Basic Naked Cake DIY
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I have fallen in love with Naked Cakes, so I decided to challenge myself and learn how to make one! I learned a lot along the way, and I definitely think it is possibly to make different flavours and for differently skill levels to try this!
I know I am going to start making these more often, and being more adventurous with flavours!
Below I have included the recipes that I used, but I really think that once you understand the technique, you can apply this to other recipes.
Here are the items that you will need to complete this recipe DIY:
BASIC NAKED CAKE
Takes 2 hrs 30 mins, serves 8-10.
Basic Naked Cake Sponge Ingredients
By Emma Crist, myrecipes.com
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 3/8 teaspoon salt
- 18 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (2 1/4 sticks)
- 2 1/4 cups sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 9 large egg whites
Instructions
- Follow the instructions by Emma Crist at myrecipes.com
Vanilla Buttercream Ingredients
By Sunset, myrecipes.com
- 2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 4 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Follow the instructions by Sunset, myrecipes.com
Putting it all together:
Ensure that your sponges are frozen for at least one hour or more. It is important to level out your sponges so that the tops are flat.
The way that I did this, was put my sponge in a regular, shallow cake pan.
If you used the cake tin I recommended, the edges are very high, so my following method should work. You can see this in the photo below. This is just a regular old pan that is about 1 1/2 inches tall. The sponge should be taller than this pan, allowing you to take a knife, and use the cake pan as a guide, to cut the top off the sponge, allowing it to be flat and all one level. If you can’t do this, it is still possible to make sure your sponge is flat and level. Freezing your sponge makes this whole process much easier!
When it comes to the icing, put it in a piping bag, and cut a wide end, about 1 1/4 cm wide. Then, cut a piece of cardboard to the side of the cake, possibly a bit smaller to ensure it doesn’t show.
Add a bit of icing to the base of the stand, and stick the cardboard on top of it, just to hold it into place. Then, ice the bottom of the cake to stick it to the cardboard.
Now, using the piping bag, pipe a circle on the outer edge of the bottom cake sponge.
Fill in the centre of this icing circle with icing using a cake spatula. If you wanted to add fruit or jam, or some other filling, this is when you would be able to do so. I do think you should keep the outer layer of icing if possible.
Follow the same step on the second layer, adding the top sponge.
Now, using the cake spatula, add a light layer of icing to the sides, and then the top.
Using the steel scraper tool, scrape off the excess icing by turning the cake stand. I had mine on a lazy susan, so it made this process easier – but I don’t think this is necessary, just easier if you have it!
The top doesn’t get scraped as much as the sides, but it does need to be smoothed and ensure the edges of the cake stay sharp.
Top with whatever you would like, you may need a little bit of extra icing to secure the toppings!
