Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Ombre Petal Cake


Ombre is in, in a big way. Ombre, which just means a gradation in color, has been everywhere in fashion this this year.  Even in hair color. Which is great for me because now I can just pretend that the three different shades my hair has grown out is because I'm totally on the edge of fashion. It's not at all the fact that I'm several weeks overdue for a visit to the salon. Think anyone will buy that?? Anyway, like most popular fashion trends, it's not long before you start seeing some form of it translated into cake. Ombre cakes have started popping up all over the internet. I love the look of the fading shades of color and wanted to try it for myself.

I had a small cake and a lot of purple butter cream leftover from another cake I made this week, so I decided to play around with and attempt an ombre cake. I loved the effect.

I started with a  basic white cake that I filled and crumb coated. Then divided the frosting into three equal parts (you could do more shades if you want but I think three colors gives a nice effect.) and tint the frosting with gel color. Tint each one a shade darker than the one before, until you have three shades of the same color.
I used a simple confectioners sugar butter cream for the frosting.

Confectioners Frosting:


4 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 tablespoons milk or light cream

In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until smooth.Mix in the vanilla extract. With the mixer on low speed, gradually beat in the sugar.Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the milk and beat to combine. Then, on high speed, beat frosting until it is light and fluffy.  If not using right away, cover with plastic wrap.


I decided to pipe around the cake with a petal design. It's a simple but pretty pattern that I saw on My Cake School's blog. Here's the link to her tutorial .
 When I finished the cake it looked a little naked so I threw some sprinkles on the edge. So cute! Wouldn't this cake be perfect for Valentines Day?

 Have fun and get your ombre on!!

6 comments:

Elizabeth King said...

That's such a beautiful cake and great idea! ^_^

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

It looks fantastic. You are quite talented in the cake department!!

grace said...

this is so lovely! bonus: i've just learned my new word for the day. :)

Xean said...

so cute! i love the color of the frosting--purple. Looks great and yummy!

Stephanie said...

That is unabashedly pretty! And you're right... the confetti sprinkles are the perfect touch. :)

Becs@Lay the table said...

Aww so pretty!