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Watercolor Cake

This dreamy and DELICIOUS watercolor cake is made up of super-moist vanilla cake layers surrounded in pastel swathes of silky Italian meringue buttercream.

Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
45 mins
Servings: 10 Slices
Calories: 330 kcal
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American

Ingredients

For the Cake:
  • 1 2/3 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 3/4 cup salted butter 170g
  • 3 egg whites
  • 3 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 cup milk
For the Italian Buttercream:
  • 4 egg whites
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 16 oz unsalted butter 32 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

For the Cake:
    Cup of Yum
  1. Butter and paper three 6" pans and heat oven to 325f.
  2. Sift and mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.
  3. Add wet ingredients into a medium bowl and mix.
  4. Add wet to dry ingredients and mix until combined
  5. Pour into prepared pans and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
For the Buttercream:
  1. Beat the egg whites and 1/3 cup of sugar until soft peaks form.
  2. In a medium saucepan add the remaining sugar and 1/3 cup water then place on low heat. Stir constantly until sugar melts and becomes clear. Maintain at medium high heat until temperature reads 235-240F. Drizzle the sugar into the mixer immediately.
  3. Run mixer until merengue is body temperature. Add room temperature butter into running mixer one piece at a time. Beat until butter is combined and mixture has reached a silky consistency.
  4. Reserve about a cup and a half of the buttercream, which you will color in various hues for the outer watercolor effect.
For Decoration:
  1. For best results do a thin crumb coat after first assembling the layers, allow to set in the fridge for 20 minutes or so then add a nice thicker coat of white buttercream and smooth it out.
  2. Add dollops of the colored buttercream on the surface, and give a quick smooth to get the watercolor effect. Don't try to get a perfect surface and continue smoothing past a couple spins as the color will become indistinct.
  3. Use an 869 tip to pipe the dollops on top. Any large star tip will do a nice job.

Notes

  • Italian meringue buttercream is pretty soft so you might need to chill the cake after that third layer goes on and you give it a QUICK crumb coat. Just long enough for it to set a bit.
  • Smooth the side with a bench scraper. Using a turntable REALLY helps make this happen quickly.
  • In the photo below you can see an offset spatula pulling in while the cake turns. This gives a nice crisp corner.
  • Apply dollops of the different colored buttercream onto your smoothed cake and give it one or two swipes to smooth. DON'T for too far with the smoothing at this point or your colors will become muddy.
  • If your buttercream is "soupy," just pop it into the fridge for a couple of minutes, then beat it. It should thicken up. I find consistency problems arise mostly from the meringue being too warm when the butter is added. Chilling it will help improve the consistency. 
  • If you're not using your buttercream IMMEDIATELY -- and it will be sitting for a few minutes -- then just keep in mind that you will have to give it a short whip to "bring it back to life" as it loses its consistency quickly.
  •  

Nutrition Information

Serving 79g Calories 330kcal (17%) Carbohydrates 39g (13%) Protein 3g (6%) Fat 17g (26%) Saturated Fat 5g (25%) Trans Fat 2.5g Cholesterol 40mg (13%) Sodium 250mg (10%) Sugar 31g (62%) Vitamin A 200IU (4%) Calcium 40mg (4%) Iron 0.7mg (4%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 10Slices

Amount Per Serving

Calories 330

% Daily Value*

Serving 79g
Calories 330kcal 17%
Carbohydrates 39g 13%
Protein 3g 6%
Fat 17g 26%
Saturated Fat 5g 25%
Trans Fat 2.5g 125%
Cholesterol 40mg 13%
Sodium 250mg 10%
Sugar 31g 62%
Vitamin A 200IU 4%
Calcium 40mg 4%
Iron 0.7mg 4%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.