Fault line cakes are all the rage in the cake world right now and there is no surprise why. These cakes are show stopping, fun and can be created in many different ways. This technique is most commonly done using sprinkles, but we decided to put our own twist on it and use lime slices to pair with our coconut mojito cake. This may be one of our favorite creations yet! We are so happy with how the fault line turned out, and the flavors….AMAZING!
The first time you see this technique it is quite impressive looking, but at a closer look it’s actually not all that hard to create. The best thing about a fault line cake is that there are so many different and unique designs you can create. The fault line (or the area of the cake left exposed) can be filled with sprinkles, a different color of frosting, exposed naked cake, stripped buttercream, or in our case limes. There are so may possibilities.
The first thing you will need to do is stack, fill, crumb coat and chill your cake. Once your cake is chilled add a very thin layer of buttercream around the middle third of your cake. This is where you fault line will be. Cover this layer of buttercream with lime slices, sprinkles, etc.
Next apply a thicker layer of buttercream above and below the fault line area (top third and bottom third of your cake). You will want to slightly overlap your lime slices/sprinkles. We just spread it on with an offset spatula, but you can use a pipping bag to pipe the buttercream on as well.
Next, smooth the frosting with your icing scraper. We love using acrylic disks to get really straight and smooth sides, but this is not necessary. Once your sides are smooth, level and smooth the top of the cake with your offset spatula. Start on the edge and smooth the frosting towards the center of the cake. If you are using an acrylic disk you will need to chill your cake before you remove the disk and finish the top. We plan on posting a tutorial on how to use acrylic disks soon.
For this cake we chose to decorate the top with toasted coconut, pipped buttercream and a lime wedge and mint leaf. We painted the edges of the fault line using edible gold dust mixed with a little vodka. Once the cake was transferred to the decorative cake stand we added some toasted coconut around the base for a finishing touch, as if the cake was sitting on a bed of sand. Don’t you picture yourself drinking a coconut mojito on a tropical beach while sitting in the sand? We do!
Now we can’t let the outside of this cake steal all the attention. The inside of this cake consist of a flavorful coconut cake with mojito buttercream, and there is no skimping on coconut as it includes coconut extract, coconut milk, coconut oil and shaved coconut. The mojito buttercream with fresh mint and lime zest pairs perfectly with this light and fluffy cake. Our coconut mojito cake screams summertime and will be perfect for any summer get together.
For the coconut cake we used Tessa Huff’s Triple Coconut Cake recipe from her new book Icing on the Cake. We can not say enough about this book. There are so many amazing recipes that we believe every baker should own a copy.
Mojito Buttercream
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- ½ cup cream cheese at room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp heavy whipping cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 tsp freshly grated lime zest
- 3 tsp finely chopped mint leaves
- 2 tsp clear rum
Instructions
- In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and cream cheese on medium speed until smooth.
- With the mixer on low speed, add the powdered sugar one cup at a time. Scrape down the bowl as needed.
- Add the whipping cream, vanilla, lime zest, mint leaves and rum and beat until combined.
- Increase the speed to medium-high and beat for 3-5 minutes, stopping once to scrape down the bowl.
Notes
Looks very posh! The only problem might be how to cut a slice of this cake…
Thank you, Lisa! The limes are very easy to peel off prior to cutting.
Is there an actual recipe for the cake I only see the recipe for the buttercream ?
Hi Linda, We used StyleSweetDaily’s Triple Coconut cake. We added a link to the recipe in the blog.
Why is there no picture of a cut slice?
Hi Wendy,
We so wish we would have gotten a slice picture of this cake! It was taken to a family members birthday party and with everything that was going on we completely forgot. We were so bummed!
Buttercream around the cake is the mohjito buttercream or a plain one?
Hi Natalia,
The buttercream on the outside is a plain vanilla buttercream. We chose not to do the mojito buttercream on the outside since it wouldn’t work with the design we were doing. We wanted a plain white frosting and the mojito buttercream has specs of mint and lime zest in it. You can definitely frost the outside with the mojito buttercream if you prefer. The more mojito buttercream the better!
Hi! I wanted to ask about the limes at the side of the cake-are they somehow preserved to look fresh even the next day?