Learn how to make a Succulent Cake.
Recipe by Mimi Council.
Black Succulent Cake
Makes 3 Layer 6-inch Cake
Batter
1/2 cup (113 grams) organic salted butter, softened
198 grams (3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) organic cane sugar
1 teaspoon organic vanilla extract
102 grams organic egg whites (about 3 egg whites)
1/2 cup organic milk
170 grams (1 cup plus 3 tablespoons) all natural cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
Succulent Frosting
For Lavender – use Ateco tip #126
6 tablespoons (85 grams) organic salted butter, softened
170 grams (1 cup plus 3 tablespoons) organic powdered sugar
1/8 teaspoon ColorKitchen Blue Dye (find here)
1/8 teaspoon ColorKitchen Pink Dye (find here)
1 to 2 teaspoons water
For Dark Green – use Ateco tip #104
6 tablespoons (85 grams) organic salted butter, softened
170 grams (1 cup plus 3 tablespoons) organic powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon ColorKitchen Blue Dye (find here)
1 teaspoon ColorKitchen Green Dye (find here)
1/8 teaspoon food grade organic activated charcoal (find here)
1 to 2 teaspoons water
For Green – use Ateco tip #75
6 tablespoons (85 grams) organic salted butter, softened
170 grams (1 cup plus 3 tablespoons) organic powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon ColorKitchen Blue Dye (find here)
1 teaspoon ColorKitchen Green Dye (find here)
1 to 2 teaspoons water
For Dark Turquoise - use Ateco tip #8
Extra green frosting
A pinch of food grade raw activated charcoal (find here)
1/4 teaspoon ColorKitchen Blue Dye (find here)
Black Frosting
3/4 cup (170 grams) organic salted butter, softened
340 grams (heaping 2 1/3 cups) organic powdered sugar, sifted
2 teaspoons all natural almond flavor (like Frontier Co-Op)
1 teaspoon organic vanilla extract
1 tablespoon food grade organic activated charcoal (find here)
2 to 3 teaspoons water
Tools
Cake spinner (optional)
Cake spatula
Ateco decorating tips #126, 104, 75, 199, 32, 84
piping bags
3 couplers
decorating nail (find here)
parchment paper
Method Cut parchment paper into 3 inch squares and have ready for later. You’ll want as many squares as you’ll have succulents.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line three 6-inch cake pans with parchment.
To make the batter: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk egg whites at medium/high speed until stiff peaks form. Transfer to a separate bowl and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (no need to wash), cream the butter, sugar and vanilla extract until smooth.
In a separate bowl whisk together the cake flour, baking powder and sea salt. Add in the cake flour mixture to the butter mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with cake flour. Gently fold the egg whites into cake batter until smooth.
Measure batter evenly into each cake pan, about 225 grams each.
Bake for 20 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Allow cakes to cool or place in the freezer while you make the succulents.
To make the lavender frosting: In a clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, powdered sugar, blue dye, pink dye and water and mix on low until combined. Then speed mixer up to high for 1 minute or until light and fluffy. Put the frosting in a piping bag with Ateco tip #126.
Using a decorating nail, place a small dollop of frosting on the nail. Then place a square of parchment paper on the nail so it sticks.
With your piping bag turn it so the thick side of the tip is on the bottom and the thinner side is on the top. Pipe a circle, creating a cone. Then pipe another one right on top of it.
Next, holding your piping bag the same way, pipe an upside down “U” on top of the cone. Then pipe 2 more to create a circle around the cone.
You have now created the first layer of your rose. Continue to pipe upside down “U” shapes around the center until you have a larger succulent looking rose. Pull the parchment paper off the nail and place on a baking sheet and place in the freezer.
I piped about 4 of these so I could pick the ones I liked best for the cake. Pipe them until you have ones you like, you can even put the frosting back into the bag if you don’t like how it looks and you’re practicing. Just make sure to save some of the lavender frosting, at least a third of it.
To make the dark green frosting: In a clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, powdered sugar, blue dye, green dye, activated charcoal and water. Mix on low until combined, then speed mixer up to high for 1 minute or until light and fluffy.
In a piping bag with a coupler and Ateco tip #104 put half the dark green frosting in on one side and the rest of the lavender frosting on the other side, it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Using the decorating nail again, pipe a dollop of frosting on it and place a square of parchment paper.
With the piping bag facing straight down and the large side in the center, pipe a spiral.
Next, going around the spiral, pipe upside down “U”s again creating petals. Do a couple layers to create however tall you want the succulent to be.
Pull the parchment paper off the nail and place on the baking sheet in the freezer.
Save some of the two toned frosting and change out the tip for Ateco tip #32, you’ll use this to fill in the top of the cake later.
To make the green frosting: In a clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, powdered sugar, green dye, blue dye. Mix on low until combined, then speed mixer up to high for 1 minute or until light and fluffy. Put about half of the frosting in a piping bag with a coupler and do not put a decorating tip in just yet.
On a square of parchment paper, pipe a large dollop of frosting. However tall you make this mound will be how tall this plant is. Next add Ateco tip #75.
Starting at the top, pipe a line down to the bottom. Then directly across from that line do the same thing so half of the dome has a line down to the bottom.
Next, pipe a line down to the bottom from half way between those two lines on each side, so you have four lines going down to the bottom. This will help keep your plant symmetrical.
Next fill in the holes with lines going from the top to the bottom. The bottom doesn’t have to be perfect because you can trim this later. I just used a knife to trim off the edges so it was smooth. Place the parchment paper square on the baking sheet in the freezer with the rest of the plants.
Remove the decorating tip and replace it with Ateco tip #199. You will use this later to fill in the top of the cake.
To make the dark turquiose frosting: With the other half of the green frosting, add the blue dye and a pinch of activated charcoal. Stir to combine completely so you have a dark turquoise frosting. Put in a piping bag with a coupler but do not put a tip in just yet.
On a square of parchment paper, pipe a large dollop of frosting exactly like you did with the green.
Next put the Ateco tip #8 in the coupler. Just pipe spikes coming out of the middle of the dollop, going all the way around.
Pipe another set on top, placing them in between each of the bottom ones and continue up until the circle is full of spikes. Place this on the baking sheet with the rest of the plants and keep the baking sheet in the freezer until you are ready to assemble the cake.
By this time your cake should be cooled and ready to assemble. So it’s time to start the black frosting.
To make the black frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, powdered sugar, activated charcoal, vanilla extract and almond flavor. Mix on low until all ingredients are combined then speed mixer up to high for 1 minute or until light and fluffy. I found the charcoal dried out the buttercream just a little so add a little water if you would like it a little more loose.
On a cake stand, plate or spinner stack, frost and crumb coat your cake. You can find a tutorial here.
Next frost the cake smooth. And now you are ready to start assembling the succulents!
Remove your succulents from the freezer. In order to stick them to the cake, just pull them off the parchment paper and place a dollop of frosting on the bottom and stick to the cake.
Once you have stuck all the larger succulents on the cake and filled it how you like, just fill in the empty spaces with dollops of the green and green/lavender frosting.
Gluten Free - Replace the all natural cake flour with 170 grams (1 cup plus 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon) organic gluten free flour blend, our favorite is Namaste Organic Perfect Flour Blend.
High Altitude – Bake at 350°F for 17 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
Did you make this recipe? Make sure to tag @dessertdorganic on Instagram!