These cute mini ombre cakes are the perfect addition to any dessert table this summer. They'd be perfect for any wedding, party or gathering and can be easily customisable with any colours, flavours or decorations you want. They also ensure every guest gets the same size portion – so no more arguing over cake slices! I made layers of four sponges, but these would also be great with less layers, different sizes and even different shapes. Little square cakes would look just as adorable!
Top tip! Customise the colours, flavours and decorations as you wish!
Useful information before you get started...
I’ve made them in a beautiful purple ombre, and for this you will need four thinner cakes in varying degrees of purple. There are a couple of ways you can achieve this.
- You can either bake the small layers in a selection of 8cm (3in) or 10cm (4in) round cake tins and have no cake leftover
- You can bake four bigger cakes as I did, and then use an 8cm (3in) round cutter to cut out the mini rounds (read to the end to find out a great way to use up leftover cake!)
Making the cakes
This recipe will make four thin 18cm (7in) round cakes, perfect for layering. I used four 18cm (7in) tins and baked them all at once but if you only have the one tin you can divide the recipe to do one at a time. You'll also need a food colouring of your choice – I recommend using a professional gel colour as opposed to a liquid/water based colouring. I used Sugarflair Grape Violet.
For these mini layers you'll also need some strong buttercream. As the cakes are small and aren’t being covered with sugarpaste or a crumb coat, if the buttercream filling is too soft, they may collapse. For strong buttercream, make sure not to use any liquid.
Decorating the cakes
I decorated my roses with a little blossom flower that I made using purple flower paste and a blossom plunger cutter. I left it to dry on shaped foam, creating the 3D shape, then I filled the middle with a little yellow royal icing. Any leftover cake can be crumbled up and made into cake truffles. Simply weigh your cake crumbs and mix it with half the amount of buttercream (e.g. 600g (1lb 4oz) cake to 300g (101/2oz) buttercream). Chill the mix, then shape into balls and cover in chocolate. Delicious!
Once your mini tiered cakes are assembled, they are best enjoyed on the day or kept in an airtight box for the following day. Any longer than this and you risk them drying out. However, if you cover them in sugarpaste icing they will last a few days longer.