Guess what today is??!? It's my birthday! And I'm celebrating with a Naked Birthday Cake!
Layers of cake, lemon curd, crushed meringues, swiss buttercream and sparklers. Boom. What more could you ask for? I've been dying to make a naked birthday cake forever - basically one that's barely frosted on the outside so you can see all those glorious layers on the inside!! And because it needs to be bright and cheerful (just like me) we threw on a bunch of pink and yellow candies and flowers PLUS some sparklers on top. Because it's not a birthday without sparkles and a billion calories! If you need me I'll be taking a fork to this cake and hanging out because calories don't count on your big day!
Naked Birthday Cake
Ingredients
For the cake layers:
- 4 cups cake flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter room temp
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 4 eggs
- 2 cups buttermilk
For the Swiss Buttercream:
- 2 ¼ cups sugar
- 9 large egg whites
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- pinch of salt
- 1 ¼ pounds butter room temp, cut into small pieces
For frosting layers
- Lemon curd
- crumbled meringue cookies
Optional toppings
- Sparkler Candles
- Fresh Fruit
- Flowers
- Meringue cookies
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour three 9-inch cake pans.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- In a electric mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together for 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, Beat in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low and add half the flour mixture. Add 1 cup of buttermilk and mix until combined. add remaining flour mixture and beat. Add remaining buttermilk and beat. Remove from the mixer and finish mixing by hand if needed. Divide the batter amongst the 3 prepped cake pans.
- Bake until golden brown and done, about 30-35 minutes. Let cakes cool for a few minutes and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Bring a few inches of water to a boil in a saucepan that can hold a standing mixer's bowl above the water. Whisk the sugar, the egg whites, lemon juice, and salt in the bowl by hand. Set the bowl above the boiling water and continue whisking until the mixture is hot to the touch and the sugar dissolves, about 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the bowl to a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat the egg whites at medium-high speed until they almost hold a stiff peak and are fully cooled, about 10 minutes. Beat in the butter, a little at a time, until the icing is smooth and spreadable.
- To assemble the cake, place one layer of the cake on a cake stand. Spread 3 tablespoons of lemon curd on top of the cake and sprinkle with some of the crushed meringue cookies. Spread a ½ inch layer of the Swiss Buttercream on top and carefully place the 2nd layer of cake on top. Repeat the process with additional lemon curd, sprinkled meringues and more Swiss Buttercream. Add the last layer of cake of top. Frost the top of the cake with more of the Swiss Buttercream and add a super thin layer of the Swiss Buttercream to the sides of the cake. Frost until smooth. Decorate with any desired toppings and serve as needed.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Photo by Matt Armendariz / Food Styling by Adam Pearson / Recipe from What’s Gaby Cooking
I just made the cake, and the texture is perfect but it tastes a little like corn bread. I've had this happen before with homemade yellow cakes. Any ideas what I should do differently next time?
In your cake recipes are you using regular butter versus unsalted? I see salt in your ingredients list and just want to make sure that I should use salted butter? Will be making your Slutty Brownie Cake tomorrow and just wanted clarification.
Thank you
Pam
unsalted butter always for baking 🙂
Can I leave the macaroon cookies out?
of course! they are just decoration!
Hi! I think I read that you used real flowers. What did you do about the pesticides or were they organic flowers? I am baking a cake that will be topped with flowers as well but can not find edible or organic. Did you just wash them off before putting them on top of the cake?
Very beautiful cake!
I've tried so many times to make a naked cake, but I always end up covering it up with frosting as I don't like how messy/crumbly the sides look. What's your secrey for perfect cake sides that are worth it to be left out like your beautiful semi naked cake? Thanks Gaby!