This is the first Hanukkah cake I’ve ever made! I wanted it to be beautiful, festive, and the perfect cake to cut into when you’re surrounded by family and friends.

When I was trying to strategically name this post, I was horrified to learn that more people search for “Hannukah cake” than “Hanukkah cake.” Isn’t that wild?!

In the end, it turns out not that many people are trying to make a layer cake for Hanukkah! So I didn’t have to get too creative or specific with the name of this cake 😛

I suppose regulach and apple tarts are a bit more fitting, but if you feel adventurous and want to make something different, you have come to the right place.

I wanted this cake to be blue and white throughout, and I definitely I accomplished that.

This cake is made with blue cake layers, blue and white buttercream, and it’s filled with blue and white sprinkles and candy. This cake is festive through and through!

The Flavor of This Cake

I’m going to be totally honest. I was so focused on the decoration and sprinkle filling of this cake, I just stuck with my tried and true vanilla layer cake recipe and frosted the cake with my vanilla buttercream.

If you felt like being more adventurous, you could fill the cake with an apple filling, or use a spiced buttercream to make the flavor of this cake a bit more festive.

You could also top the cake with other hanukkah treats, like rugelach!

The Wow Factor: Surprise-Inside Cake

Since the holidays are a time to spend with your loved ones, I wanted to make this cake exciting to cut into. I envision you carrying this cake out to a crowded table, and having everyone captivatingly watch you cut into it!

The best way to get this type of reaction is to make a surprise-inside cake, or a pinata cake.

To do this, you cut out the center of two of your cake layers using a circle cutter, and then stack these two layers in the middle of the cake.

This creates a cavity in the center of the cake, that you can filled with anything! For this cake, I chose to add a blue and white sprinkle blend, blue and white sixlets, and even some pieces if gelt.

Adding gelt inside the cake is totally optional. Some people are highly opposed to adding wrapped candy inside a cake, and I totally get it.

But the thought of golden gelt tumbling out of the cake with a wave of blue and white sprinkles was too appealing for me!

I carefully placed the gelt perpendicular to the sides of the cake cut out, so that I wouldn’t cut through any of the pieces when I cut the cake.

Adding the Blue Drip to Cake

Drip cakes aren’t as difficult to make as you may think, but there are a few things to keep in mind to make sure you get that perfect drip look! The most common issues people run into when making drip cakes include:

• Runaway drips – drips that run all the way down the cake and right off the cake board
• Watery, thin drips, that looks more like colorful streaks than drips
• Ganache that seems to melt the buttercream
• Short, stubby drips that resemble candle wax

Most of these problems are caused by adding the ganache to a cake when it isn’t right temperature.  

You can also have issues if the cake hasn’t been properly chilled. If you follow my tips below, I promise you can avoid all of these issues!!

Step #1 : Chill Your Cake

My first tip is to make sure your cake is properly chilled. Once frosted, you should allow it sit it your fridge for at least 20 minutes, or in your freezer for 10 minutes. This makes sure the frosting is cold and firm to the touch.

Chilling the cake helps the buttercream keep its shape, and stand up to the slightly warmed ganache.

It will also help slow down the speed at which the drips run down the cake, which will help them from running all the way down the cake.

Step #2 : Temperature Of Your Ganache

The second tip is to make sure your ganache is the right temperature!! It should be just slightly warmer than room temperature.

If your ganache is too warm, it will be thinner than you want, and will run straight down the cake and pool at the bottom of your cake board.

On the other hand, if it’s not warm enough, you will end up with short, stubby little drips.

Step #3: The Test Drip

The best way to ensure your ganache is the right temperature is do a test drip. THIS IS SUCH A CRUCIAL STEP!!! Make one drip on the side of your cake, and let it flow. Allow it to slowly run down the side of the cake for a couple minutes.

If it looks how you had hoped, then go ahead and add drips to the rest of the cake. If not, adjust as needed.

Either pop the ganache into the fridge for a couple minutes to allow it to cool off a bit more, or pop the bottle (or bowl) in the microwave and heat for 5-10 seconds.

Then test out one more drip, just to be safe! While these extra steps may lengthen the process, it’s worth it to make sure your drips are perfect.

If you’re more of a visual learner, here is a video tutorial showing how to add drips to a cakes.

Techniques For Adding Drips To The Cake

There are two ways to add colorful drips to a cake.

One way is to use plastic bottles. Using a squirt bottle does make the process easier, but you have a bit less control while adding the drips.

If you don’t have any plastic bottles on hand, you can also use a spoon or an offset spatula to carefully push the ganache over the edge of your cakes, creating each drip.

The spoon method is much slower, but gives you more control. I used the spoon method on this cake, and loved the way it turned out!

Tips for Making this Surprise-Inside Hanukkah Cake:

• Use gel food coloring to color the cake, frosting, and drip, rather than liquid food coloring! It will give you a more vibrant color, and won’t change the consistency
• Carefully insert a toothpick into the bottom of each piece of gelt before placing it on top of the cake. It will help keep them elevate high above the frosting, and keep them upright.
• Use a serrated knife to level your cake layers once they’re fully cooled, to make it easier to assemble and frost your cake
• You can make these cake layers in advance! The holidays are such a busy time, it’s nice to be plan to prep ahead of time
• Once this cake is frosted, it can sit in the fridge for several days. Just take it out a couple hours before you plan to cut into it.

Let Me Know What You Think!

If you try this Hanukkah cake, I’d love to hear what think of it! Please leave a rating, and let me know your thoughts by sharing a comment.