Buttercream Flower Cake
Make a beautiful flower cake with this easy buttercream tutorial, including piping tips, decorating steps, and beginner-friendly techniques.
Servings: 24
Calories: 598kcal
Ingredients
Vanilla Cake Recipe
- 3 cups cake flour 375g
- 3 cups granulated sugar 600g
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder 10g
- 1 tsp fine salt 6g
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature 226g
- 1 cup carton egg whites or 7 large egg whites, room temperature 240g
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk, room temperature 360g
- 2 Tbsp vegetable or canola oil 30g
- 2 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste 10g
- gel food coloring - if desired
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
- 2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature 454g; 1 lb
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste 5g
- 1/2 tsp fine salt 3g
- 7 cups powdered sugar 907g; 2 lb bag
- 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream, room temperature 80g
- Pink and green gel food coloring
Tools and Equipment Needed
- Stand mixer or electric hand mixer
- Whisk attachment
- Greaseproof Cake Board
- Spinning Cake Stand
- Large Offset Spatula
- Bench Scraper
- 4 Small Piping Bags
- Open Star Piping Tip (like a Wilton 1M) for the large rosettes
- Small French Tip (like an Ateco 862) for the small rosettes
- Small Round Piping Tip (like a Wilton 10) for the flower buds
- Leaf Piping Tip (like a Wilton 366) for the leaves
- Very Small Round Piping Tip (like a Wilton 3) for the small accent dots
- 3 Frosting Couplers
Instructions
Fluffy Vanilla Cake Layers
- Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. Line four 7" or three 8" round cake pans with parchment rounds and grease with non-stick baking spray or homemade cake pan release.
- Mix 3 cups cake flour, 3 cups sugar, 2 1/2 tsp baking powder, and 1 tsp salt together in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or hand mixer until fully combined.
- Mix in 1 cup of room temperature, unsalted butter slowly into the dry ingredients on a low speed. Continue to mix until no large chunks of butter remain and the mixture looks like moist sand.
- Pour in 1 cup of egg whites and mix on low until just incorporated. Mix in 1 1/2 cups of buttermilk in two installments at a low speed.
- Add in 2 Tbsp of vegetable oil and 2 tsp of vanilla extract and mix at a low speed until fully incorporated. If you plan to color your cake layers, add in the gel food coloring with the oil and vanilla.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, then beat on a medium speed for about a minute to make sure everything is properly mixed together. This also helps lighten the texture of the cake layers a bit.
- Divide the batter evenly between your prepared pans. I like to use a scale to make sure each pan has the same amount of batter and will bake up to the same height.
- Bake for 33-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs.
- Let the pans cool for 10 minutes, then run a small offset spatula around the perimeter of the pan to separate the cake from the pan.
- Place the cake layers into the freezer for 30 minutes to accelerate the cooling process. Once the layers are fully cooled, carefully flip the pans and remove the layers.
- Use a serrated knife to level the tops of the layers right before you plan to assemble your cake, or you can wrap and freeze them if you're making them in advance.
- If you make these cake layers in advance and freeze them, let them thaw for about 20 minutes before making your cake. The cake layers should still be slightly cold to the touch, which will make it easier to assemble your cake.
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
- While the cake layers bake and cool, make the buttercream frosting.
- Beat 2 cups of unsalted butter on a medium-high speed for 1-2 minutes with a paddle attachment until the butter becomes lighter in color.
- Mix in 1 tsp vanilla extract and 1/2 tsp salt on a low speed.
- Slowly add in 7 cups of powdered sugar. Halfway through, add 1/3 cup of heavy cream to make the frosting easier to mix.
- Beat on low until the ingredients are fully incorporated and the desired consistency is reached.
- If the frosting is too thick, add additional cream (1 Tbsp at a time). If the frosting is too thin, add more powdered sugar (1/4 cup at a time). Wait to color the buttercream until the cake is crumb-coated. Cover the frosting with plastic wrap to prevent it from crusting and set aside.
Assembling This Buttercream Flower Cake
- If possible, chill your cake layers in the freezer for 20 minutes before assembling the cake. It makes them cold to the touch, which minimizes crumbing and makes them so much easier to frost and stack.
- Spread about 1 Tbsp of frosting onto a greaseproof cake board or plate, then place your first cake layer on top of the frosting smear. This helps the layer stay in place as you assemble the cake.
- Spread a thick, even layer of buttercream on top of the cake layer. Repeat with the remaining cake layers and flip the top cake layer upside down (cut side down). This makes it easier to frost your cake!
- Once all the cake layers are stacked, spread a thin coat of frosting around the cake. Smooth using a bench scraper and/or large offset spatula, then chill the cake in the fridge (30 minutes) or freezer (10 minutes) until the frosting is firm to the touch.
- Scoop about 1 cup of uncolored/white buttercream into a small piping bag fitted with an open star tip like a Wilton 1M, seal the top with a rubber band or clip, and set aside.
- Color the remaining buttercream a light pink using a small squirt of gel food coloring. Stir until the frosting is evenly colored.
- Use the pink buttercream to cover the chilled cake in a second layer of frosting. Use a large offset spatula and bench scraper to smooth the frosting. Place the cake in the fridge to chill while you color the remaining buttercream.
- Scoop a quarter of the remaining buttercream into a small piping bag fitted with a coupler, seal the top, and set aside.
- Divide the remaining buttercream evenly between three bowls, and color one of them green with gel food coloring. Mix in a tiny bit of pink gel food coloring to make it more of a muted green. This will give the cake a more cohesive look (color theory is so cool!). Scoop the frosting into a small piping bag fitted with a coupler, seal the top, and set aside.
- Color one of the bowls of frosting a medium pink using pink gel food coloring. Scoop the frosting into a small piping bag fitted with a coupler, seal the top, and set aside.
- Color the last bowl a deep pink using more pink gel food coloring. Scoop the frosting into a small piping bag fitted with a coupler, seal the top, and set aside.
Decorating This Buttercream Flower Cake
- Remove the cake from the fridge. Use the white buttercream and a Wilton 1M tip to pipe large buttercream rosettes around the side or top of the cake, spacing them about a couple of inches apart.
- Then use the three shades of pink fitted and a small French tip like an Ateco 862 to pipe small buttercream rosettes between the larger white rosettes.
- Next, use the green buttercream and a small round tip like a Wilton 10 to pipe dots to look like flower buds in some of the remaining open spaces. Open the coupler and swap the round tip for a leaf tip like a Wilton 366, then pipe some leaves around the flowers.
- Fit one of the pink frosting bags with a small round piping tip like a Wilton 10, and pipe inside the green frosting "buds" to look like the flower is just starting to bloom.
- Fit the dark pink frosting bag with a very small piping tip like a Wilton 3, and pipe small dots above and below the buttercream flowers, like in the pictures above. Then enjoy!
Video
Notes
Tips for Making the Best Buttercream Flower Cake:
- Ingredients at room temp mix together better! Set out any cold ingredients ahead of time.
- Properly measure your flour (spoon into the cup measure, then level). Or better yet, use a kitchen scale to measure your dry ingredients.
- Use a scale to weigh your cake pans as you fill them. It will make your cake layers bake to the same height and bake more evenly.
- Level your room temperature or thawed cake layers with a serrated knife to make them easier to stack.
- Chill your cake layers in the freezer for about 20 minutes before assembling the cake. It makes it so much easier to stack and frost them!
- Use gel food coloring to create brightly colored frosting. It works best because it doesn't throw off the consistency of the frosting or give it a bitter taste.
- If your hands run hot, wrap a paper towel or thin kitchen towel around your piping bag to prevent the transfer of heat from your hands into the frosting.
Making This Cake in Advance and Storage Tips
You can make these cake layers in advance and freeze them. It breaks the process up and makes it more approachable. You can also make your frosting ahead of time, or save any leftover frosting! It can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a month, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Be sure to give it a good stir once it thaws to get the consistency nice and smooth again. A frosted cake can last in the fridge for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to a month. The buttercream locks in all the moisture, keeping the cake fresh and delicious! If you cut into the cake and have leftovers, use any remaining frosting to cover the cut section to keep it moist and store it in the fridge for up to a week.Nutrition
Serving: 1 | Calories: 598kcal | Carbohydrates: 77g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 79mg | Sodium: 270mg | Sugar: 62g