Geode cakes have become very popular lately and if you have never tried cake carving this is the perfect design to start with.
There are a few items you will need before you start:
- Clear crystal rock candy
- Gel food coloring (color of choice)
- Fully frosted layer cake
- Extra buttercream (about 1 cup)
- Small-medium knife
- Small offset spatula
- Small food safe paint brush
- Food tweezers (optional)
First off you will need to stack, fill and frost your cake. The cake will need to be crumb coated as well as frosted with a final smooth layer of frosting. We choose to frost our cake in white buttercream, but you can also frost your cake in the same color that you plan to make the geode section. Once your cake is fully frosted, chill it for about 20-30 minutes. A chilled cake is much easier to work with.
Now it is time to carve your cake! The best part about his design is that there is no right or wrong shape or design. Start small as you can always go bigger. Once you create a shape you like, grab your extra buttercream and small offset spatula and apply a layer of buttercream over the exposed cake.
Next up is the rock candy. We decided on a blue/teal geode. When buying our rock candy we found clear and blue. We decided to use blue rock candy for the very center so we could use less food coloring. The rest was covered in clear rock candy. We found using food tweezers were very helpful when placing small pieces of the candy.
Once the whole cutout area was covered with rock candy we used gel food coloring to paint the rock candy. In a small bowl mix a couple drops of food coloring with a few drops of vodka or lemon extract. Using a small paint brush, start at the center and work outwards to create an ombre affect. The very center should be the darkest. We chose to leave an outer section clear and unpainted. To finish off the geode we lined the outer edge with a thin line of teal and gold. We created the gold by mixing edible gold dust with a small amount of vodka and then painted on with a small detail brush. That’s it! You now have a beautiful geode cake.
The outside of this cake may be the focus for this post, but we can’t leave without sharing the details of the inside. This cake was made for Ami’s sister-in-laws birthday who collects crystals. Her favorite cake flavor is funfetti so we made a funfetti cake layered with strawberry cream cheese filling. The outside of the cake was frosted with a vanilla buttercream (only a half batch is needed). Full recipe for the cake is below.
We hope you enjoyed this post and found it helpful. Below is a video of the whole process. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to comment below. You can also find us on Instagram and Facebook. Happy baking!
Funfetti Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2/3 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 2/3 cup egg whites
- 1 cup buttermilk room temperature
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup rainbow jimmies
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray three 6 inch pans with cooking spray and line bottom with parchment.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt until combined.
- Cut butter into one inch cubes. With the mixer on low speed add the cubes of butter one at a time.
- Add the egg whites and continue ue to mix on low until incorporated.
- With the mixer still on low speed slowly pour in the buttermilk.
- Add the vegetable oil and vanilla and mix until fully combined.
- Stir in the rainbow jimmies.
- Divide the batter evenly between the three prepared pans.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Let the cakes cool in the pans for about 10 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completly.
Strawberry Cream Cheese Buttercream
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter soft but still cold
- 8 ounces strawberry cream cheese
- 2½ tsp vanilla extract
- 5 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter.
- Add the cream cheese and vanilla and mix until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of bowl as needed.
- On low speed, slowly add the powdered sugar one cup at a time.
- Once fully incorporated, beat on high for a few minutes and then reduce the speed to low and mix for about 30 seconds to remove any air bubbles.
Vanilla Buttercream
Ingredients
- 2 cups unsalted butter slightly cold
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 tbsp vanilla
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter. Start off at a low speed and then gradually increase until the butter is light in color and smooth. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the bowl as needed.
- Add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, mixing at a low speed until fully incorporated before you add the next cup.
- Add the heavy cream (start with 2 tbsp), vanilla and salt and beat at a low speed for about 20 seconds. If you feel your buttercream is too stiff you can add the third tablespoon of cream. Increase the speed to high and beat for about 3-5 minutes until the mixture is perfectly smooth and fluffy. Stop the mixer once to scrape the bowl.
- Stir the buttercream by hand to remove any air bubbles.
Hi, I’m looking to make this cake for my sisters birthday! Was just wondering, how many grams of rock candy did you use on the cake?
We used about a cup.
Hi. Love this cake. Where did you buy the rock candy?
Can you assemble the rock candy a day ahead and chill it or will that melt the rock candy? I’m afraid I’ll have to make the geode part the day of the event which makes me nervous.
Hi Leilani,
We have assembled this cake the day before and had no issues. We typically chill the cake in the fridge overnight. If you post your cake on Instagram give us a tag. We would love to see it!!!
I loved the taste of the cake but it was a bit dense. Any tips for next time to make it less dense?
Hi Lauren! So sorry to hear that. Two possible reasons could be that you used too much flour or over mixed the batter. When measuring flour try using a spoon to scoop flour into the measuring cup then level off the top. Make sure to never pack your flour when measuring. Hope this helps!