This beautiful buttercream cable knit cake tutorial is from the newly published Reindeer Food by Cayla Gallagher, a follow-up to her previous books, Unicorn Food and Mermaid Food!
We love this cake because Cayla’s makes it surprisingly simple for such an ornate look.
There are so many fabulous festive treats to choose from in her book for both the grown up palette to more playful treats to make with the kids coming up to the holidays.
So check it out on Amazon to find new inspiration for your seasonal baking as well as lots of reimagined old favorites.
Buttercream Knit Cake Tutorial: Ingredients
“This is one of my favorite cakes I’ve ever made! Knitted sweaters are the best part of winter, in my opinion, so a knitted cake is a must. This is a vanilla cranberry cake, topped with chocolate-covered marshmallows, which look just like pompoms!”
Cake Batter (makes a 6-inch cake):
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 cups sugar
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 6 large eggs
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1½ cups sour cream
- 1 cup cranberries, fresh or frozen
Buttercream:
- 2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, or seeds from 1 vanilla bean
- 5 cups confectioners’ sugar
Decorations:
- 4 jumbo marshmallows
- 1½ cups white candy melts, melted
- 1 cup white sprinkles
Buttercream Knit Cake Tutorial: Instructions
To Make the Cake:
- Grease and flour 3 (6-inch) round cake pans, and preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until pale and smooth. Add the vanilla extract and eggs one at a time, mixing with each addition.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Add this to the batter in 2 additions, alternating with the sour cream. Add the cranberries and fold to combine.
- Spoon the batter into your prepared cake pans. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centers comes out clean. Cool completely.
To Make the Buttercream:
- Beat the butter with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and confectioners’ sugar 1 cup at a time, beating with each addition.
To Make the Decorations:
- Insert a skewer into a jumbo marshmallow and fully submerge into the melted candy melts. The skewer should be 4 to 5 inches to secure into the cake—you can use a wooden skewer or a lollipop stick.
- Allow any excess candy melts to drip off, then roll in white sprinkles. It may take a few minutes for the candy melts to set, so keep the marshmallow in the bowl of sprinkles until the candy melt coating feels stiff.
- Repeat with the remaining marshmallows and set aside. Try to resist eating them before you finish the cake!
Assembly:
- Slice the tops and bottoms off the cakes to smooth the surface and remove any excess browning.
- Spread some buttercream between each layer, stacking the cakes.
- Coat the stacked cake in a thin layer of buttercream (this is your crumb coat—it will catch any excess cake crumbs). Chill the cake in the fridge for 20 minutes.
- Place the remaining buttercream in piping bags fitted with #2A (medium-large round), #19 (small star), and #4 (small round) piping tips.
- Use a long spatula or skewer to faintly make a straight vertical line down the cake. Pipe a pattern, following the visual guide below, directly down the line. The line will ensure that your pattern stays straight. Repeat with the other patterns shown, making a faint line each time as a guide.
- Once you have completely covered the cake, pipe little dollops using the #19 (small star) piping tip around the top edge of the cake.
- Top the cake with the marshmallow pompoms, using the skewers to secure them to the cake. Enjoy!
Reprinted with permission from Reindeer Food by Cayla Gallagher, Skyhorse Publishing 2020.
