Candy Wonderland Layer Cake


This cake is inspired by Australian cake baker extraordinaire, Katherine Sabbath, the pink cakes I loved as a kid and the magic of the holidays all rolled into one!  A Candy Wonderland Layer Cake for the holidays!

We searched the city for some pretty lollipops, a few meringues and then topped it with sprinkles and broken pieces of meringue!  The hardest part of this whole cake is the actually making of the cake (if you're making it from scratch).  The decorating is fairly simple (of course not as refined as Ms. Sabbath's) but still, the result is festive and so fun to make—especially for kids!  The recipe is the same we've used for our other cakes.  The cake, a delicious buttercream frosting and topped with a delicious Belgian chocolate ganache!




For the Cake
3 white cake mixes or feel free to make your own from scratch!

Follow the directions to make the cake mix (or make your own from scratch), then divide the cake into six even parts.  Pour each batter into their own individual pans.  We used our small 6" round pans.  To add a red swirl, add a drop or two of red food coloring, and then stir into a candycane swirl. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes clean when tested. Set aside to cool. Note: If you use a cake recipe, check out what it yields, as you may need to double the recipe to make 6 layers.  

For the Buttercream Frosting
1 cup butter
1/4 cup milk
2 cups of icing sugar
2-6 drops of red food coloring


Beat egg on high speed until the butter is very pale in colour. Slowly add the icing sugar, then milk and vanilla.  Beat for at least ten minutes until light and fluffy. Add food colouring 2 drops to make a light pink colour.

For the Ganache
1 cup of heavy cream
8 oz. Belgium chocolate chips

Heat the cream on the stove top until you see the cream coming to a simmer.  Remove off burner.  Add the chocolate and cover with a lid.  Wait five minutes.  Then with a whisk, start whisking from the center until well mixed.  It will turn into a velvety ganache. Leave for ten minutes before using. Note: The longer you leave the ganache sit, the thicker it will get, so time is of the essence.  Also if you stir it too much, it will loose it's sheen.  Pour over the cake, ever so gently, and then slowly push ganache over edges till it starts to drip down the sides.

For the Topping
Sprinkles
2 or 3 large Lollipops (different sizes is nice)
meringues (macarons or marshmallows or cookies could also be substituted) - or use all of them!

To Decorate
Insert the lollipop sticks into one side of the cake, making one higher than the other. With the meringues, take a toothpick and insert into one end of the meringue, then insert, again on one side of the cake, placing in front of the lollipops in a stylistic way.  Next add sprinkles, again to one side.  And also on the bottom of the cake.  Finish off with a few crumbled pieces of meringue.

Yay!A fun for a festive party!




Jan Halvarson

4 comments:

Unknown said...

This cake looks absolutely incredible!!! Love these photos

frizzyteapot.blogspot.com

Jan Halvarson said...

Frizzy Teapot - Thank you!

Coco Cake Land said...

Woohoo! The inside is pure magic! Nice job, Jan! xo

June Burns said...

Holy cow that is one amazing-looking cake! Love the ganache drip down the sides :) I can totally see the Katherine Sabbath inspiration here.