Although it might not feel like Spring, with snow and cold still around, Spring is coming. The first green buds will soon appear on the branches of trees. Birds will start chirping. Flowers will bloom. Easter is coming! Today’s cake tutorial is all about Spring! The beautiful color and texture of robin eggs inspire this cake. It’s super simple and so much fun! This cake is easy for any level of a baker so you can include your favorite egg-hunters. This Speckled Egg Cake tutorial is for you. I hope that you enjoy it!
Let’s start with the scientific speckling technique. I made a Classic Vanilla Cake and baked it in four layers. Your cakes can be baked several days ahead and frozen or kept in the fridge. My time is minimal as a mom of a small child. Day 1 was spent baking the cake and making the eggs. Day 2: I made basic buttercream frosting ( recipe here). Day 3: I assembled and decorated my cake. My toddler-approved, extra-long schedule is not necessary. You can spread the work out over multiple days if necessary.
Let’s now talk about eggs! These eggs can be made in a variety of ways. To make white chocolate eggs, you can use an egg-shaped candy mold. Real eggs can be hardboiled or blown out and dyed. Raw eggs are not recommended. You can make eggs from fondant or gum paste. You can also buy any candy eggs you want. No matter which route you choose, decorating begins with your eggs. Start with your eggs to determine the overall color scheme.
Let’s get on to the speckling. This project is both delightful and slightly messy. The mess is what makes it so much fun. There will be cocoa splatters all over your counter and possibly even on your floor. Some spots were even found on my fridge. You should use wax paper to protect your work surface and paper towels from cleaning up. This is your official warning. There are better places to use your favorite apron than this one. My kitchen was spotless, with only a few paper towels. My apron also was clean. Let’s move on now that you have read the disclosures.
SPECKLED EG CAKE
Supplies
- Crumb-coated and assembled cake of your choice
- basic buttercream frosting
- Sky blue food color
- One tablespoon of cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
- food grade paint brush
- Wax paper
- Paper towels for cleaning up
- Speckled eggs
Add a few drops of food coloring to your buttercream frosting. I used 2-3 drops of Americolor Sky Blue Gel. I prefer to tint buttercream by adding one depth at a time. You’ve probably seen the benefits of slowly adding color to icing. When in doubt, I prefer to go with the lighter side. Buttercream naturally darkens as it sets.
Frost your crumb-coated, assembled cake with your pretty blue buttercream. You can shape it to your taste. You don’t have to make it perfect. We are about to get messy!
Combine one tablespoon of cocoa powder and 1 1/2 tablespoons of vanilla extract in a small bowl. Mix well until the cocoa powder is fully dissolved. You will have a thin chocolate paint.
Cover your work surface with wax paper. Dip your brand new or completely clean, but never used for paint, paintbrush in the chocolate. To splatter the chocolate paint, hold the paintbrush in one hand. You can practice first on wax paper to get the hang of it. Once confident with the flick, you can move on to the cake. Once you are ready to start sprinkling on the cake, place the paintbrush close to it and begin splattering.
A little bit of chocolate paint can go a long way. So dip your brush lightly. Rinse your brush with water if it becomes ‘clogged’ or stops splattering. Use a paper towel to dry the paintbrush. Start over.
Continue splattering! To completely cover the cake, move up and down.
You will almost certainly get a giant splatter than you want as you work. You might get distracted and accidentally bump the cake with the paintbrush. (Don’t ask how I know that!) There are two choices here. You can either accept the imperfections or let them go. You can wipe it off quickly using a little water and a paper towel. Next, go back to speckling. If you look closely, you can see the spot where I wiped off one of my oh,no-it-is-too-big splatters. Left-middle. It’s not a lousy correction and adds to my speckled egg charm.
Once you are comfortable splattering eggs, you can use it to do the same thing. You can now wipe any splatters from your cake pedestal while you wait for the egg and cake to dry. After the cake and eggs are dry, place the eggs on top. To hold the eggs exactly where you want, use a little buttercream.
