Ombre Cake - Trial Version

So, I was scrolling through my Cakes photo album on Facebook while waiting for the laundry to finish yesterday, and realized that I have not made a cake since J's birthday in September. Which I have no pictures of. Fall tends to be more suited to cookies, and then we get into the holidays. Which means pie, and cheesecake. My favorite cheesecake recipe is the start on this blog. Pie will come soon. But back to cake. After scrolling through the few cakes that are in that album, I decided that I would make one today. Just to have something outside of normal holiday sweets for us. 

I remembered seeing this pink ombre cake while browsing cakes one day and decided to do something similar. Although B's favorite color is pink, mine is not. I figured I would try purple. But something smaller, since it would just be our family eating it, and we would not be able to eat much before it goes stale. I cheated and just used a box white cake mix, since this was more just an experiment. Trying to get the technique figured out. Hoping to get to make a really nice cake for my sister-in-law who turns the big 4-0 this year.

I split the batter into three parts since I wanted a little thicker layers, plus I only have 2 pans and didn't really feel like spending the whole afternoon baking. (I also was working on making Sunday dinner in the middle of this). Another lesson learned. Will definitely want to have more colors, so I think I'll do five layers like the link above. And will leave one part white, and tint the last part really dark. I guess this trial one is basically the middle of the one I want! Hee hee. 

First part: After mixing the batter, I split it between three bowls and added coloring. I use Wilton gel colors, since that's what I have readily available around here. If I can't find the Americolors soon locally, then I'll order some. But I need to finish up with what I've got first. 

Here's the 3 bowls side by side. Please disregard the Christmas tins in the background. At least I got pictures taken while mixing this time. One day I'll remember to stage while taking them!

 The first bowl on the right had just a teensy weensy dab of color.

 The second bowl had just a wee bit more.

 And a good amount in this one.

When I make the next one, I'll remember to make a white layer and a really really dark one. Just for even more contrast. 

After baking and cooling, I trimmed just enough to level the cake. I'm gonna trim more on the next one, because I don't care for the brown line between layers from the baking. I think I'll also use a layer of fruit jelly between the cake layers instead of frosting. Keep the color more consistent and make the cake a little more flavorful. 

I used my recipe for buttercream adapted from the Wilton one found here. I make a full batch and keep it in the freezer if there is extra. Be sure to allow plenty of time for it to thaw if you do the same, and stir well before using. I crumb coated first to ensure no sneak peeks into the inside, and then just a thick coat of frosting slightly smoothed out.

I had spotted a tutorial for the fondant flower online earlier today, and bookmarked it to have for this post. But alas! all my bookmarks have disappeared, not to be found again. I also didn't have time to let it dry, so it's just flat on the top of the cake. B says it looks like a garden hat. Which I like, because it doesn't say "fail". Here's the fun part of it:

No, wait. Here's the fun part.

Check out this post from Steph at Raspberri Cupcakes for what I hope the next one ends up looking like color wise!