Description
A delightful Easter Cake featuring a three-layer vanilla cake with pastel blue vanilla buttercream frosting, cocoa speckles, toasted coconut flakes, and a festive nest of pastel-colored Easter eggs. Perfect for celebrating the holiday with a beautiful and tasty centerpiece.
Ingredients
Scale
Cake
- 1 Vanilla Cake, 3 layers (20cm/8″ cake of choice)
Pastel Blue Vanilla Buttercream
- 340 g unsalted butter, 1.25 cm / ½” cubes, softened to 18°C/64°F
- 750 g soft icing sugar / powdered sugar, sifted
- 3 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 – 2 drops blue gel food colouring (or 1 – 2 tsp blue food colouring)
- 1/8 tsp salt
Frosting Speckles
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder (unsweetened or sweetened)
- 3 tbsp boiling water
- Toothbrush (or basting brush) for speckling
Decorating
- 2 cups coconut flakes (or shaved)
- 200 g small Easter eggs (pastel coloured speckled)
Instructions
- Prepare the Cake Layers: Trim the top of the cake layers if needed to make them level for better aesthetics. Place the cake layers in the refrigerator to chill thoroughly so frosting will be easier and crumbs won’t spread.
- Toast the Coconut: Preheat the oven to 160°C/325°F (140°C fan). Spread coconut flakes evenly on a baking tray. Bake for 10 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes until golden brown. Remove and let it cool completely.
- Make the Buttercream Frosting: Beat the softened butter in a stand mixer at speed 8 for 3 minutes until the butter turns from yellow to almost white. Gradually add sifted icing sugar in three batches, starting on speed 1 to incorporate and increasing speed as you mix. Add vanilla extract and salt, then beat at speed 8 for 2 minutes until fluffy and pale.
- Color the Frosting: Remove 1 tablespoon of frosting into a small bowl, add one drop of blue gel food coloring, and mix well. Gradually add coloured frosting teaspoon by teaspoon back into the main frosting, beating after each addition until desired pastel blue tone is achieved. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Prepare Speckles Mixture: Mix cocoa powder with boiling water until smooth and set aside for speckling the cake.
- Assemble and Frost the Cake: Spread about 3/4 cup of frosting between each cake layer. Use the remaining frosting to cover the sides and top of the cake evenly. You will likely have approximately 1/2 cup frosting left over.
- Speckle the Cake: Place a backboard behind the cake to catch splatters. Dip a toothbrush into the cocoa speckles mixture, then use your fingers to flick speckles onto the cake’s top and sides. Angle the toothbrush 45 degrees when speckling the top to avoid large drips.
- Decorate with Coconut and Easter Eggs: Create a coconut nest by piling toasted coconut in the middle of the top surface and arranging small Easter eggs in the nest. Also, form a mound of coconut along the base of the cake and dot with additional Easter eggs.
- Serve and Enjoy: Present the cake proudly on your table and enjoy basking in the compliments it receives.
Notes
- You can use any vanilla cake recipe you prefer. This recipe uses a 3-layer 20cm/8″ vanilla cake.
- The frosting quantity is for a 3-layer cake and may leave some extra; leftover frosting freezes well for up to 3 months.
- Adjust buttersoftening carefully; butter should be soft but still cool to allow proper aeration and achieve a white frosting base.
- Using gel food coloring in small increments helps control the pastel blue shade and prevents turning green due to yellow butter.
- Small pastel colored speckled Easter eggs work best for decoration but any small candy eggs can be substituted.
- Toasted coconut should be watched carefully as baking times vary with sugar content; stir frequently.
- The assembled cake stays fresh up to 4 days when stored properly; check the vanilla cake recipe for specific storage instructions.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 420 kcal
- Sugar: 45 g
- Sodium: 150 mg
- Fat: 22 g
- Saturated Fat: 13 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 50 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 60 mg
