The Naked Cake – Confetti Fair

One of the hottest trends in the wedding industry, in fact the cake world has to be the naked cake. You may have seen them at weddings, attempted to make one yourself or even ‘pinned’ it on Pinterest. A naked cake features generous layers of cake filled with scrumptious fillings such as buttercream and fruit and with the sides being left un-iced and often styled with gorgeous floral and more fruit. Naked cakes are seen as a whimsical alternative to the more ‘formal’ wedding or event cake and it is the perfect touch for a rustic wedding.

Vanilla cake recipe

Ingredients (Three 8 inch cakes)

3 cups plain flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
250 grams unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups caster sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup milk, room temperature

Ingredients (Three 6 inch cakes)

2 cups plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
160 grams unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/3 cup caster sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup milk, room temperature

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius with the rack in the centre of the oven.

Grease three 8 inch round cake pans and then line the bottoms of the pans with baking paper.

In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, with the paddle attachment beat the butter until soft and creamy (about 1-2 minutes). Gradually add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes).

Add the eggs, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined.

Add the flour mixture into the bowl, alternating with the milk, making sure to begin and end with the flour.

Divide the batter between the cake pans, smoothing the tops. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the centre of the cakes comes out clean.

Let the cakes cool in their pans for about 5 minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely on wire rack.

Repeat the process above to prepare the 6 inch cakes (using 6 inch cake pans)

French vanilla buttercream

Ingredients:

5 egg yolks
250 grams caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
500 grams unsalted butter, room temperature

Place the egg yolks into the bowl of a mixer and whisk until double in volume.

Place caster sugar into a saucepan and add enough water to just cover the sugar. Boil until the sugar syrup reaches 115 degrees Celsius.

Remove the sugar syrup from heat and pour into the egg yolk mixture in a slow steady stream.

Beat the mixture until the bowl is cool to touch (between 10-15 minutes).

Once the mixture is cool, start adding the butter in small amounts. Add the vanilla extract and keep beating the mixture until it is smooth and light in colour.

Tutorial:

Step 1: Bake three 6 inch and three 8 inch cake layers using the vanilla cake recipe. (Images 32, 45, 76, 107, 115, 124, 126)

Step 2: Prepare the buttercream using the French vanilla buttercream recipe (image 159)

Step 3: Once the cakes are completely cool, cut the tops off each cake so that the stacked cake sits level when assembled (image 143)

Step 4: Trim the edges of the cakes (image 168)

Step 5: Place a layer of the 8” cake on a cake board using some of the buttercream to attach the cake onto the cake board (image 225)

Step 6: Spread desired amount of buttercream making sure it is spread out to the edges of the cake, and stack another layer of cake on top. Repeat with the last 2 layers of cake (images 224 and 258)

Step 7: Repeat steps 5 and 6 using the 6” cake layers.

Step 8: Since this is a tiered cake, you will need to support the cake using dowels or plastic ‘bubble cup’ straws (can be purchased on eBay). I have used 7 bubble cup straws. Insert one straw in the centre of the cake and mark the straw where it needs to be cut. (Image 298)

Step 9: Cut the remaining straws at the exact same length to keep the stacked cake level. Ensure that each straw is at an equal distance away from the other so that the weight of the 6” cake is evenly distributed (images 303 and 311)

Step 10: Place the 6” cake on top of the 8” cake (image 322)

Step 11: Prepare any roses or flowers that you will be using to decorate the cake. Ensure that only pesticide-free and non-poisonous flowers are used to decorate the cake. Trim the roses so that there is only about an inch of stem. Wrap the stems in non-toxic floral tape (Never insert the bare stems into a cake). (Image 289)

Step 12: Dust the entire cake with icing sugar. Decorate the cake using strawberries and raspberries. Place the prepared roses on the cake or if you wish you can attach the roses to the cake by inserting part of the stem into the cake. (Image 350)

Notes

Make sure you only use the bubble cup straws as support in smaller cakes (up to a 10” cake) and don’t stack more than 3 cakes tiers high using bubble cup straws. Any larger cakes or more than 3 tiers should have a central dowel/support and larger dowels.
Ensure that you use a moist cake when making naked cakes since they don’t have an outer layer of icing to protect it from drying out. If you are worried about the cake being dry, you can brush sugar syrup over the cake before decorating to keep it moist.