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    Home

    How to Make Watercolor Cakes

    June 26, 2013 by Style Sweet 22 Comments

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    Buttercream-Watercolor-Cake.jpg

    Nearly a decade ago, I enrolled in a watercolor class during summer school at my university.  I've always considered myself to be a fairly crafty and artistic person, but let me tell you- watercolor painting is HARD!  Making simple designs and blending colors was fun and sort of relaxing, but the detail and artistry that my instructor and some of my fellow classmates used was phenomenal.  Needless to say, I knew I was not going to improve all that much in just a short amount of time.  However, I definitely left inspired and with a tremendous amount of respect for those that could create beautiful imagery with only a few tools.


    Watercolor-Cake-Duo.jpg

    Years later, I find myself as an artist of sorts- a pastry artist.  I may not be that comfortable working on a canvas, but I have learned how to manipulate cake and sugar to extreme levels.  When watercolor details began circulating through the wedding world, I was inspired to incorporate the trend on to cake.  I've been able to translate one medium onto two different sugar "canvases."  Using different techniques, the watercolor concept works with both buttercream and fondant covered cakes.


    Buttercream-Watercolor-Cake-TessaHuff.jpg

    BUTTERCREAM WATERCOLOR CAKE

    1. Torte, fill, and layer your cake layers.
    2. Crumb coat your cake with the lightest color of your watercolor palette.  You may find more details on how to crumb coat here.
    3. Divide and color your buttercream with gel food coloring.  For this cake, I decided to use three different colors: white, pink, and orange.  You may use these same techniques with any shades you wish.
    4. Starting with the top, add a fair amount of icing and begin to smooth with an off-set spatula.  You will want a bit of this color to hang over the edge, so that it can be blended with the other colors later.
    5. Working from the bottom up, add "stripes" of color around your cake- one color at a time.  For more control, use a small off-set spatula and only a small amount of icing at a time.  These "stripes" do not need to be completely even for this design.  In fact, I find it looks better if they are not completely straight.  I even added back in a touch of white on top for a more blended effect.
    6. Repeat the previous step with your second color.
    7. Repeat the precious step with your third and/or final color, making sure to connect with the overhang of the first color.  At this point, your cake my look fairly sloppy.  Don't worry- it will be okay!


    How-To-Watercolor-Cake-Buttercream.jpg

    8. Using a turntable and flat icing comb or bench scraper, partially smooth out the final coat of your icing.  Finish off the top as you would a regular buttercream cake.  For more details on how to ice a cake with buttercream, follow the steps here.
    9. To create the swirly, textured effect, hold a straight metal spatula parallel to the cake.  Starting with the bottom, touch the tip of the spatula to the cake.  Keeping the spatula connected, spin the turntable while spiraling the spatula to the top of the cake.  Finish off the top with a spiral.  For more instruction, follow the tutorial here.


    Fondant-Watercolor-Cake-TessaHuff.jpg

    FONDANT WATERCOLOR CAKE

    A decorating technique that I love is that you can literally paint on fondant.  When mixed with a clear alcohol, like vodka, gel food coloring becomes edible paint.  The alcohol in the vodka evaporates much faster than any other liquid, leaving the beautiful color behind.  Just remember, a little color goes a long way!


    Watercolor-Cake-Paint.jpg

    1.  Mix vodka and gel color in a paint palette to create the colors and shades of your choice.
    2.  Paint directly onto the fondant cake.  For this project, I used a medium flat-edged brush.  Feel free to test the color on a spare piece of fondant.
    3.  If you find that your color is too saturated, add more vodka to your brush and blend.  Like any watercolor painting, the more liquid, the more the colors will blend and swirl.  However, the more liquid, the less control you will have.  With this design, that's completely okay!
    4.  Make a major error?  Use a q-tip soaked in vodka to clean up any mistakes- just don't rely on this too much or your fondant finish will be affected.
    5.  Allow to dry before handling.


    Watercolor-Paint-Brush.jpg


    Fondant-Watercolor-Cake.jpg


    Watercolor-Decor.jpg

    « Easy Textured Buttercream Cakes
    Fondant Cake Tips »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar

      June 26, 2013 at 10:22 pm

      This cake is so gorgeous!! LOVE it!

      Reply
      • Tessa

        June 27, 2013 at 1:39 am

        Awe, thanks Katrina! I adore your site, too 😉

        Reply
    2. A Painterly Confection: Watercolor Wedding Cakes

      July 16, 2013 at 2:17 pm

      [...] is especially perfect for summer celebrations and oh-so-pretty for weddings. Here is a cute little tutorial on how to mix watercolors for cake decorating if you feel up for a project! Enjoy more cake [...]

      Reply
    3. Sarah

      July 19, 2013 at 2:09 am

      What a beautiful cake - so much creativity!

      Reply
      • Tessa

        July 19, 2013 at 6:14 am

        Thank you so much!

        Reply
    4. 33 Unbelievable Cakes with Recipes | Chef Recipes

      December 27, 2013 at 5:12 am

      […] stylesweetca.com […]

      Reply
    5. Watercolor Buttercream Cake | IMG Recipes| Discover Recipes, Cooking Tips & Food Images

      April 12, 2014 at 8:15 am

      […] April 12, 2014 Sam Leave a comment Watercolor Buttercream Cake Swirly shades of sherbet are used to create this watercolor buttercream cake via Style Sweet CA.For full “Watercolor Buttercream Cake” recipe click here […]

      Reply
    6. Maya

      April 25, 2014 at 9:56 pm

      This is absolutely incredible!!
      I'm a pastry student and have just started my advanced cakes lab, our chef asked us to come up with a design for an occasion and a wedding cakes with the cover made from Buttercream. i think i may use this idea for one of my cakes- especially as it is spring and i think this way works so well for this time of the year.

      Thank.
      now i have a cake to sketch and a blog to keep reading!

      Reply
      • Tessa

        April 28, 2014 at 4:32 pm

        Maya,Thank you for stopping by! Yes, definitely a great design for Spring. Good Luck!!

        Reply
    7. Sam Barnes

      June 02, 2014 at 5:54 pm

      I'm thinking about doing this for my daughter's birthday cupcakes. I would definitely have to be a bit more strategic, but do you think diluted liquid based food coloring would work as well as gel food coloring?

      Reply
      • Tessa

        June 02, 2014 at 6:40 pm

        Liquid based food coloring for the buttercream? Yes, I think that should work. Try adding a little bit at a time and see if it combines well. Wishing your daughter a very happy birthday!

        Reply
    8. Yen-Nhi

      November 13, 2014 at 11:53 am

      Hi Tessa, I was wondering would other clear alcohol though weaker, like a moscato, work as well instead of vodka? Your cakes are beautiful 🙂

      Reply
      • Tessa

        November 17, 2014 at 6:05 pm

        You, not I am not completely sure. The reason for the alcohol is that is evaporates much quicker than water and too much water may melt the sugar in the fondant. Might be worth trying different types on a sample piece of fondant?

        Reply
    9. Leah

      March 12, 2015 at 12:34 am

      hello:) I don't have vodka so what can I use in place of it?? I heard vanilla flavour or almond would be good, any thoughts??

      Reply
      • Tessa

        March 17, 2015 at 11:52 pm

        Leah - yes, you can use a clear extract. Alcohols and extracts work better than plain water since they evaporate much faster =)

        Reply
    10. Pretty Party Planning Posts | Salt & Honey Catering

      April 21, 2015 at 4:23 am

      […] can’t wait to do a watercolor cake for our next bridal shower […]

      Reply
    11. The 33 Cutest Cakes Of 2013 - Viral Tunnel

      April 26, 2015 at 11:41 pm

      […] stylesweetca.com […]

      Reply
    12. 21 Amazingly Simple Watercolor Crafts for Your Wedding

      June 15, 2015 at 5:48 pm

      […] This is a bit more involved, and I rarely recommend making your own wedding cake. This tutorial is best passed on to your baker, who will find it very easy! Get the full tutorial on Style Sweet Ca […]

      Reply
    13. Fancy Finds of WTG: DIY Watercolor Projects | Within the Grove

      July 06, 2015 at 6:07 am

      […] Watercolor Cake – This DIY tutorial is jaw-dropping amazing!  Gel food coloring is used on the icing in a way […]

      Reply
    14. Ilsabet

      August 27, 2015 at 11:07 pm

      Hey,I just wanted to let you know I love your tutorials and this cake looks great!
      I'm not an incredibly experienced baker much less froster, but a friend asked me to make a cake for a special occasion, and I was thinking of trying this. Do you think this is too difficult a technique for someone quite inexperienced with frosting cakes?
      Thanks!

      Reply
      • Tessa

        August 28, 2015 at 9:04 pm

        Thank you for stopping by! Frontally, this technique is pretty forgiving. You can make the buttercream as smooth or as "rustic" as you'd like. I'd say for a beginner it is totally possible, as long as you use a good frosting recipe =)

        Reply
    15. Buttercream Cake Inspiration

      November 18, 2015 at 7:31 pm

      […] Here’s another one by the same gal!!  She’s on a roll!  Here’s another tutorial from “Style Sweet”…click HERE. […]

      Reply

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