Purple Marble Vanilla Layer Cake

Get excited because today is ALL about that cake.

I’m talking soft vanilla bean cake, creamy vanilla buttercream and purple swirls that will make you weak at the knees. You know I’m a HUGE chocolate fan but even I’m loving this cake. It’s light but still buttery, moist without being dense.

And then there’s that purple frosting with ALL those mesmerising swirls. Finished with matching swirled white chocolate bark. Time to grab a fork and dive right in! Who’s with me?

I know it was only last week that I shared my favourite yellow cake recipe with you. But since then, I have been on a vanilla cake roll. Usually I would reach for chocolate cake every time but this 👆🏻  has me convinced that vanilla is the new best thing.

I made a few tweaks to my original recipe, so this yellow cake now makes two big beautiful layers. It’s perfect for sharing or for a birthday celebration. But let’s be real – it’s not all about the cake inside, but rather the stunning swirls of frosting.

It wasn’t that long ago, that swirled frosting became a thing. I saw it mostly on cupcakes, but had I known earlier how easy it was to frost a cake with a marbled effect like this, I would have been all over the trend.

For this cake, I first did a crumb coat using plain vanilla buttercream. Not only does this seal in the crumbs but it helps you get that lovely smooth finish at the end. A cake leveler is also your new best friend if you are into layer cake making. You can usually get these quite cheap but they make the job far easier.

So once you colour the rest of your buttercream, you just pipe your frosting around the sides of the cake. I find it best to do the bottom half in one colour, then the top half in another colour. Grab a cake scraper (yet another cake tool I cannot live without) and scrap around the edges. Watch as the colours combine, creating a gorgeous swirled ombre pattern.

You can then dollop extra frosting here and there to fill any holes, and get a more marbled effect. Easy right?  And just think about the possibilities. You could use whatever colours you like. Pink and white for a baby shower or blue, red and white for Fourth of July.

I hope you’re having a great week. This post is actually a day late (eeek) because last night we were out late having dinner with a group of friends. And we had the best time! Our friends live at Bondi Beach and they organised a gourmet home-cooked meal for all of us, that we enjoyed outside, under the stars, overlooking the beautiful beach. Amazing right?

I made dessert for everyone and tried my hand at making a tropical eton mess. I was really happy with the result so I may just have to make it again so I can share it here on Sweetest Menu. But that’s enough chitchat for now, it’s time to get baking!

Let's Bake

Purple Marble Vanilla Layer Cake

Yield Makes one two-layer 8 inch cake 1x

1x2x3x

★★★★★

5 from 1 review

Prep: 120 minutesCook: 40 minutesTotal: 2 hours 40 minutes

Soft vanilla bean cake, creamy vanilla buttercream and purple swirls, this Purple Marble Vanilla Layer Cake will make you weak at the knees.

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Ingredients

Vanilla cake

• 230 grams (1 cup or 2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 300 grams (1 and 1/2 cups) caster sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste*
• 2 large eggs
• 1 egg yolk
• 385 grams (2 and 3/4 cup) plain flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 240 ml (1 cup) milk
• 120 ml (1/2 cup) full fat sour cream

Vanilla buttercream

• 230 grams (1 cup or 2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
• 875 grams (7 cups) icing or powdered sugar
• 120ml (1/2 cup) milk
• Two different shades of purple food gel paste
• 200 grams (1 and 1/3 cup) good quality white melting chocolate

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Instructions

1. Grease and line two 8 inch cake tins with baking or parchment paper.Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar for a few minutes until pale and creamy. Add the vanilla and mix to combine. Add your eggs and egg yolk, one at a time, beating in between each addition.
3. In a separate bowl, sift the plain four, baking powder and baking soda. Add half the flour mixture, along with the half the milk to the butter mixture and beat on a low speed. Then add the remaining flour and milk. Finally, add the sour cream and beat briefly until combined – try not to over mix. Divide the cake batter between the two cake tins and smooth the top. Place in the oven and bake for approximately 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
4. After 10-15 minutes, carefully remove your cakes from their tins, and place on a wire rack to cool completely.
5. To make your frosting, cream the butter until smooth and creamy, then add the vanilla. Begin to sift in the icing sugar, one cup at a time. Add a tablespoon of milk as needed. Continue until you have used all the icing sugar and the frosting is smooth and creamy. Divide your buttercream into two bowls.
6. Use a serrated knife or a cake trimmer to even the top of both cakes. Use one half of your vanilla buttercream to frost the top of the first cake. Place the second cake on top and then frosting the entire top and sides. It only needs to be a thin cake to help seal in the crumbs. Use a cake scraper to remove any excess frosting. Then pop your cake in the fridge for 20-30 minutes for the crumb coat to set.
7. Separate the remaining buttercream into two bowls. Add a few drops of food colouring to each one until it reaches your desired colour. Transfer your frosting into two separate piping bags fitting with large round tips. Pipe one colour of frosting around the bottom half of your cake, then pipe the second colour around the top half. Use a small spatula to smooth the frosting, allowing the two colours to combine. Pipe the remaining frosting on top. Then use a cake scraper to get clean edges.
8. To make the chocolate shards, melt your white chocolate in the microwave, stirring in-between 15 second bursts. Line a cookie tray with baking or parchment paper. Split your white chocolate into two bowls. Add a very small amount of food gel to each one and stir until you reach your desired colour.
9. Pour your white chocolate onto your prepared tray and swirl together using a butter knife. Pop in the fridge to set for 30 minutes. Then break into shards and set them on top of your cake.

Notes

If you don’t have vanilla bean paste, you can use 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract but you won’t get the vanilla bean seeds in your cake.

Author: Jessica HolmesCategory: CakeCuisine: American

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