Ingredients for Cake
- 1 ⅔ cup all-purpose flour 213g
- 1 cup granulated sugar 228g
- 1 tsp baking powder 3g
- ¼ tsp baking soda 1g
- ¾ cup butter 176g, room temperature or melted
- ¼ cup whole milk 60ml, warm
- ¼ cup strawberry preserves 46g, strained, warm
- ½ cup sour cream 120ml
- 3 tsp vanilla extract 10g
- 3 egg whites large
- Pink food coloring
Ingredients for Vanilla Buttercream
- 3 lbs confectioners sugar 1300g
- 1.5 lb butter 681g, unsalted, room temperature
- 2 tbsp vanilla bean paste
- 5 tbsp heavy cream
- 2-2 drops rose water optional
- multiple food colorings
Directions For the Cake:
1. Preheat oven to 340F. Butter and flour three 6-inch cake pans. Soak baking strips in water. Strain the strawberry preserves.
2. Sift dry ingredients (including sugar). Whisk to combine.
3. In another bowl, whisk together wet ingredients.
4. Combine wet and dry mixtures. Whisk until combined. Add a few drops of pink food coloring until a desired consistency is reached. If the batter is lumpy, it’s okay!
5. Add damp baking strips to the cake pans.
6. Evenly distribute batter into pans. I like to use a kitchen scale for precision.
7. Bake for about 30- 35 minutes or until the centers are set and springy to the touch.
Directions For the Vanilla Buttercream:
1. Beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add the confectioners' sugar. Beat until smooth.
2. Add vanilla, rose water and cream. Beat until combined.
3. Save some white buttercream. Add food coloring to create blue and teal, transfer to piping bags.
4. Get out 6-8 bowls. Add about 1 cup of buttercream to each.
5. Leave one bowl white.
6. Use food coloring to dye each bowl a different color.
7. Transfer all smaller batches to piping bags fitted with a grass tips.
Directions For the Assembly:
1. Pipe rings of buttercream between the cake layers.
2. Cover the cake with a thin, crumb coat and chill for a few minutes.
3. Use a large grass tip to pipe patches of each color to create a design. You can really use whatever pattern you’d like just try not to repeat the colors in the same section too much and keep the patches of color on the smaller side.