing?

Amy said...

My goodness - please disregard my typos! Embarrassing!

Unknown said...

Thanks ladies! Amy I have never had a problem with either of those things. Once I have frosted the cake I do not put it back in the freezer for any length of time. I usually keep it in the fridge overnight. Perhaps this helps it to thaw slowly?

Rebeca said...

Oh my gosh! you are awesome, I'll be making this cake for my purple baby shower!!! Thanks a bunch~!

j. wilson said...

oh my goodness! it's so purty! i made a purple cake too and just now saw yours. i love how you tinted the frosting to match the layers. beautiful!

Jan said...

Hi Colleen,
I love the clothes pin dolly. What do you use to make the head? Thank you. And congratulations on your new baby daughter!

Leslie said...

Love love love the color of your cake!!!!

Jenny 72956 said...

Wow totally awesome. Purple is my favorite color. Would love to try it someday.You made it look so simple.