Carved Buttercream Rose Cake
Steps involved
Make cake layers
Make buttercream (no color)
Make cream cheese icing
Split buttercream into two bowls and color each one
Assemble and ice cake
Carve design into buttercream
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 - 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 always like to have extra buttercream rather than not enough, so if you're not sure how much to use, I would recommend 1.5
Cream cheese icing (recipe below)
4 marshmallows, cake pops, or blobs of icing for base of pom poms
Cream Cheese Icing
Ingredients:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 tbsp. butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
1-2 tsp. vanilla extract
milk, if needed to thin icing
Mix butter and cream cheese together
Add vanilla, mix
Slowly add powdered sugar and mix until all incorporated
If icing is too stiff you can add a splash of milk until it's the consistency you like
Colors used
To get these colors, I used Wilton's Color Right Food Coloring System.*
For the cake layers:
Pink: 2 drops
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.
Light Peach Icing:
Orange: 10 drops
Pink: 1 drop
Dark Pink/Red Icing:
Orange: 30 drops
Crimson: 15 drops
Pink: 1 drop
Red: 45 drops
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
After the cake has been assembled:
Ice the cake with darker pink/red icing - this layer can be thick. Put cake in fridge to chill until icing is firm.
Ice the cake with lighter color icing - you want this layer to be thinner so you don't have to carve away too much.
Take a loop tool or carving tool (or if you don't have those you can use the edge of a leaf piping tip or a new and satanized bobby pin) and carve out some of the buttercream in your desired design.
Slice and enjoy :)
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