Description
A visually stunning and delicious colorful ombre layer cake, perfect for special occasions. Soft cake layers and sweet vanilla buttercream in a beautiful gradient.
Ingredients
Scale
- For the Cake Layers:
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups milk
- Gel food coloring (various shades of your desired color)
- For the Vanilla Buttercream Frosting:
- 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 6 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour three 9 inch round cake pans.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, cream together the softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla extract.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. Avoid overmixing.
- Divide the batter evenly into three bowls. Tint each bowl with a different shade of your chosen gel food coloring to create an ombre effect. Start with a small amount of coloring and gradually add more until you achieve your desired shades.
- Pour each colored batter into a prepared cake pan. Bake for 25 30 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes before inverting them onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- While the cakes are cooling, prepare the vanilla buttercream frosting. In a large bowl, cream together the softened butter and confectioners’ sugar until light and fluffy.
- Gradually add the milk and vanilla extract, beating until smooth and creamy.
- Once the cakes are completely cool, level them with a serrated knife if necessary. Place the darkest colored cake layer on a serving plate or cake stand. Frost the top of the cake with a generous layer of buttercream.
- Place the medium colored cake layer on top of the frosting. Frost with another layer of buttercream. Top with the lightest colored cake layer and frost the entire cake with buttercream.
- Use a spatula or cake scraper to smooth the frosting around the sides of the cake. You can create a subtle ombre effect on the frosting by starting with a darker shade of buttercream at the bottom and gradually lightening it as you move towards the top.
- Refrigerate the cake for at least 30 minutes before serving to allow the frosting to set.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Calories: 450
- Sugar: 45g
- Sodium: 200mg
- Fat: 25g
- Saturated Fat: 15g
- Carbohydrates: 55g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 4g
- Cholesterol: 100mg
Keywords: ombre cake, layer cake, colorful cake, buttercream, vanilla