This cute golden retriever cake is made with tender vanilla cake layers and decorated with delicious, homemade buttercream frosting.

Making This Golden Retriever Cake: Step-by-Step Tutorial

Let’s walk through each step of this cake together to make sure it turns out as amazing as possible! I’ve also included a video below.

I figured it might be helpful to know what tools I use too, so I’ve shared a list below.

Not all of these are mandatory, but they make the process a lot easier. If you don’t have all these things on hand, feel free to improvise and work with what you have.

• Two 8-inch cake pans
• Serrated Knife
• Offset Spatula
• 3 Small Piping Bags
• 1 Large Piping Bag
• 1 Plastic Coupler
• 2 Small Round Piping Tips (like a Wilton 10)
• 1 Small Grass Piping Tips (like a Wilton 233)
• 2 Very Small Round Piping Tips (like a Wilton 3)
• Small Acetate Sheet (I cut these down into smaller squares with scissors)
• Gel Food Coloring – Red, and black
• 2 Large Chocolate Squares (I use squares from a bar like this)
• Electric Hand Mixer or Stand Mixer

Step 1: Bake the Vanilla Cake Layers

The first step is to make the vanilla cake layers. Preheat the oven and line 2, 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper and spray with nonstick spray.

Bake the cake layers for 33-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs.

Let the cake layers cool in their pans for about 20 minutes, then carefully flip them out of the pan and onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

If you make these in advance, wrap and freeze them at this point. Take them out of the freezer about 20 minutes before you want to assemble the cake.

Step 2: Make the Buttercream Frosting

Next, we work on the buttercream frosting. I chose to make this cake with American buttercream, but any type of frosting should work great on this cake.

I find American buttercream is sturdier and easier to color, which is why I chose to use it for this design.

If the frosting seems too thick after mixing all the ingredients, add in additional heavy cream or milk (1 tablespoon at a time).

Or if the frosting is too thin, add in more powdered sugar (1/4 cup at a time).

If you’re unsure how thick your frosting should be, you can learn what consistency you’re looking for in my frosting consistency post.

Wait to color the buttercream until the cake is crumb coated.

Step 3: Stack and Crumb Coat the Cake

Stack and frost the cake layers on a greaseproof cake board or flat plate using a dab of frosting to help stick the first cake layer to the board.

Spread an even layer of buttercream between the cake layers with a large offset spatula. Place the top cake layer upside down to make it easier to get sharp corners.

Add a thin coat of frosting around the cake to fully cover the cake layers.

Smooth using a bench scraper, then chill the cake in the fridge (20 minutes) or freezer (10 minutes) until the frosting is firm to the touch.

Step 4: Color the Buttercream

While the cake chills, color the remaining buttercream. Use gel food coloring to make tan, red, and black buttercream.

Place the buttercream in piping bags and seal the top of the bag with a rubber band or clip.

Step 5: Pipe on the Details

Then use a toothpick or scribe to trace out where you want to pipe the golden retriever’s face.

This helps ensure that the golden retriever’s face will be even and properly spaced out.

Pipe white buttercream on the muzzle / nose of the golden retriever and smooth it into a small mound using an offset spatula. This helps give the face a bit of depth.

Then use the white, black, and red buttercream to pipe on the golden retriever’s eyes, mouth, and nose.

Fill in the rest of its face with tan buttercream fur using a small grass piping tip. Be mindful of what direction you pipe the fur in.

I tried to pipe it in different directions to follow the natural flow of fur on a golden retriever’s face and to give the cake a bit more dimension.

This can take a bit of time, so be patient and give your hand breaks as you go.

If you notice the heat from your hands is melting the frosting and changing its consistency, wrap the piping bag in a couple of layers of paper towel or in a thin kitchen towel.

Press two chocolate squares into the sides of the cake.

The positioning might look a little odd at first, but I promise it’ll look good once you pipe on the ears!

Cover the chocolate squares and edge of the cake with layers of tan buttercream to look like golden retriever ears. It takes quite a bit of buttercream to build up the ears and give them the right dimension, but the buttercream can get heavy if you add it all on at once!

I recommend piping a layer of buttercream, chilling the cake to let the frosting firm up, then adding another layer of frosting. Repeat until the ears are built up enough to outline the golden retriever’s face.

This cake can sit out at room temperature for up to 2 days, be stored in the fridge for up to a week, or be kept in the freezer for up to a month.

Substitutions and Swaps – Vanilla Cake Layers

This cake recipe uses quite a few ingredients and I know you might not have them all on hand. Or if you have food allergies or restrictions, I’ve got you covered.

Below are some swaps and substitutions that can be made in this cake recipe.

• All Purpose Flour – This recipe turns out best with AP flour, but you can use a gluten-free flour blend or cake flour if that’s all you have on hand.
• Granulated Sugar – I do not recommend reducing the amount of sugar or changing the type of sugar, as it will change the texture of the cake layers.
• Unsalted Butter – If you only have salted butter on hand, you can use it in place of the unsalted butter in this recipe. Just be sure to omit the salt that this cake recipe calls for. You can also use vegan butter in its place (and also omit the salt)!
• Egg whites – I use egg whites out of a carton to avoid wasting any yolks! You can also use 5 egg whites or 3 whole eggs if needed. Or if you have an egg allergy you can use flaxseed eggs or an egg replacer.
• Buttermilk – You can also use full fat yogurt, sour cream, whole milk, or an alternative yogurt or milk (almond, soy, oat) if you’re dairy free.
• Vegetable Oil – You can use any flavorless oil in this recipe. Canola or even sunflower oil would work great!
• Vanilla Extract – Other extracts can also be used in place of the vanilla extract. Feel free to use almond, lemon, or even coconut extract.

Substitutions and Swaps – Buttercream Frosting

• Unsalted Butter – If you only have salted butter on hand, you can use it in place of the unsalted butter. Just be sure to omit the salt that this frosting recipe calls for. You can also use vegan butter in its place!
• Heavy Cream – Whole milk or alternative milk (soy, almond, oat) will work fine in this frosting recipe too.
• Vanilla Extract – Other extracts can also be used in place of the vanilla extract.
• Food Coloring – I highly recommend using gel food coloring to color the frosting. It gives the buttercream a vibrant color without throwing off the consistency of the frosting.

Making This Golden Retriever Cake in Advance and Storage Tips

You can make these cake layers in advance and freeze them. This breaks the process up and makes it more approachable. Cake layers can be wrapped and stored in the freezer for up to a month.

You can also make the frosting ahead of time or save any leftover frosting! It can be stored in piping bags or an airtight container in the fridge for up to a month, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

If you store it in a large container, be sure to give it a good stir once it thaws to get the consistency nice and smooth again.

This cake can sit out at room temperature for up to 2 days or be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Tips for Making the Best Golden Retriever Cake:

• Properly measure the flour (spoon it into the cup measure, then level) or use a kitchen scale to weigh it.
• Ingredients at room temperature mix together better. Set out any cold ingredients ahead of time.
• Chill the cake layers in the freezer for about 15 minutes before assembling the cake. This makes it a lot easier to stack and frost.
• I used piping bags to decorate this cake, but you can also use Ziplock bags if you don’t have piping bags! I recommend using the freezer type because they’re a bit sturdier. Cut a 1 cm hole in the corner of each.
• If you notice the heat from your hands is melting the frosting and changing its consistency, wrap the piping bag in a couple of layers of paper towel or in a thin kitchen towel.
• Use gel food coloring to color the buttercream. It creates vibrant colors without throwing off the consistency of the buttercream.
• Make a vegan or dairy free golden retriever cake if needed! Use your favorite type of dairy free milk to replace the buttermilk and heavy cream and use vegan butter sticks in place of the butter. For the eggs, I recommend using an egg replacer like this.

Making this Golden Retriever Cake in Different Sizes

One batch of batter can also be used to bake 3, 6-inch cake layers, or 1, 9- or 10-inch cake layer.

You can also use this recipe to bake a 9×13-inch sheet cake! Bake for 30-40 minutes at 350 F / 175 C.

Let Me Know What You Think!

If you try this golden retriever cake recipe, I’d love to hear what you think of it! Please leave a rating and comment below.

And don’t forget to tag me @chelsweets and use the #chelsweets on social media so that I can see your amazing creations!

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