How to Frost a Cake, Ombre-Style

A few months ago, I discovered one of the most beautiful cakes I had ever seen. It was frosted all in one color, but the color faded towards the top of the cake. I thought it was elegant and couldn’t wait to make one of those gorgeous ombre cakes on my own.

At first, I thought an ombre cake might be a nightmare to complete at home. It looked so complicated. But I found out after making it that it’s really quite simple.

To make an amazing ombre cake that really shows off the different colors, it’s best to make a tall cake. So I made 2 boxes of Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® vanilla cake in two deep 8-inch cake pans. I leveled the cakes, cut each in half and carefully stacked them, spreading white buttercream frosting between the layers.

Then I applied a crumb coating to the cake. A crumb coating is when you frost your cake with a thin layer of frosting, not worrying about what it looks like. This step is essential because it will seal in crumbs so they won’t show when you apply the final layer of frosting. 

After the crumb coat is done, divide the frosting into three bowls. I put 1 cup of icing in three little bowls and 2 cups of icing in the fourth bowl. All of the smaller amounts of icing were the darker shades of blue, and the 2 cups of icing was the lightest. To tint the frosting, use Betty Crocker classic gel food color in blue. 

I didn’t use one, but a turntable would be very helpful when frosting this cake.

Then frost with the next shade of blue, spreading it right above the dark blue frosting.

Same thing goes for the next shade of blue frosting. Spread it on the upper third of the cake.

Lastly, spread the lightest shade of blue buttercream on the top of the cake.

Use a spatula to spread it as evenly as possible.

For the finishing touch, I used a frosting comb. (These are available at any craft store, but you could also just use your spatula for a smooth look.)

Take a first sweep around the cake.

I saw there were some gaps in my frosting, so I used my fingers to add a little more to those spots.

Take a few more sweeps around the cake until you are happy with the pattern. I also used the comb on the top of the cake to make a circular pattern.

Clean up the excess frosting on the cake plate with a damp paper towel.

This cake would be beautiful in any color. Next time I’m going to make a pink ombre cake filled with fresh strawberry jam. Yum!