Ice cream has always been one of our favorite desserts and one of our all time favotire ice cream flavors is spumoni. We have been wanting to make a spumoni flavored cake for quite some time so when it came to choosing a flavor for our birthday cake we knew this was the perfect time to make it. Spumoni consist of three flavors, cherry, pistachio and chocolate.
Instead of making three separate cakes to create the spumoni layers we made two, a vanilla base and a chocolate. We made the vanilla cake batter as usual and once the batter was complete we divided it equally into two bowls to create the cherry and pistachio. To make sure the batter was equally divided and the layers would bake the same size we weighed the divided batters with a kitchen scale. For the cherry we flavored the vanilla base with maraschino cherries, the juice from the cherries and almond extract. For the pistachio we used half a package of instant pistachio pudding mix and crushed pistachios. We made a half batch for the chocolate cake. This gave us more than we needed so we baked the remaining batter and froze it for future use.
When it came to the buttercream we used the same process as we did with the cake. We made one large batch of vanailla buttercream and then divided it equally between three bowls. To flavor the cherry batch we used cherry preserves. We chose not to use the marachino cherries and cherry juice in the buttercream because this would add too much liquid to the buttercream. For the pistachio batch we used the remaining pudding mix but opted not to add chopped pistachios because we wanted the buttercream to be smooth for when we frosted the cake. As with a typical chocolate buttercream, we just added some cocoa powder. Once you have all three batches mixed, add a little powdered sugar or whipping cream as needed so all three buttercream flavors are the same consistency. We ended up needing to add a little more powdered sugar to the cherry buttercream.
We baked all three cakes at the same time but the one thing to note is each flavor will bake at different rates. Make sure to keep an eye on the cakes towards the end. The pistachio cake took a little bit longer to bake.
Prior to stacking your cake you will want to level each cake to ensure each cake layer is the same height. This will make for beautiful and even layers when you slice your cake. Start with the chocolate cake on the bottom, followed with the chocolate buttercream, then the pistachio cake topped with the pistachio buttercream. Sprinkle some crushed pistachios on the pistachio buttercream and then finally top with the cherry cake. There will not be a filling layer of cherry buttercream, however the top of the cake will be frosted with the cherry buttercream. Crumb coat the cake so each cake tier is frosted with the corresponding flavor then chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. When applying the final layer of frosting we found that using a pipping bag for each color would allow for the straightest lines. Once the cake was frosted we topped the cake with chocolate and pistachio dipped maraschino cherries.
We are so pleased with how this cake turned out! It tasted just like the ice-cream we love so much. If you are a spumoni fan then you will love this cake. If you decide to make it please let us know what you think. We would love to hear! As always, don’t forget to tag us on Instagram and Facebook. Happy baking!
Spumoni Cake
Ingredients
Cherry and Pistachio Cake
- 1-1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1-1/3 cup sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup butter room tempurature
- 1/2 cup egg whites
- 2/3 cup buttermilk room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/3 cup maraschino cherries chopped
- 2 tbsp maraschino cherry juice
- 1/4 tsp almond extract
- 1/2 pkg instant pistachio pudding mix other half reserved for buttercream
- 1/3 cup crushed pistachios
Chocolate Cake
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/3 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 cup buttermilk room temperature
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1-1/2 large eggs room temperature
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup hot water
Instructions
Cherry and Pistachio Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray three 6-inch round cake pans with cooking spray and line with parchment paper.
- Place the pistachios in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Chop up the cherries and set both the cherries and pistachiosn aside.
- Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachement and mix on low speed until combined.
- Cut the butter into 1 inch cubes. With the mixer on low speed add the cubes of butter one at a time.
- Add the egg whites and continue to mix on low until incorporated.
- With the mixer still on low speed pour in the buttermilk and vanilla and mix until fully combined.
- Divide the batter equally between two bowls. In one bowl add the cherries, cherry juice and almond extract and mix together. In the other bowl add the instant pudding and crushed pistachios. We added a drop of green gel coloring to the pistachio cake and a drop of red to the cherry cake to give them a bit more color. Pour batter into two of the prepared baking pans.
Chocolate Cake
- Combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachement and mix on low speed until combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, oil, eggs, water and vanilla.
- With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until combied. Scape the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix a little longer to make sure everything is fully combined.
- Add the batter to the third prepared pan. Use a kitchen scale and weigh each pan to make sure they are equal weight. If you don’t have a kitchen scale eyeball it the best you can.
- Bake the three cakes for 30 minutes and then check the doneness of each cake with a tooth pick. Continue baking each cake until the toothpick comes out clean. The three cakes may not bake at the same rate so keep a close eye on them.
- Let the cakes cool in their pans for about 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to fully cool. Once cooled, use a large serrated knife or cake leveler to level each cake to the same height.
Spumoni Buttercream
Ingredients
- 2 cups unsalted butter room temperature
- 2 pound bag of powdered sugar sitfed
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2-3 tbsp heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 cup cherry perserves
- 1/2 pkg instant pustachio pudding mix
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
Instructions
- In the bowl of your stand mixer cream the butter on medium speed until it is light in color and smooth. This can take anywhere from 1-2 minutures depending on how soft the butter is.
- With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar one cup at a time. Scrape the bowl as needed. Mixed until fully incorporated.
- Add the vanilla and whipping cream with the mixer on low speed untill combined. Slowly incease the speed to high and beat for 5 minutes. Stop the mixer once or twice to scrape the bowl as needed.
- Equally divide the buttercream into three bowls. In one bowl add the cherry preserves, in another add the pistachio pudding mix and in the third add the cocoa powder.
- If any of the buttercreams seem too thin after adding in the flavoring, add in a tbsp of powdered sugar at a time to thicken up. If they seem too thick add in a tsp of whipping cream at a time until it has thinned up.
- If you choose to add any color to your buttercream do so at this time. We chose not to because we liked how the colors of each looked with just the flavoring.
I doubled the recipe and made in 9 inch pans (with an additional 6” chocolate cake from the extra batter). It was a huge hit, lots of people going back for seconds! Thanks!
So glad to hear and thank you for sharing! The spumoni cake is one of our favorites.
Hello! Thanks for sharing the recipe, looks so yummy! Is the cake recipe enough to make an 8-inch cake instead, even if it’s a little shorter? Thank you!
Hi Audrey,
Thank you! You could bake the cakes in 8″ pans, but don’t bake as long since the layers will be much thinner. You could also multiple the recipe by 1.5 or even double it if you want thicker layers.
I made this for a friend’s birthday! Presented it to her today! She was impressed! Great recipe! Easy to follow! Delicious cake too! I would totally make this again!
Hi Tonya!
So happy to hear! This is definitely one of our favorites!
I am making this cake for a birthday. Do I need to bake, assemble, etc. all in one day, or could I do it over a couple of days? If so, what order of steps would I follow?
Yes, you definitely can make the cake in steps, which we usually do. A lot of times we’ll bake the cake the day before we assemble it. Let the cake layers fully cool then tightly wrap with plastic wrap. They do not need to be refrigerated. The buttercream can also be made in advance, but we prefer to make it right before we assemble the cake. If you do make the buttercream in advance I’d suggest waiting to add the flavorings. Store the buttercream in an airtight container. It will be fine on the counter for a day or two. When ready to use, re-whip the buttercream then divide and add flavorings. Hope this helps.