in , , , ,

Smorgasbord birthday cake

Smorgasbord birthday cake

What is better than one birthday cake? Three of course! This triple stacked birthday cake made with different flavors and frostings will make a smashing display at your next birthday party. We are calling it a smorgasbord birthday cake – because the festively fun variety of options is sure to please everyone.

Smorgasbord birthday cake

smorgasbord cake

Smorgasbord birthday cake

Who says tall stacked cakes need to be saved for formal occasions, like weddings? This triple cake stacked version is bold and relaxed enough for a birthday, super easy to put together, and it will easily serve any size crowd you gather.

smorgish-cake-cut

To make the triple layered smorgasbord birthday cake you will need; 3 different flavors of box cake mix (or homemade – here’s an inside out tomboy cake recipe and a pinata cake recipe), 3 cans of frosting (or make the best homemade whip cream frosting), sprinkles and other cake decor, and cake pans of 3 varying sizes.

Note: We used 4″, 6″ and 8″ diameter round cake pans. The flavors we chose were one box of chocolate, one box of blue velvet, and one box of confetti cake. In addition, we used one can of chocolate frosting and made whipped cream frosting in which we left half white and colored the other half pink :)

While you can always color store-bought frosting for a last minute party, it’s easy to make your own at home and divide it to dye into different shades. Whipped cream frosting is a favorite of ours; it’s simple to make and easy to “whip up” last minute to embellish cakes.

The best homemade whipped cream frosting

To make the best homemade whipped cream frosting you will need; 2 cups heavy cream, chilled, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and food coloring (optional).

Make the whipped cream frosting by placing all ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the balloon whisk. Turn to medium high and whip the cream until soft peaks form, about 10 minutes. It must be stiff enough to spread. Place drops of food coloring to color frosting as desired. *we used 2-3 drops of red food coloring on half of the whipped cream to create pink hued frosting.

Smorgasbord birthday cake

To make the smorgasbord birthday cake; choose which flavor cake to make in which cake pan size. Consider how you want the final presentation to look, including how you want to layer, how many cakes of each size you want to use, and the color/flavor of frosting you want to spread in between layers.

For our cakes, we baked the confetti cake in the 8″ pan, the blue velvet in the 6″ pan, and the chocolate in the 4″ pan. Our final smorgasbord cake consisted of: two 8″ layers of confetti cake, three 6″ layers of blue velvet cake, and three 4″ layers of chocolate cake.

Follow the instructions in each recipe or on the boxes of cake mix to mix and bake all the cakes. Since different-sized pans are used, pay close attention to the baking times! You may need to use a cake pan multiple times if you own only one of a particular size.

Allow all the cakes to cool. Trim any domes off the top of the cakes and carefully cut the edges around each cake for a rustic look. The sides of the cake won’t be covered in frosting: they are meant to be shown off!

Smorgasbord birthday cake

Once all the cakes are cooled, stack the cakes starting with the largest ones (8″) on the bottom tier. Frost between each layer, placing a generous amount so that it peeks through between each cake layer.

When you are ready to stack the second tier (the second flavor of cake, 6″), center the cake on the top layer of the first flavor of cake. Spread a different frosting on it and any other layers of the same flavor. Repeat the last tier with the third flavor of cake (4″), using yet another type or color of frosting.

Since this is a taller cake, feel free to use dowel rods inserted into the lower tier of the cake to support the upper tiers. You can also decorate the exposed frosting with sprinkles or other edible decor.

Smorgasbord birthday cake

Whether you are looking for a perfect cake to please a large crowd, or just wanting to satisfy that craving for consuming all your favorite flavors at the same exact time… Doesn’t that soound amazing? Make this cake! It is a really fun take on the traditional birthday cake and will definitely lend a huge impact at any party.

(Photography ©A Subtle Revelry by Athena Plichta)

3 Comments

Leave a Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *