Need a gorgeous butterfly cake?
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This adorable Butterfly Cake makes the perfect 1st birthday cake for the little princess in your life. Even if you don’t have ‘green thumbs’ in your own garden you can still sprout this butterfly filled flower garden in no time at all!
It's designed as a group of butterflies descending from the heavens to a beautiful Spring flower garden. This really comes to life as a multi-tiered cake, like this one, but still looks striking as a single six or eight inch cake for a small party.
The chocolate 'grass' looks impressive but it's really very quick and easy to make. The rest of the design is Buttercream buttercream and some Brown sugar. It’s amazing what you can do with these humble ingredients and a little inspiration.
To complete your party theme, check out these fantastic co-ordinating party supplies
ingredients
birthday cake - 1st birthday cake - butterfly cake
- 1 x 8" and 1 x 10" round cake - these are Lemon Ginger Pound Cake
- Filling - this one's Gingernut Crunch
- buttercream
- sky blue, yellow and brown gel food color
- Blue candy color
- Pink candy color
- Yellow candy color
- White candy melts
to make the butterflies
- Brown sugar for the dirt
- Plate or board to hold finished cake
baking
birthday cake - 1st birthday cake - butterfly cake
1. bake the cakes and cool completely.
2. level the cakes and tort (split each into two layers horizontally).
3. fill and assemble each cake on a separate cake circle
4. crumb coat - this is a very thin coat of un-tinted buttercream you apply to 'set' the crumbs.
5. refrigerate the cake(s) while you make the Chocolate grass decorations.
Chocolate Grass detail
birthday cake - 1st birthday cake - butterfly cake
melt the candy melts in a microwave safe bowl for 30 seconds at a time, stirring after each interval, until completely melted.
tint the chocolate green using yellow and blue candy colors.
smear some strips of melted chocolate about 1/8 inch thick on to a piece of wax paper, using the back of a spoon, as shown (below left).
set for about 30 minutes then, using a large knife, cut randomly across the strip of chocolate to make small shards, as shown (below right). It’s that simple – now you have grass!
Chocolate Butterflies
birthday cake - 1st birthday cake - butterfly cake
draw the outline of a pair of simple butterfly wing shapes (about 2" long) onto a plain piece of paper and tape it to the back of a cookie sheet.
cover this with a piece of wax paper. This will hold your finished butterfly wings.
add few dots of chocolate down the center of each wing, using the tip of a paintbrush handle and a small amount of melted white candy melts. Let set for a few minutes before adding the next color.
dab some yellow around the top and bottom edges of each wing with the tip of a paintbrush handle and some melted yellow candy melts. Let set for a few minutes before adding the next color.
fill in remaining area of each shape with melted pink candy melts.
repeat for as many sets of butterfly wings as you need and let them set for about 30 minutes.
Assembly
birthday cake - 1st birthday cake - butterfly cake
divide the buttercream in to four bowls, leaving one white and tinting the others light green, light blue and brown.
prepare three piping bags. One with chocolate brown buttercream and a #9 round tip, one with white buttercream and a #12 round tip and one with yellow buttercream and a small petal tip (#104 or similar).
frost the top and sides of the 8" cake with the Light Blue buttercream.
frost the top and sides of the 10" cake with Light Green buttercream.
place the 10" cake tier on your plate or board and secure with buttercream
cut five cake dowels to length and insert in the 10" tier in a circle, slightly smaller than the foorprint of the 8" tier.
stack the 8" tier on the 10" tier, centered over the dowels and secure with buttercream
sprinkle brown sugar around the bottom of the cake, as shown, to act as dirt.
pipe an odd number of yellow, sunflower-type, flowers around the bottom tier of the cake, starting on the top edge and continuing down the sides a little.
fill the center of each flower with tiny dots of brown buttercream and pipe a stem on each flower to complete.
place the chocolate shards randomly into the buttercream between each flower to form the grass.
cover the join between tiers by piping row of white pearls all around.
add a few clouds on the top tier and over the sides a little, using random curly lines in white buttercream.
make 1 ½" diagonal cuts in the cake, using a serrated knife, starting on the top and continuing over the side a little. These will hold the butterfly wings.
push a butterfly wing, gently, in to each cut you just made.
form a body by piping a row of brown dots in between the two wings, as shown. Add a pair of antennae.
You're done! Now go get a well deserved cup of coffee and sit back for a few minutes to admire your handiwork. Remember to take a picture while your masterpiece still looks perfect.
co-ordinating party supplies
Got a beautiful Butterfly Cake? Check! Now all you need for the perfect celebration is great co-ordinating party supplies.
You can find everything you need right here. Check it out:
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