🦄 Unicorn Cake
This magical Unicorn Cake is a show-stopper perfect for birthdays, baby showers, or any unicorn-themed celebration. With 6 layers of soft vanilla cake and a colorful mane of creamy buttercream frosting, it’s both beautiful and surprisingly easy to make. Impress your guests with this whimsical dessert that looks straight out of a fairytale! 🌈✨
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Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 2842kcal
Equipment
- 3 to 4 8-inch round cake pans
- Parchment paper
- Electric mixer
- Large and medium mixing bowls
- Whisk
- Cake spatula
- Revolving cake stand (optional)
- Piping bags with different nozzles
Ingredients
- For the Cake:
- 2 ½ cups unsalted butter softened
- 4 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 6 cups cake flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 9 large eggs
- 3 cups whole milk
- 3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- Buttercream Frosting for Icing the Cake:
- 6 cups unsalted butter room temperature
- 12 cups powdered sugar sifted
- 6 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 –2 tablespoons whole milk
- Buttercream Frosting for Decorating the Cake:
- 3 cups unsalted butter room temperature
- 6 cups powdered sugar sifted
- ½ to ¾ cup whole milk
- 3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- Food coloring purple, pink, dark purple, blue, black 🌈
Instructions
- Make the Cake Layers:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) . Grease and line 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper.
- Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer for 5 minutes until light and fluffy.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, milk, and vanilla extract.
- Alternate adding the dry ingredients and egg mixture to the butter mixture, mixing on low speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure everything is combined.
- Divide batter evenly between the pans (about 1/6 of the batter per pan). Bake for 30–35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Cool layers for 10 minutes, then wrap them in plastic wrap and freeze to make decorating easier.
- Prepare the Buttercream Frosting for Layers:
- Beat butter with a stand mixer for 5 minutes until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar, ½ cup at a time, and beat well after each addition
- Add vanilla extract and milk, beating on high speed for 3 minutes.
- Prepare the Buttercream Frosting for Decoration:
- Repeat the same process as above. Divide the buttercream into 5 bowls and color them using food coloring. Add black food coloring to a small portion for the eyes.
- Transfer each colored buttercream into piping bags.
- Assemble and Decorate the Cake:
- Place a small dollop of frosting on the revolving cake stand to hold the first layer in place 🎡. Add 1 cup of frosting between each cake layer as you stack them.
- Crumb-coat the entire cake with a thin layer of frosting. Chill for 30 minutes.
- Apply a thicker frosting layer and smooth it evenly. Pipe rosettes with colored frosting to create the unicorn’s mane. Use black frosting to pipe on the eyes.
- Add the unicorn horn and ears for the final magical touch 🦄!
Video
Notes
Tips, Variations, and Advice 🦄🌈✨
- For more flavor: Substitute vanilla extract with almond or coconut extract 🥥.
- Add fun textures: Sprinkle edible glitter ✨ or add small sugar pearls to the mane 🌟.
- Make it chocolate: Swap the vanilla cake layers with chocolate 🍫 or marble cake for a fun twist.
- Time-saver: Use pre-made fondant for the unicorn horn and ears to cut down on prep time ⏳.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 2842kcal | Carbohydrates: 420g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 120g | Sugar: 300g
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chef Marcy is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.