Hand Painted Tie Dye Cake!

I finally tried edible paint! My dear niece Kensie turned ten years old (WAHHH) and I wanted to make her something special for her kids’ party. It ended up being a hand painted tie dye cake, as Kensie is super into tie-dye right now. It was so much fun and yes, it really is like painting. I think it turned out really cute, kind of 60s wallpaper loose Marimekko cookie canister or something… ! I did not practice beforehand, which might’ve been a wildcard move. I had never used edible paint before, nor was I sure it would even stick on or paint smoothly onto my buttercream “canvas”… but all went well!!! In fact, just before I made up the buttercream, I read the Sweet Sticks edible art paint FAQ and read that it only sticks to dry buttercream – I was about to make swiss meringue, but opted for my simple vanilla buttercream recipe instead! Yay for a tiny bit of forethought! :P

I used four 7 x 2 inch round cake pans, and divided my vanilla cake batter into four separate bowls, colouring each with a gel colour. Then, with the help of my friend Erin Bakes, I sort of just plopped each batter on top of each other! Then I lightly banged the pans to level out the batter.

Using a toothpick, I made a few lines through the batter to create a “swirly” pattern.

The baked cake layers! They turned out pretty cute! You can see a cake video of me stacking, filling and frosting the cake here on my Coco Cake Land Instagram! 

If it’s your first time painting a cake, make sure you use “crusting” dry buttercream so the paint absorbs. Start with a chilled cake, too! Chill occasionally if needed while working on the cake, because as the buttercream softens, the paintbrush can muck up the buttercream. After I finished painting, I used a large French open star tip to pipe big drop stars on the top of the cake for a border, and sprinkled it with my favourite Sweetapolita sprinkles!

The cake all ready for the birthday girl and her guests! :)

My adorable niece! I think this was when I told her there *might* be a surprise inside! :)

Surprise! Tie dye!! Pretty on the inside!

A nice slice of tie dye cakey fun!! I can’t wait to try more cake painting! I used Sweet Sticks edible art paint, and if you’re in Canada, Scoop n Save carries it! Happy cake painting, cake pals – and happy birthday Kensie!! xo Lyndsay