How to Make a Winter Wonderland Snowflake Cake

Learn how to make this icy blue snowflake cake that’s perfect for winter! 

This Snowflake cake is made with three light and fluffy semi-homemade vanilla cake layers filled with creamy vanilla buttercream and white chocolate snowflakes.

You’ll learn every step to make this snowflake 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 three 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 split into three bowls and colored with different shades of sky blue gel food coloring. This step gives the cake a unique ombre effect on the outside of the cake. But first I’ll show you how to fill the cake with the dark, medium and light shades of blue buttercream, so it’s pretty when you cut into the cake.  

Finally, you’ll learn how to make the white chocolate snowflakes by hand. The best part about snowflakes is each one is unique, so you don’t have to worry about making every snowflake perfect! 

This snowflake cake is simply beautiful with the ombre blue on the outside and the sanding sugar giving the cake the ice effect!  

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.
• 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
• 3, 6-inch cake pans or 2, 8-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 for filling and stacking the cake)
• #804 round piping tip 
• Small piping bag (disposable for white chocolate) 
• Whisk or sifter
• Rubber Spatula
• Non-Stick Cooking Spray and Parchment Paper
• Ice Cream Scooper with Trigger Release (for dividing cake batter evenly)
• Cake Stand, optional
• 12 ounces white candy melts
• 2 tablespoons of Coconut oil as needed 
• Sky blue gel food coloring 
• Edible disco dust (pixie dust)
• White sanding sugar

Here’s how to make this icy blue snowflake cake that’s perfect winter! 

Let’s Get Baking! 

How to Make This Easy Vanilla Cake 

1. Preheat oven to 350 °F. Spray three 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 Ombre Blue 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. 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. 
4. Divide the buttercream in half and set aside one half. With the remaining half, divide the buttercream into 3 equal parts. Color each bowl of buttercream with sky blue gel food color, make one light blue, one medium blue and one dark blue. 

How to Make White Chocolate Snowflakes

1. In a medium bowl, melt the white chocolate and 1 teaspoon of coconut oil in the microwave for 1-2 minutes or until fully melted. 
2. Pour the melted chocolate into a piping bag and cut a small hole on the bottom of the piping bag. 
3. Place a piece of parchment paper onto a baking sheet. Then pipe out 24-36 snowflakes of various sizes. Sprinkle white sanding sugar and edible glitter before the chocolate sets. 
4. Set aside to dry for 30-45 minutes. 

How to Assemble this Snowflake Cake

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. Pipe a ring of dark blue buttercream in the center of the cake, followed by rings of medium blue buttercream and light blue buttercream. Use an offset spatula to smooth the buttercream layer.  
3. Place another cake layer cut side down over the top. Repeat the process for another layer — Crumb coat with ivory vanilla buttercream and freeze for 30 minutes. 
4. Then add a thick layer of dark blue buttercream on the bottom, add a thicker layer of medium blue buttercream in the middle and add a thick layer of light blue buttercream above the previous color. Smooth the sides out using a cake scraper, creating an ombre effect. 
5. 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. 
6. Add a thick layer of white buttercream on top of the cake. 
7. Next, add 1 cup of white buttercream to a piping bag with a #806 round piping tip — pipe 10-12 round dollops on top of the cake. 
8. Place the cake onto a baking sheet with edges and add white sanding sugar on the sides and sprinkle on top of the cake. 
9. Carefully add the white chocolate snowflakes around the cake. Serve the cake at room temperature and enjoy! 

You May Also Enjoy: 

• Chocolate Peppermint Swirl Cake (recipe)
• How to Make Perfect Cake Pops (free training) 
• Common Baking Mistakes & How to Avoid Them (free ebook) 
• How to Decorate Your First Cake (free course) 
• Cake Decorating for Beginners (online course)

After making your snowflake cake, you’ll feel your confidence rises in the kitchen and feel like you can take on every cake challenge. I can’t wait to see your blue ombre snowflake cake creations! 

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.

Watch The How-to Video Below: 

 

 

 

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