Pisces Ocean Blue Cake (Printer View)

A moist vanilla layer cake topped with ocean blue ombre buttercream and delicate decorations.

# Components:

→ Vanilla Cake

01 - 2½ cups all-purpose flour
02 - 2½ teaspoons baking powder
03 - ½ teaspoon salt
04 - ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
05 - 1¾ cups granulated sugar
06 - 4 large eggs, room temperature
07 - 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
08 - 1 cup whole milk, room temperature

→ Ocean Blue Ombre Frosting

09 - 1½ cups unsalted butter, softened
10 - 6 cups powdered sugar, sifted
11 - ¼ cup whole milk, plus more as needed
12 - 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
13 - Blue gel food coloring in various shades
14 - Pinch of salt

→ Decoration

15 - White chocolate seashells or pearls
16 - Edible glitter or shimmer dust
17 - Blue and silver tone sprinkles

# Method steps:

01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and line three 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper.
02 - In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
03 - In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, approximately 3 to 4 minutes.
04 - Beat in eggs one at a time, then add vanilla extract and mix until fully combined.
05 - Add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with milk, beginning and ending with flour. Mix until just combined.
06 - Divide batter evenly among the prepared pans and smooth the tops with a spatula.
07 - Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
08 - Cool cakes in pans for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
09 - Beat softened butter until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla and salt. Beat in milk, a little at a time, until frosting reaches a smooth, spreadable consistency.
10 - Divide frosting into 4 bowls. Tint each with blue gel food coloring, creating a gradient from pale to deep ocean blue.
11 - Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Spread with a thin layer of the lightest blue frosting. Repeat with remaining layers.
12 - Using an offset spatula, frost the sides and top of the cake, starting with the lightest shade at the top and gradually working down to the deepest blue at the base, blending where the colors meet for an ombre effect.
13 - Decorate with white chocolate seashells, edible glitter, and sprinkles as desired.
14 - Chill cake for 30 minutes before slicing for best results.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • The ombre frosting technique looks impossibly fancy but becomes intuitive once you blend those blues together, and guests always assume you trained at a bakery.
  • Three layers of buttery vanilla sponge stay genuinely moist for days, meaning you can actually bake this ahead without it turning into cardboard.
02 -
  • Room temperature ingredients are non-negotiable—I learned this the hard way when I once grabbed butter straight from the fridge and ended up with a grainy, separated batter that was nearly impossible to fix.
  • Gel food coloring will change your ombre life because liquid coloring thins the frosting, but I discovered this only after wasting a batch trying to make it work.
03 -
  • If your frosting breaks or separates during mixing, warm the bowl slightly over steam or let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes, then beat it again gently until it comes together.
  • An offset spatula is genuinely worth owning if you make frosted cakes more than once—it changes everything about how smoothly you can work.
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