Description
This stunning Easter centerpiece features moist vanilla cake layers enveloped in a silky robin’s egg blue buttercream. Finished with a charming toasted coconut nest and a unique cocoa-speckled texture, it is a professional-looking dessert that remains surprisingly simple to assemble.
Ingredients
- 3 8-inch vanilla cake layers (cooled and chilled)
- Unsalted butter, softened to 18°C/64°F
- Icing sugar (powdered sugar), sifted
- Vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- Blue gel food coloring
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 3 tablespoons boiling water
- Coconut flakes
- Mini pastel speckled candy eggs
Instructions
- Chill your pre-baked cake layers for at least 30 minutes to ensure they are firm and easy to handle.
- Preheat oven to 160°C/325°F and toast coconut flakes on a tray for 6–10 minutes, stirring every two minutes until golden.
- In a stand mixer, beat the softened butter on high speed for 3 minutes until it turns pale white.
- Add sifted icing sugar in three stages, mixing on low then high, then add vanilla and salt and beat for another 2 minutes.
- Create a blue tint by mixing a small amount of frosting with blue gel coloring, then gradually fold it back into the main batch until pastel.
- Secure the first layer on a cake board with frosting, then stack and fill with 3/4 cup of buttercream between layers before frosting the exterior.
- Whisk cocoa powder with boiling water and use a clean toothbrush to flick the mixture onto the cake for a speckled effect.
- Press toasted coconut into a nest shape on top and around the base of the cake, then fill the center with candy eggs.
Notes
To achieve the perfect robin’s egg blue, it is essential to whip the butter until it is nearly white to neutralize any yellow tones that could turn the dye green. Practice your speckling technique on a piece of parchment paper or in the sink before applying it to the cake to ensure an even spray pattern.
- Prep Time: 45 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Assembly
- Cuisine: American