Robin's Egg Easter Cake
This robin's egg Easter cake features three layers of ultra moist coconut cake filled with a whipped milk chocolate ganache and decorated with a light blue cream cheese frosting. Speckled with spots (just like a robin's egg!), and topped with a coconut nest filled with mini chocolate candy eggs, this cake is a quintessential springtime dessert!
Equipment
Ingredients
For the coconut cake layers:
- 210 g (1 ¾ cups) cake flour
- 162 g (¾ cup + 1 tbsp) Truvia Sweet Complete Granulated Sweetener
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 76 g (5 ½ tablespoon) unsalted butter, room temp
- 50 g (¼ cup) neutral oil
- 227 g (1 cup) canned coconut milk
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon coconut extract
- 80 g (1 cup) unsweetened shredded coconut
- 2 egg whites
For the whipped milk chocolate ganache:
- 150 g (⅔ cup) heavy cream,
- 85 g (3 oz) milk chocolate
For the cream cheese frosting:
- 227 g (16 tablespoon) unsalted butter, room temp
- 12 oz (1 ½ blocks) cream cheese, cold
- 340 g (3 cups) Truvia Sweet Complete Confectioners Sweetener
- wedgwood food coloring gel
- brown food coloring gel
Instructions
For the coconut cake layers:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and line three 6 inch cake pans with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the flour, Truvia Sweet Complete Granulated Sweetener, baking powder, and salt.
- Cut up the butter into small cubes and add to the dry ingredients. Mix on low speed until it resembles wet sand.
- Add the oil, coconut milk, vanilla, and coconut extract, and mix until just combined.
- Fold in the shredded coconut until evenly distributed.
- In a separate medium bowl, add the egg whites. Use an electric hand mixer to whip them until medium peaks form.
- Gently fold the whipped egg whites into the batter with a rubber spatula until just combined.
- Divide the cake batter between the prepared pans.
- Bake for about 22-25 minutes or until the cakes start to pull away from the sides of the pans. Immediately turn the cakes out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Once cool, wrap the cakes in plastic wrap and freeze until ready to decorate. (Frozen cake layers will be much easier to frost!)
For the whipped milk chocolate ganache:
- In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream to a simmer or about 190 degrees F. Once simmering, remove from heat and add the chocolate. Use a small rubber spatula or spoon to gently stir until the chocolate has melted and the ganache is homogeneous.
- Pour the ganache into a medium bowl and place in the fridge for about 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. The ganache needs to be about room temperature, not too hot, but not too cold.
- Use an electric hand mixer to whip the ganache to stiff peaks. Set aside.
For the cream cheese frosting:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, and cream cheese on high speed until smooth.
- Slowly add the Truvia Sweet Complete Confectioner's Sweetener and mix on low speed until fully combined.
- Once all of the confectioner's sweetener is added, add a few drops of light blue food coloring gel and continue beating on low speed until no more lumps or pockets of air remain and the frosting is smooth.
For assembly:
- Place the first cake layer on a cake stand. Pipe a dam of frosting around the edge of the cake. Fill the center with a few scoops of whipped chocolate ganache.
- Top with the second cake layer and repeat.
- Add the last cake layer and top with a few scoops of frosting. Use an offset spatula to smooth out the top, and spread the excess all over the sides. Continue frosting the cake until it's completely covered.
- To add robin's egg spots, dip a pastry brush in brown food coloring gel and carefully flick it all over the cake.
- Top the cake with toasted coconut flakes and mini chocolate candy eggs, and enjoy!
Notes
- Do not over-whip the egg whites. Whip the egg whites only to medium peaks. As you can see above, the peaks droop slightly - this is what you're looking for. Whipping them to stiff peaks will make the egg whites too dry, causing them to deflate as they're folded into the batter.
- Use cake strips to create flat cake layers. Soak these wilton cake strips in ice water before starting the cake batter. Just before baking, wrap the cake strips around the pan. The cold temperature on the outside of the cake will prevent the edges from baking faster than the center, resulting in an evenly baked flat cake.
- Freeze the cake layers before decorating. Since this is such a moist cake, I highly recommend freezing the cake layers for at least two hours before decorating.
- Use cold cream cheese & room temperature butter. In order to create a sturdy, pipeable cream cheese frosting, pay close attention to the temperature of the ingredients. Cold cream cheese will ensure it's thick enough, while room temperature butter will ensure all of the ingredients cream together properly.
- To create smooth sides when cake decorating... Run an offset spatula (or any cake decorating tool) under hot water, then wipe dry and use immediately to spread the frosting on the cake. The hot tool will help create smooth sides!
Nutrition Facts
Serving: 1slice | Calories: 552kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 50g | Saturated Fat: 31g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 97mg | Sodium: 278mg | Potassium: 189mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 1196IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 91mg | Iron: 1mg
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