Birthday Cakes
Family Beach Scene Birthday Cake with Edible Sand and Ombré Waves
This spectacular multi-layered vanilla sponge is the perfect centrepiece for a coastal-themed birthday. Featuring a graduated blue ombré buttercream to mimic the tide and crushed digestive biscuits for a realistic sandy shore, it is as delicious as it is visually impressive. Hand-modelled fondant details like beach towels and tiny buckets bring the family holiday to life on a plate.
- Prep
- 120 min
- Cook
- 45 min
- Serves
- 24
- Level
- Intermediate
- Per serving
- 520 kcal
Method
Preheat your oven to 180°C (160°C fan/Gas 4). Grease and line three 20cm (8-inch) round cake tins with baking parchment.
In a large stand mixer, cream the 600g of butter and caster sugar together until pale and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and adding a tablespoon of flour if the mixture starts to curdle.
Fold in the remaining self-raising flour, vanilla bean paste, and milk until the batter is smooth. Divide the mixture equally between the three tins.
Bake for 35-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tins for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Prepare the buttercream by beating the 1kg of butter until very soft. Gradually add the icing sugar and a splash of milk or vanilla, beating for at least 5 minutes until it reaches a pale, whipped consistency.
Level the cooled cakes with a serrated knife. Stack them with a layer of buttercream between each. Cover the entire cake in a thin 'crumb coat' of buttercream and chill for 30 minutes.
Divide the remaining buttercream into three bowls. Leave one white, dye one pale blue, and one a deeper sea blue using the gel colouring.
Apply the deep blue buttercream to the bottom third of the cake, the pale blue to the middle, and the white to the top third and the top of the cake. Use a palette knife or cake scraper to blend the colours where they meet to create an ombré effect. Use the tip of the palette knife to flick the icing slightly to look like white-capped waves.
Press the crushed digestive biscuits onto the top half of the cake and down one side to create the 'beach'.
Hand-model your fondant into family members, beach towels, flip-flops, and tiny shells. Arrange these on the 'sand' area and use blue piping gel if you wish to create a wet look near the water's edge.
Notes
Use 'extra white' icing sugar or a drop of violet food colouring to neutralise the yellow of the butter for a crisper white 'sea foam' look.
To get perfectly crushed biscuit sand, pulse the digestives in a food processor with a pinch of brown sugar for texture variety.
Model your fondant figures a day in advance so they have time to firm up before being placed on the cake.
If the buttercream is too soft to work with, pop it in the fridge for 10 minutes to firm up before attempting the ombré blend.
