Fairytale Ruffle Cake

I’ve partnered up with Cakes.com to bring you inspiration for a fairytale Cinderella birthday plus a new buttercream ruffle cake tutorial.

Today’s cake is fit for a princess.  Specifically speaking – a little princess who loves fairytales, super frilly ruffles and all things magical!  I know a Cinderella lover or two and I’m guessing you do too.

This cake takes me back to when I sold custom cakes professionally, long before The Cake Blog even existed.  Summertime was the season of birthday parties and my order book was constantly filled with Cinderella cakes, Ariel cakes, Spiderman cakes – you name it!  I always found it challenging to work with licensed characters, balancing customer demand for their favorite princess or action hero and the copyright laws that surround them.  At first, I tried to make the characters myself, either drawing freehand with buttercream or sculpting with fondant.  I must admit, sculpting 3D characters was definitely not my strong suit.  Once I educated myself on copyright laws, I knew that I needed a better option for my business.  That’s when I first found DecoSet® Cake Toppers through my bakery wholesaler.  All of the popular characters my customers wanted, made with food-safe materials and designed especially for cakes.  I would flip through the DecoPac catalog to check out all of the cute cake toppers and get ideas for new cake designs.

Fast forward ten years and now these same products trusted by professional bakeries are available online to everyone at Cakes.com.If you’ve never visited Cakes.com before, definitely check it out!  You’ll find cake decorating tools and supplies just like the pros use, from brands like DecoPac, Kee-Seal, Ateco and more.  Plus a gallery of ideas and tutorials to help you create an impressive cake display.

 

 

I love that you can incorporate DecoSet® Cake Toppers into any style of cake.  I personally gravitate towards minimal designs where the cake is inspired by a character rather than being a literal interpretation.  While this Cinderella topper would certainly work in an over-the-top cake creation, today she’s the leading lady in this dreamy ruffle scene.

Speaking of ruffles, let’s get a closer look at these buttercream ribbons!  They are definitely frilly and they’re actually easier than you may think.  A closed star tip gives us several lines of ruffles, all interwoven at once, which makes for quicker piping and more forgiveness when it comes to straight and even lines.  Which is something I think we all can appreciate!

 

To complete the Cinderella look, I sprinkled a circle of jimmies, nonpareils, sanding sugar and small fondant stars on top of the cake.  I wanted it to look like the magical stars that encircle Cinderella when the fairy godmother waves her wand.  Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo!  In the very center is Cinderella herself.

My daughter had her eye on this Disney Princess Cinderella Cake Topper the entire time I was shooting this tutorial.  She was so pumped to finally play with it after we cut the cake.  It comes with a coordinating plaque and dress clings so the birthday girl can play dress-up long after the party is over.

 

I think it’s about time to slice this cake and start the Fairytale Ruffles tutorial!  Here we go!

CINDERELLA CAKE WITH FAIRYTALE BUTTERCREAM RUFFLES
a DIY by Carrie Sellman

Supplies

8″ Round Layer Cake
Swiss Meringue Buttercream Icing (2 batches)
Gel Food Color, in royal blue and violet
12″ Kee-Seal Ultra Grip Disposable Piping Bags
Closed Star Decorating Tip #852
Disney Princess Cinderella Transforms DecoSet® Cake Topper
Various sizes of sprinkles (white jimmies, royal blue jimmies, white nonpareils, white sanding sugar)
Fondant stars

 

Stack and fill a cake of your choosing.  Coat the exterior with a thin layer of frosting to lock in the crumbs.  Refrigerate 10 minutes or until firm.  TIP: To help keep your rows of ruffles straight, use a ruler to mark vertical lines around the side of the cake, spaced about one inch apart, before refrigerating.

Color remaining buttercream frosting to match the light blue portion of Cinderella’s dress using the royal blue gel and just a tad of the violet gel.

Fill a Kee-Seal disposable piping bag, fitted with the closed star decorating tip, with frosting.  I used a 12″ bag so that the heat from my hand didn’t melt the icing as I worked, ensuring good definition in the ruffles.  The ultra grip bag also has a little bit of texture to outside of it, more like a canvas bag, so you can keep a good grip even after the bag gets buttery.

TIP: It is best to decorate this cake directly on the cake stand or on a finished cake board that is at least several inches larger than the cake itself.  Otherwise you risk damaging the bottom edge of ruffles when moving your cake (like I did).  Keep in mind that you’ll want to store this cake in the refrigerator when choosing a cake stand verses a cake board.

Place decorating tip at bottom edge of cake, gently resting upon the side of the cake.

Using steady pressure, squeeze the bag and move side to side while also moving up the side of the cake.

Keep going until you have a complete vertical row, slightly overlapping the top edge.

 

Create a second row of ruffles right next to the first, using the same process.  Repeat until you have completely covered the sides of the cake with ruffles.  Fill the remaining open portion on top with a swirl of icing.  Smooth and level the top of the cake using an offset spatula.

Sprinkle a light circle of mixed white and royal blue jimmies, white nonpareils, white sanding sugar and white fondant stars.

Add the Disney Princess Cinderella Transforms DecoSet® Cake Topper and your cake is complete.

 

Store the cake in the refrigerator to keep the ruffle definition even in warm weather.  Serve at room temperature and enjoy!

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Disclosure:  This post was sponsored by Cakes.com.  The opinions expressed are 100% mine.  Tutorial, styling and photography by Carrie Sellman for TheCakeBlog.com.