Pink Fault Line Cake

When the lovely Teresa @little_poppy_cake organised a #pinkcakecollab over on Instragram, I couldn't help but take part.  You all know that I love a touch of pink in my baking.

This was also a great opportunity for me to try out a new cake technique that is currently trending.  I couldn't find a name for this technique.  Basically, there is a cracked section which you can leave exposed or add some sprinkles to it.

I also decided to make Swiss meringue buttercream and boy is it so good.  This style of buttercream is so smooth and not as sweet as the traditional American buttercream.  It takes a bit more effort but it's so worth it.

This Pink Fault Line Cake is made with super moist chocolate cake. The cake layers are filled with delicious Swiss meringue buttercream. Finally, the whole cake is also covered with this smooth buttercream and decorated with cute pink sprinkles.

Hope you get a chance to try this new cake technique too.  It was so fun to do.  Next time I will try to make the crack a bit larger so you can see more of the sprinkle detail.

Happy Baking xo

Pink Fault Line Cake

Ingredients

· 3 cups plain flour
· 2 cups caster sugar
· ½ cup cocoa powder
· 1½ teaspoons baking powder
· 1 tablespoon baking soda
· 1 teaspoon salt
· 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
· 3 eggs
· ½ cup sour cream
· 1 cup buttermilk
· 1½ cups strong coffee
· ¾ cups vegetable oil

Swiss Meringue Buttercream

· 4 egg whites
· 300 grams caster sugar
· 400 grams unsalted butter (room temperature)
· 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
· Food colouring (deep pink – americolor)

Decorations

· Sprinkles

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.

2. Spray six round 4-inch tins with oil, line the bottom of the tins with some baking paper and dust some flour around the tins.

3. Place all dry ingredients into a large bowl and using an electric mixer, whisk until all ingredients are well combined.

4. Add all wet ingredients, making sure the coffee has cooled down. Mix until combined and turn beater onto medium and continue to mix for a further few minutes.

5. Spoon the mixture into the tins evenly. Make sure to only fill them up a third full and smooth the tops with the back of a spoon or off-spatula.

6. Bake in oven for 25 - 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cakes comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool in pans for 5 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Place egg whites and caster sugar into a large bowl. Place over a pot of simmering water on low. Whisk until the sugar has dissolved completely. To check if the sugar has dissolved, rub a bit of the mixture between your fingers.

Remove from heat and using a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat on medium speed for about 10-15 minutes or until mixture has completed cooled.

Remove whisk attachment and replace with the paddle attachment. Slowly add portions of the room temperature butter and beat well before adding next portions.

Once all the butter has been added, beat on high for several minutes and then reduce speed to low speed and continue to beat for another few minutes to remove air bubbles.

Frosting is ready for use.

Assembling the cake

* Please note - only three cakes were used to make this cake.

Cut off the tops of the three cakes if needed to make them even.

Place one cake onto the cake board, securing it with a bit of buttercream at the bottom.

Pipe or spread some buttercream around the top of the cake and stack the next cake and do the same to the remaining cakes.

Lightly crumb coat the whole cake and place into the fridge for 15-20 minutes.

Colour the buttercream in desired colours and place some buttercream in the middle section of the cake and add sprinkles. Place cake in the fridge for a few minutes.

Remove cake from the fridge and add buttercream to the top, top section and bottom section of the cake. Making sure you can still see the sprinkles in the middle section of the cake. Smooth cake completely.

Pipe swirls around the top of the cake and add sprinkles.

Tips

· Batter makes 6 x 4-inch round baking tins (weighing about approx. 350 grams batter in each tin)
· Or you can bake 5 x 6-inch or 3 x 8-inch cakes
· Cake can be kept in the fridge for up to a week in an airtight container or cool place for up to 3 days.
· Remember to rotate the tins halfway through for a more even bake.
· Allow cakes to cool completely before icing and decorating.

Did you bake this recipe?

Remember to tag @youcanbakeittoo on Instagram & hashtag #youcanbakeittoo 

so I can see your wonderful bakes.