Melted Candle Cake Tutorial Proven Techniques for Beginners

Looking for a fun cake to make this holiday season?

There’s no better way to celebrate the holidays than with this super cute cake. This white chocolate melted candle cake has the wow factor to impress your friends and family! 

This Melted Candle cake is made with four tender semi-homemade vanilla cake layers filled with creamy vanilla buttercream and white chocolate ganache dripping down the sides. 

You’ll learn every step to make this white chocolate drip candle cake at home. It starts with the foundation of a great cake recipe. That’s why I love this semi-homemade cake recipe; it begins with a vanilla cake mix that’s mixed with a pound cake that helps stabilize the cake when building four layers high. Plus, it’s perfect for beginners because it’s easy to follow directions. 

Then I’ll walk you through how to make creamy vanilla buttercream that’s colored with a little ivory gel food coloring, so it matches the ivory chocolate drip. 

The real showstopper for this cake is the ivory chocolate drip, and it’s made with melted ivory candy melts and warm water. It’s poured into a squeeze bottle to make it easy to drip down the sides of the cake. The key to making this cake look like a melted candle is the freezing of the cake after two layers. The freezing helps keep the drip from melting together, so it becomes more distinct as a candle. 

Finally, you’ll use a skewer to create a hole down the center of the cake so you can place a tall candle inside. Then lit the flame, and it becomes a real melted candle cake! 

I am so excited to share this cake tutorial with you because I genuinely believe anyone can make this cake if you’re willing to try! I’ll be with you every step of the way! 

I think this Melted Candle Cake is simply beautiful for the winter holidays and New Years! 

Tips for Success: 

• Read through all the ingredients and instructions so you can get a better idea of how much time and what you need to make this cake.
• You can bake the cake layers ahead of time. Wrap the cake layers in plastic wrap and freeze up to one month. 
• You can make the buttercream a day ahead and refrigerate it overnight. Then take them out to come back to room temperature. Make sure the buttercream is at room temperature before re-whipping.
• A single batch of this cake recipe makes three, 6-inch round cake layers or two 8-inch round cake layers. Double the cake recipe to make enough cake batter for three, 8-inch cake layers.
• After you mix the ivory water ganache, then pour the chocolate into a squeeze bottle for a comfortable grip for decorating. If chocolate drip becomes too cold and hardens, then heat in the microwave for 5-10 seconds, shake or stir to make sure it’s all the same temperature. Don’t overheat or chocolate will separate, and you’ll have to remix.  
• Food coloring gets darker over time, so it’s best to gradually add the food coloring, which is best for lighter colors.  
• Serve cake at room temperature. 

What Tools You’ll Need to Make This Cake: 

• 5-quart, Stand Mixer with mixing bowl & paddle attachment
• 4, 6-inch cake pans
• Offset spatula 
• 8-inch or 10-inch white cake board 
• Serrated knife or cake leveler 
• Turntable 
• Cake scraper or bench scraper
• Piping bag (I use reusable silicone bags)
• Whisk or sifter
• Rubber Spatula
• Non-Stick Cooking Spray and Parchment Paper
• Ice Cream Scooper with Trigger Release (for dividing cake batter evenly)
• Squeeze bottle
• Cake Stand, optional
• 1 or 2 tall white candles 
• 18 ounces Ivory candy melts
• Ivory gel food coloring

Here’s how to make a simply impressive white chocolate drip melted candle cake! 

Let’s Get Decorating! 

How to Make Semi-Homemade Vanilla Cake 

1. Preheat oven to 350 °F. Spray four 6-inch round cake pans with non-stick spray, line the bottom of each pan with parchment paper, and spray again. Set aside.
2. In a medium-size bowl, whisk and stir together the cake mix, all-purpose flour, and salt. Set aside. 
3. In the stand mixer bowl fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, oil, and sugar on medium-high for 5 minutes.
4. Add eggs, one at a time to the stand mixer bowl and beat on medium until well incorporated.
5. Turn the mixer on low and add half of the flour mixture to the butter mixture until fully incorporated. 
6. Add the vanilla and milk and beat on low until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Finish by adding the remaining flour mixture and mix on medium for another 30 seconds. 
7. Evenly distribute the cake batter among the three cake pans and bake for about 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.
8. Remove cakes from the oven and let cool in pans for 10 minutes before inverting onto cooling racks to cool completely. Wrap cakes in plastic wrap and place into the freezer to chill for 30 minutes. 

How to Make Creamy Vanilla Buttercream 

1. In the stand mixer bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
2. Turn the mixer to low and gradually add the powdered sugar, followed by the cream, salt, and vanilla extract. Mix until combined. Mix until incorporated completely. Scrape down sides of the bowl. 
3. Add 1-2 drops of ivory gel food coloring to dye the buttercream a light ivory color. 
4. Turn the mixer to medium-high and beat the frosting for about 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Turn the mixer on low and mix for 2 minutes to push out any air bubbles. 

How to Make Ivory Water Ganache Drip 

1. In a medium glass bowl, melt ivory chocolate candy melts and water in the microwave. Heat for 30 seconds at a time until the chocolate candy melts have mostly melted. 
2. Then mix with a rubber spatula. Continue to mix until the chocolate and water are well combined and streak-free. If there are chunks of chocolate, melt for 10 seconds at a time until the chocolate is fully melted or pour the chocolate into a fine mesh sifter to remove any chocolate lumps. 
3. Pour the chocolate into a squeeze bottle for a comfortable grip for decorating. If chocolate drip becomes too cold and hardens, then heat in the microwave for 5-10 seconds, shake or stir to make sure its all the same temperature. Don’t overheat or chocolate will separate, and you’ll have to remix.  

Putting It All Together 

1. Remove the cake layers from the freezer and unwrap the cake layers. Next, use a serrated knife to cut off the dome of the cakes to make the layers flat and even. 
2. Add a small amount of buttercream onto the center of the cake board. Layer one vanilla cake, cut side up onto cake board. Add a 2/3 cup of vanilla buttercream over the cake. 
3. Place another cake layer cut side down over the top. Repeat the process for another two layers — Crumb coat with ivory vanilla buttercream and freeze for 30 minutes. 
4. Add a thick layer of ivory buttercream all over the cake. Use an offset spatula to fill in any gaps with more buttercream. Then use a cake scraper to smooth out the sides of the cake. Use the offset spatula to make the top edges sharp and smooth. 
5. Add the ivory chocolate water ganache is dripping down the sides and the top of the cake. Use a small offset spatula to smooth out the ganache on top. 
6. Add a second and third layer of ivory ganache around the edges of the cake. Build layers upon the previous ganache layers. 
7. Place cake in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to fully set the previous drip layers. 
8. Continue to build layers two at a time and freeze in between until you have 8 layers of ganache total. 
9. Use a wooden skewer to create a hole in the center and place the candle into the hole. Light candle and serve the cake at room temperature. 

You May Also Enjoy: 

• Fun & Flavorful Nutella Hot Chocolate Cake for Christmas Eve (recipe)
• How to Cut & Serve Cake (free guide)
• Common Baking Mistakes & How to Avoid Them (free ebook) 
• How to Decorate Your First Cake (free course) 
• Cake Decorating for Beginners (online course)

Now that you know how to make your melted candle cake, I can’t wait to see your cake creations! Let me know in the comments below! 

Happy Baking! 

Hey, if you liked this tutorial, you really should check out, Cake Decorating Creator Program, my online cake course. I coach you on everything I teach on these cake tutorials so that you can uplevel your baking and decorating skills. We 10x it so you get the results you want most. Like any new skill, it’s important to learn from the ground up to build a foundation, so take on any cake challenge. It is an investment your future self will thank you for. Check it out at XOKatieRosario.com/online-cake-course. I will see you there.

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