Bound to How-To

This easy tutorial for how to make a layer block is perfect for beginners! Learn how to level the cake, fill the layers, nibble glaze, and do a cute final coat. This tutorial is perfect for a birthday block, a smash cake, or whatever celebration!

A 3 layer yellow cake that is frosted with purple icing and decorated with colorful sprinkles. The cake is on a green cake stand and a piece is cut showing the inside.

Easy Layer Cake Overview

  • Skill Level: Intermediate
  • Techniques Used: Crumb Coating

This layer block tutorial is geared toward beginners. While I am someone who understands baking scientific discipline and proper technique very well, making baked goods that wait cute is not my forte! So I wanted to create a tutorial for how to brand a layer cake that is easy to follow.

Since I don't have a ton of experience with this I invited my assistant, Kelly Haines, to help me out with this. Kelly is a trained pastry chef and has much more experience making beautiful baked goods.

What Kind of Cake to Employ for a Layer Cake?

Yous tin can choose whatever block yous like to build your layer cake. I like to make at least 3 layers equally I recollect the ratio looks all-time.

My favorite cake to apply for a unproblematic layer cake is my chiffon cake. It turns out extremely moist, tender, and fluffy. Chiffon cake is also the perfect canvass for any season of filling or frosting.

Some other options would be to utilise a archetype sponge cake, a rich chocolate block, or fifty-fifty red velvet cake.

What Kind of Frosting to Employ for a Layer Cake?

Buttercream frosting is the virtually mutual type of frosting used for a layer cake. In this tutorial I used a classic american buttercream frosting. Yous can meet that the frosting is not perfectly smooth and this is what volition happen when you use this blazon of buttercream. It crusts over rapidly and it is difficult to get it very smooth. That is okay though, only just exist aware of it!

If you want a perfectly silky smoothen cake it is all-time to apply a swiss meringue buttercream or an italian meringue buttercream. These styles of buttercream practise not crust over the way american buttercream does and volition requite you the nicest finish on your cake.

What Can you Utilize for a Filling in a Layer Cake?

Yous can fill a layer cake with all kinds of things! If y'all like, y'all can use the frosting that you choose as the filling. Or you could use jam, curds, whipped cream, fresh fruit, or fifty-fifty pastry cream.

Cake filling options are endless! And changing up the filling is the perfect way to create different flavored cakes!

How to Make a Layer Cake

Making a layer cake is a fairly simple process. The best way to understand information technology though, is to spotter a detailed tutorial. I highly propose watching our YouTube tutorial in its entirety to see the whole procedure.

Stride 1: Bake & Absurd your Cake Layers

You will need at to the lowest degree two layers for your block. I call back three layers is the perfect proportion just you can stack as many equally you lot like.

You can also utilize whatever cake recipe you prefer, simply the block pictured is my classic chiffon cake! It is the perfect fluffy cake that works well with virtually any frosting or filling. This cake can be broiled into three- 8″ layers or two- 9″ layers.

Permit the broiled layers cool completely before moving onto the next pace.

Footstep ii: Level the Cake Layers

In one case the cakes are completely cooled, you lot can level them. Have a serrated knife and hold it horizontally, resting on the edges of you cake layer. Seesaw dorsum and along cutting off the dome of the cake. The scraps are the perfect snack while you are building the block!

If you prefer, you can use a cake leveling tool, especially if you broiled thick layers and need to split them in half. But I e'er utilise a serrated knife.

Pace 3: Fill up the Cake Layers

Pipage a two layer dam of frosting around the edges of the kickoff layer. This will aid keep the filling in. Then add together your filling into the center of the dam, or more frosting if you are not using a filling. Spread the filling out to evenly distribute.

Now have the second layer of cake and identify it on top of the filling, upside downwardly. This will help keep the cake very level and even. Gently press down to secure.

If this is a three layer cake, pipe some other dam and add filling to the 2d layer. You could even do a different flavor of filling if you similar!

Continue building the block until you get to the final layer. Place the final layer on top upside down and look at everything at eye level to brand sure all of the layers are centered.

Pace 4: Nibble Glaze the Cake

The side by side footstep is to crumb glaze the cake. Start this process by pipage a thick layer of frosting all around the outside of the cake. Now have a scraper and concord it vertically upwards against the side of the cake at virtually a 45 degree angle. Concur the scraper still and and then spin the turn tabular array toward you scraping off most of the frosting.

Your cake volition wait like a naked cake at this point. And in fact, you could terminate here if you wanted to go for that look! It is of import to put the frosting that you lot scraped off into a separate bowl than your clean frosting because it will likely have crumbs in it and yous will not want to apply that in your final coat.

How add frosting to the top and use the scraper to scrape that off. You can use the frosting with crumbs in information technology for the top. This coat of icing will be underneath the concluding coat so information technology is okay if it has crumbs in it.

What is a Crumb Coat?

The crumb coat is the first coat of icing on a cake. This layer is meant to lock in all of the crumbs and then that the concluding coat of frosting volition exist perfectly shine and beautiful.

Step four: Arctic the Block to Set up Nibble Glaze

Once the crumb coat is applied, y'all need to let the cake arctic for a bit to let the crumb coat set. Information technology takes at least 20 minutes in the fridge to set the crumb coat. You lot can also let it sit in the refrigerator for upward to 24 hours, depending on your timing for when y'all want to end decorating your cake.

Stride v: Utilise the Finishing Coat of Frosting

Get-go the finishing coat the exact same mode you did the crumb glaze. Piping a thick layer of frosting effectually the edges and utilize a scraper to smooth information technology out.

Agree the scraper steady, every bit you spin the turntable. This time don't utilise quite as much pressure level. You cant to keep a prissy coat of frosting on the cake and don't want to pull too much off.

Later the showtime coat of frosting you lot will likely have a few holes and imperfections. Use the pipage handbag to patch the holes and then use the scraper again to shine it out. You can do this equally many times as you need to.

At present add a thick glaze of frosting to the peak of the block and spread information technology out. Hold the scraper steady against the top of the block and then turn the turntable toward you dragging the frosting toward the middle to shine it out.

Footstep six: Add Decorations

Once y'all accept your finishing coat of frosting completed, you lot can add together your decorations. We choose to practise a boarder of sprinkles effectually the lesser. Printing them into the frosting with moderate pressure. We then a unproblematic boarder of piped frosting around the peak.

This block would be so perfect for a altogether, a smash cake, or any kind of celebration!

Instructions

Note: The all-time style to understand this process is to watch the full detailed video tutorial.

  1. Broil your cake layers and let them absurd completely.
  2. Use a serrated knife to level the cakes. Hold the knife horizontally and residuum information technology on the edges of the cake. Seesaw dorsum and along to cut through the cake and level each layer.
  3. Place a small dollop of frosting on your cake stand and place the first cake layer on top to secure. As an optional pace, place pieces of parchment paper tucked underneath the commencement layer to go along your cake stand clean. Place the cake stand up in the center of the plough table.
  4. Pipage a two layer dam all around the first layer of cake. Add together your filling in the middle of the dam or utilise more than frosting. Add the second layer on top of the filling upside down. Gently press to secure. Pipe another dam around the second layer and add the filling. Summit with the third layer of cake turned upside down. Await at the cake at middle level and brand certain all the layers are lined up nicely.
  5. To begin the crumb coat, pipe a thick layer of frosting all around the outside of the cake. Agree a bench scraper confronting the side of the cake at a 45 degree angle. While keeping the paw with the bench scraper steady, pull the plough table toward yous to scrape off the frosting. Identify this frosting in a separate bowl from the balance of your frosting because it will likely accept crumbs in information technology.
  6. Employ a layer of frosting to the top of the cake (yous can utilize your crummy frosting for this) and use a scraper to scrape it all off as well, leaving a thin layer. At this point your cake volition wait like a naked block.
  7. Arctic you cake in the refrigerator for at least xx minutes and up to 24 hours before applying the final coat of frosting.
  8. Kickoff the terminal coat the same style yous did the crumb coat. Pipe a thick layer of frosting all around the exterior of the cake and use a scraper to shine it out. This time, don't put so much pressure on the scraper because you don't want to pull also much frosting off.
  9. Use your pipe bag to patch any holes or imperfections and continue smoothing out. You can do this as many times every bit yous need to.
  10. Add a thick layer of frosting to the acme of the cake. Concur the scraper against the tiptop and concord information technology steady when you plough the turntable toward you to smoothen information technology out.
  11. Add sprinkles and whatsoever decorations you like!