I was inspired by some of my fellow cake artists for the design, including Lyndsay of Coco Cake Land, Clifford of Cakes by Cliff, and of course Katherine Sabbath as well as my favorite watercolour technique for the frosting. I blended in a touch of blue icing just before I was done smoothing out the cake completely so that is would be more of a marbled effect instead of just turning the cake light blue. The technicolor drip is made from white chocolate and the whole thing was topped with an array of meringues, dragees, and sprinkles.
Vanilla Bean Cake
I used this recipe I created for The Cake Blog - baked in three 6-inch cake pans for about 24 to 26 minutes.
Whipped Vanilla Buttercream
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
1. Beat the butter with an electric mixer until very smooth.
2. With the mixer on low, gradually add in the remaining ingredients.
3. Once incorporated, turn the mixer up to medium-high and mix for about 5 to 7 minutes, or until light, fluffy, and very pale in color.
Gingersnap Cookie Butter
6 ounces gingersnap cookies
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
2 to 3 tablespoons water
1/4 cup powdered sugar
Crush the cookies up in a high-powdered blender or food processor. Add in the remaining ingredients and blend until a smooth, thick paste forms. Add more or less water and powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached. Store in a glass jar in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes before use.
Gingersnap Cookie Butter Buttercream
1/2 batch whipped vanilla buttercream
6 tablespoons gingersnap cookie butter
Re-mix the buttercream until fluffy, if necessary. Add in the cookie butter and mix until smooth.
White Chocolate Ganache Glaze
2 ounces heavy cream
2 ounces white chocolate, chopped
Gently heat the cream until just before a simmer. Pour over or add the white chocolate. Let sit for 20 seconds then stir until combined.
*Truthfully, I heated the cream at 1/2 power in the microwave then dumped in the chocolate. The chocolate did not completely melt, so I microwaved it all again at 1/2 power in intervals of 15-20 seconds. If you decided to follow this method, be sure not to microwave either the cream or the chocolate for too long or it may seize up or burn.
Meringue Kisses
I used this recipe from the how-to post I created for The Kitchn, plus the seeds from 1/2 of a vanilla bean whipped in. I piped out about 2/3 of the meringue using various star tips. With the remaining 1/3, I tinted it blue, then added it to the used piping bags to create the swirls of color.
Assembly
gel food coloring, optional
sprinkles, dragees, sanding sugar
meringues
