Are you looking for a super fun way to decorate a cake that requires no artistic skill? Well then a splatter art cake might be just the design for you!
The “splatter” can be created easily by melting a bit of buttercream to a paint-like consistency. Then it’s just a matter of flinging the buttercream onto your cake until you like the way it looks! You can watch the video below to see the brushes I used and the consistency I melted my buttercream to.
How to Make a Buttercream Splatter Cake
1. Prepare your cake
You’ll need a cake that is already frosted before you can apply the splatter effect. I used Italian Meringue buttercream to frost this cake, but you could use any kind of buttercream you like!
The frosting doesn’t need to be absolutely perfect, but spending some time to get nice smooth sides and sharp edges makes a really nice background for the splatter. You can watch how to stack and frost a layer cake here.
Once the cake is all frosted, you’ll want to let it chill in the fridge or freezer until the frosting is firm to the touch. It needs to be chilled before moving onto the splatter step.
2. Preparing Your “Splatter” Paint
To make the splatter, all you have to do is melt some of your buttercream until it reaches a pourable consistency. The easiest way to melt buttercream is to microwave is for 5-10 second intervals, stirring in between, until it’s the right consistency.
For this cake I used three different shades of pink and red. I used a mix of red and pink food gel coloring, just a different ratio for each. You should also note that if you add the coloring before melting, the colors will darken a bit after you melt the buttercream.
The consistency you’re looking for should be completely melted, but you don’t want to heat it so much that the buttercream splits apart.
3. Applying the Splatter
To apply the splatter you can use any kind of brush you might have. I used some regular craft brushes, a pastry brush, and a silicone brush.
To apply the splatter, dip your brush in the melted buttercream then gently drag across the bristles while aiming the brush towards your cake.
You can use your finger to drag across the brush, but it gets messy pretty quickly! I found it easier to drag the brush across the lip of a small bowl.
You can sort of control the splatter based on what size brush you use and how much buttercream you pick up. A larger brush or more buttercream are going to make bigger splatters and blobs, while a smaller brush or less buttercream will just spray lots of little dots. Also, a stiffer brush will work better if you want a spray of many tiny dots.
I would also recommend setting up something behind and around your cake to catch the splatter, because it’s going to fling everywhere! It wouldn’t be a bad idea to do this inside a box if you have one big enough. I didn’t…and I had a lot of cleaning up to do afterwards 🙂
To finish this particular cake, I decided to add some random sprinkles for a little textural contrast. If you’re using tiny sprinkles, you can just press your finger into them and then press them against the cake!
And that’s it! Super easy and definitely a super fun way to decorate a cake!
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