Black and White Split Cake
Steps involved
Make cake layers
Make buttercream (no color)
Split buttercream and make half black
Assemble and ice cake
Decorate
READ BEFORE CONTINUING: The following recipes are scaled to make the cake pictured above -- a 4 layer cake made with 6-inch round cake layers. If you wish to make a smaller cake, please scale down these recipes.
recipes used
1/2 vanilla cake recipe -- I've listed the halved recipe below
1/2 chocolate cake recipe -- I've listed the halved recipe below
1 - 1.5 batches Italian meringue buttercream
I made this buttercream vanilla flavored by adding 1 tablespoon of vanilla to my 1.5x batch (can add less or more to taste)
I also made half chocolate--see color section for more information
Vanilla Cake - Halved Recipe
Yields: 2, 6-inch round cake layers
Ingredients:
4 oz. (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp
7 oz. sugar
3 egg whites, room temp (I sometimes use cartoned egg whites ~ 3oz.)
7 oz flour
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
5 oz. milk, room temp (I heat in the microwave before using)
.5-1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 oz. unsweetened applesauce, room temp (I heat in the microwave before using) (can substitute with vegetable oil)
Preheat oven to 335° F and prepare two 6-inch round cake pans
Measure out flour, baking powder, and salt. Combine and set aside
Measure out milk, vanilla extract, and applesauce. (This is where I warm in microwave until it's room temperature) Combine and set aside.
In a bowl/mixer cream butter until smooth
Add sugar and mix until light and fluffy
Slowly add egg whites and mix until combined
Add about 1/3 of your dry mixture and mix until combined. Add roughly 1/2 of your wet mixture and mix until combined. Add next 1/3 of dry mixture, mix, add second 1/2 of wet mixture, mix, add last 1/3 of dry mixture, mix until combined
Divide cake batter evenly among pans
Bake in preheated oven for 25-35 minutes or until done. I like to use the spring test, where you gently press the center of the cake with your finger - if it springs back it should be good to go. If it leaves a dent, you'll need a few more minutes.
Once removed from oven, cool cakes for 5-10 minutes and then remove from pans to cool further
Chocolate Cake - Halved Recipe
Yields: 2, 6-inch round cake layers
Ingredients:
3 oz. unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cups boiling water
3 oz. dutch process cocoa powder (I use Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa Powder)
3 oz. sour cream
10.5 oz. sugar
2 eggs
6.5 oz. all purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
Preheat oven to 325° F and prepare two 6-inch round cake pans
Measure out flour, baking soda, and salt. Combine and set aside
Combine melted butter and boiling water
Add cocoa powder and mix until smooth
Mix in sour cream
Add sugar and mix until incorporated
Add eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition
Add dry ingredients and mix until just combined
Divide batter among prepared cake pans
Bake in preheated oven for 35 - 50 minutes or until done. I like to use the spring test, where you gently press the center of the cake with your finger - if it springs back it should be good to go. If it leaves a dent, you'll need a few more minutes.
Cool on a wire rack for 5-10 minutes before removing from pan and allowing to cool completely
Colors used
To get these colors, I used Wilton's Gel Icing Colors.*
For the cake layers:
No food coloring used. Optional: You can add black food coloring to the cake to make it extra dark, but I chose not to.
For the icing:
The colors may differ depending on how much icing you're coloring and the starting color of your buttercream (certain butter brands are more white or yellow which can make the buttercream whiter or more yellow). These are the amounts I used and should get you close.
Black Icing: *for more in depth instructions on how to get deep black icing, click here.
- Cocoa Powder: I added Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa Powder until I liked the taste and the color. This gives the icing a darker color to start, so you don't have to use as much food coloring to get to black.
- Wilton's Gel Icing Color in Black: 1-2 containers (1 oz. each)
*TIP* - If you want your icing extra dark, color it the day before using; this will deepen the color without having to add any extra food coloring. Be sure to re-mix prior to icing the cake.
White Icing:
No food coloring used.
Supplies/tools
To find the tools I use for almost every cake I make and decorate (including pans, cake boards, icing smoothers, etc.), click here.
The supplies/tools below are specifically for decorating this cake, which I used in addition to the ones in the link above.*
Optional: Thick-walled cake pans (to prevent the sides of the cake from browning too much and taking away from the color of the cake layers)
*Some of these links may be affiliate. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I earn a small amount from some purchases, however, this does not affect my recommendations.
Decorating the cake
To assemble this cake: * Can use the video below as reference*
Level cake layers and slice each in half so you have two halves of a circle.
Put a blob of chocolate icing on one side of the cake board and a blob of vanilla on the other.
Place a half layer of chocolate cake onto the chocolate blob, securing it to the cake board. Take a half layer of vanilla cake and put some icing along the cut edge. Place the half layer of vanilla cake onto the vanilla blob - connecting it to the chocolate layer already on the cake board, creating a full cake layer.
Put a layer of chocolate icing on the chocolate side of the cake and a layer of vanilla icing on the vanilla side.
Repeat steps 3-4 for the remaining layers (on the last layer don't ice the top yet).
Using a small offset spatula and the vanilla icing, carefully crumb coat the vanilla side of the cake, making sure to keep the icing of of the chocolate side. Repeat using the black icing for the chocolate side
Refrigerate until set.
On the top of the cake, hold an icing smoother on the seam between the two flavors. Using a small offset spatula, ice the vanilla side with vanilla icing. Ice it up against the icing smoother to keep the icing in a straight line and off of the other side. Once the top is iced, take icing smoother away and clean it off.
On one side of the cake, hold the icing smoother on the seam between the two flavors. Ice the vanilla side from the icing smoother to at least an inch away. Clean icing smoother and repeat on the other side of the cake.
Fill in the rest of the vanilla half with vanilla icing.
Using an icing smoother, smooth from the seam towards the center of the vanilla side. Do the same thing from the other seam.
Repeat step 11 until the side is smooth.
Repeat steps 9-12 for the chocolate side of the cake.
Attach a large coupler to each of two piping bags and attach a Wilton 6B tip to one of the bags. Fill one with vanilla icing and one with chocolate. (or if you have two piping tips, you can set each bag up with its own tip)
Pipe your desired design or the design as shown in the video below. Keep the vanilla designs on the chocolate side and the chocolate designs on the vanilla side.
Slice and enjoy :)
SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO
