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If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve already seen the super fun pastel marble candy drip cake that I created for Holly’s 9th birthday this past weekend. I got so much love on this cake, so I’m sharing it here!
This cake was surprisingly easy to make, and here’s how I did it:
Build and crumb coat the cake
My cake consisted of three vanilla cake layers with buttercream between each layer. I made sure to level the cake as I went and then applied a quick crumb coat. A crumb coat is basically a quick first layer of icing done to pick up any loose crumbs – this way they won’t get into your pretty final layer.
Prepare piping bags
I prepared three bags using my marbling colours and cut large openings in each.
Apply icing
I applied blobs of icing all around the cake using all three colours. Because they would all be blended, there was no need to be neat or orderly here.
Smooth the icing for a marbled effect
One thing I learned while doing this cake is that if you overdo the smoothing process, the colours will blend together and turn grey. It’s best to spin the cake and smooth it out in as few strokes as possible. The marbled effect hides icing flaws very well, which totally helps.
Prepare drip ganache
I used this recipe for my drip ganache. Surprisingly, it was crazy easy. The only thing you need is white melting chocolate or candy melts, heavy cream (whipping cream), and gel icing colouring.
You can easily use the microwave to melt the chocolate, but I decided to use my melting pot (which came with this set!).
Apply drip ganache
This turned out to be quite the learning process for me. I applied the ganache while it was still warm, which didn’t end up looking terrible, but is also not how I would ever apply it again. It ended up running all over the cake board and making a huge mess. Yes, it was easy to clean up, but I think waiting for the ganache to fully cool is the way to go.
After coating the cake using a spoon and small bits of ganache at a time, I let it sit in the fridge overnight.
Apply the candy
In the morning, I applied the candy. This is the best part! You can get totally creative with your toppings. Just be aware that if you use cotton candy, it will start to melt if left in the fridge for too long!
I ended up finding all of our candy at the dollar store and Bulk Barn. I maybe spent $6 on the toppings.
The amazing gold #9 is actually one of the table numbers from our wedding. I purchased this set on Amazon and spray painted them in gold glitter using this paint. It worked out so perfectly for this cake (and you can see them at our wedding in a upcoming post!).
Voila! My finished marbled candy drip cake.
I’m so happy at how the colours turned out – so vibrant and beautiful.
Obviously I themed the inside as well, and served each slice with some extra cotton candy.
Holly adored her 9th birthday cake, and I hope you like it too!