Ombre Cake

My daughter just recently celebrated her 8th birthday with this Ombre Cake.  One thing I have always tried to do to make my kids birthdays special is to bake them their very own birthday cake.  Now, this has not always happened.  Sometimes they are happy with a store bought cake…and that is okay.  But when I can, I always prefer to make them a good old fashioned homemade cake just like my mom did for us on our birthdays.

Ombre-Layer-Cake

I am always on the search for the perfect birthday cake.  So with the recent popularity of Ombre and my new found love of Rosette Cakes, I decided to make her an Ombre cake.  And since my daughter loves the color pink…the choice was simple.

Cake Flags 2

The cake is actually pretty easy to make in comparison to a lot of other cakes I have attempted.  And the frosting rosettes are not too difficult if you have the right frosting tip and buttercream frosting recipe.

Ombre-Cake 1

I used our favorite White Cake Recipe and separated the batter into three mixing bowls.  I added one red of red food coloring to make the lightest pink cake layer and then added a couple more to the other layers to get the medium pink color and the dark pink color.  Then I baked the pink batter in three different 8-inch, round baking pans by following the directions on the recipe.

Ombre-Cake 3

To see how I made the frosting rosettes you can find that information on my Neapolitan Rosette Cake post.  For the Buttercream Frosting I used you can find that link to I am Baker where I got the recipe, on the same Rosette Cake post.

Rosette Cake

And since I know many of you will ask…the milk bottle is simply a Starbucks bottle.  I used some to make these Labeled Bath Jars and saved a couple for fun drink bottles.

Rosette Layer Cake

The cake tastes pretty darn good.  Who doesn’t love a good birthday cake?  What do you do at your house to make the birthday girl/boy feel special?

Neapolitan Rose Cake—@iambaker

Have you guys seen Amanda’s Neapolitan Rose Cake from I am Baker? As soon as I saw this Neapolitan Cake a couple of weeks ago I KNEW it would be THE perfect cake for my daughter’s upcoming birthday.

Neapolitan Cake

She LOVES Neapolitan Ice Cream…and she LOVED this cake.  We all loved it.  My roses did not turn out as perfectly as I am Bakers…but since she is a pro at this stuff, I am not going to hold a grudge.  I also smashed the roses a little bit on one side when I was trying to get pictures…oopsie!

Neapolitan-Cake

But these were my very first attempt at any piping roses…so I was quite pleased with most of them.  My chocolate frosting SHOULD have been a bit stiffer…but that was my own fault since I went with a frosting other than the one Amanda suggested.  I will not be making that rookie mistake next time!

Neapolitan Rose Cake

But, all in all…I was really happy with the way my cake came out.  And my daughter thought it was perfect.  And honestly…that is all that matters right?.  I also loved having the different cakes and frosting flavors.

Neapolitan Rose Cake

Be sure to head on over to I am Baker and get the Neapolitan Rose Cake Recipes and Frosting Recipes and her full detailed instructions if you would like to make your own. You will be glad you did.

*Shared with @iambaker’s permission.

White Cake Recipe

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Some one recently turned SEVEN years old at our house.  My kids usually have strong opinions about what type of cake they would like.  This particular child did not want chocolate cake since we had just had several family birthdays (including mine) where chocolate cake was served!  So we decided to go with a white cake!  An ALL white cake.  And since this girl is all about girly things…we decided to go with “fluff” as our boys refer to it!

We also just decorated her cake really simply by adding some “cupcake toppers” stuck to toothpicks and stuck them into the cake.  The cupcake toppers spelled out her name with a letter on each one and then the number 7 was on one in the front of the cake.  I made them by simply using a 2 inch scalloped paper punch for the outside ring.  Then I printed out the letters of her name and the seven and cut them out using a 1.5 inch circle paper punch.  Simply glue them together so the circle is centered in the scallop.

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We used this recipe which we found at Food.com.  And really liked it.  It was good, moist and had a great flavor to it.  That says a lot coming from me…a chocolate cake kind of a gal!

White Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup butter
  • 2 cups white sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  • 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 3/4 cups milk

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

  2. Grease and flour pans lightly. I used three 8 inch round pans.

  3. Cream together butter & vanilla extract.

  4. Add sugar slowly until all is added and it is mixed well.

  5. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

  6. In a separate bowl sift flour, baking powder and salt together twice.

  7. Now add flour mixture, alternating between the milk and flour. Mixing well after each again.

  8. Pour equal amounts into each pan and give it a tap on the counter to remove any air pockets.

  9. Start checking at 25 minutes to prevent burning on the bottom and sides.

  10. Keep checking every 5-10 minutes.  May need to bake for a total of 30-40 minutes which can vary with different ovens.

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We used one of our favorite frosting recipes.   I am not a huge fan of frosting…sorry Lara, guess that means more for you!  But this frosting?  I really like…like I will scrape extra helpings of frosting onto my plate!  It is that good.  Usually the reason I don’t love frosting is how heavy and thick they are.  This frosting is light and fluffy!  So it was perfect for the look we were going for.  It is the same frosting we used on her Rainbow Cake a couple of years ago.

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Fluffy Vanilla Frosting

1.  Place 2 sticks of salted butter, at room temperature (otherwise you will get chunks of butter in your frosting), into mixer and whip together until nice and smooth.

2.  Then add 1 tsp. of vanilla.

3.  Gradually add about ½ to ¾ of a bag (regular size about 4 cups? ) of powdered sugar (Confectioner’s sugar).

It will be a bit chunky and not very smooth.

4.  Gradually add 1 tsp. of milk while mixing frosting.

5.  If it is still not the consistency you desire, add another tsp. of milk until you get a nice thick frosting that is smooth.

6.  Then fold in 1 tub of Cool Whip.

That’s it.

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What about you?  Do you like cake?  And if so…what is your cake of choice?