The theme of this dessert is The Beach!
I’ve always loved the beach. The sand, the blue water, the waves, the shells…. everything! There’s just something so calming and beautiful about it.
So, for this theme, I made a Pineapple Layer Watercolor Cake with Marshmallow Fondant Sea Shells.
For the pineapple flavor, I used pineapple juice and buttermilk. I also added crushed pineapples to the frosting.
Then I whipped up a Swiss Meringue Buttercream that I colored to match all of the beautiful beach colors for the outside.
To make the sea shells, I made a marshmallow fondant that I colored tan. To shape them, I followed a tutorial from Pinterest, which you can get here.
This one was really fun to make. I’m loving all of the Summer vibes.
Recipe:
•1 cup buttermilk
•1 cup pineapple juice
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup oil
• 4 tbsp vanilla
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp baking soda
Buttercream :
1 tbsp sugar
1 stick butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp heavy cream
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup crushed pineapples
Swiss Meringue Buttercream
•4 egg whites
• 1 1/3 cup sugar
• 3 sticks butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
Cake:
Mix oil, sugar and eggs. Add vanilla, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and flour. Add buttermilk and pineapple juice. Pour into three 6 inch pans and bake for 35-45 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
Buttercream:
Place all the buttercream ingredients except the pineapples in a standing mixer. Blend at a medium setting. Add the pineapples and blend again. Set aside.
Level the cake layers so that they have an even top.
Frost the bottom layer with the buttercream. Add the second layer and another layer of the buttercream. Place the last layer on top, top side down.
Swiss Meringue Buttercream:
Place egg whites and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk until combined.
Place bowl over a pot with 1-2″ of simmering water and whisk constantly until the mixture is hot and no longer grainy to the touch or reads 160F on a candy thermometer (approx. 3mins)
Place bowl on your stand mixer and whisk on med-high until the meringue is stiff and cooled (the bowl is no longer warm to the touch (approx. 5-10mins).
Switch to paddle attachment. Slowly add cubed butter and mix until smooth.
Add vanilla extract.
Place half of the frosting into a pastry bag and cut off about 1 inch of the tip. Pipe the frosting around the cake starting from the bottom until you get to the top. Add more frosting on top of the cake. Use an offset spatula to smooth the frosting on top. Then use the spatula to smooth the frosting around the sides.
Then take a large scraper to smooth the sides more until the frosting is even on the cake.
Refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
Divide the remaining Swiss Buttercream into 2 bowls.
Add sky blue food gel to one bowl and tan food gel to the second.
Remove cake from refrigerator. With an off set spatula, add the tan buttercream to the bottom third of the cake. Then add the blue buttercream to the top 2/3 of the cake. Use the scrapper to smooth the cake all around. Refrigerate until set for about an hour. Decorate with sea shells when ready to serve.
Sea Shells:
1 bag mini marshmallows
2 tbsp water
1/2 bag white candy melts
1 2lb bag powdered sugar
Tan food gel
Brown food gel
In a bowl add marshmallows and water. Microwave for about 45-60 seconds. Stir until melted.
In a separate bowl, add candy melts. Microwave for 45-50 seconds. Stir until melted. Add to the marshmallows and stir.
Add powdered sugar one cup at a time. Until you can not stir the mixture anymore. Mix in the rest of the powdered sugar and knead by hand until it is The consistency of fondant. Divide fondant in half and add tan and brown food gel to one half. Knead until incorporated. Leave the second half white. Break a small piece of tan and a small piece of white. Twist them together. Follow the instructions for making the sea shells here:
