Description
This impressive hyperrealistic cake recreates a rustic stack of pancakes using a tender maple-flavored cake base and fluffy maple buttercream. Finished with hand-sculpted modeling chocolate blueberries and a glossy syrup glaze, it is a showstopping dessert that tastes like a farmhouse breakfast.
Ingredients
- 1 box yellow cake mix
- All-purpose flour
- Granulated sugar
- Salt
- Sour cream
- Melted butter
- Eggs
- Maple flavoring
- Egg whites
- Powdered sugar
- Unsalted butter
- Maple extract
- Ivory food coloring
- Modeling chocolate
- Yellow, royal blue, and violet food coloring
- White fondant
- Vodka
- Gelatin
- Maple syrup
- Water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF (175ºC) and grease three 8-inch cake pans with cake release.
- Combine cake mix, flour, sugar, salt, sour cream, melted butter, eggs, and maple flavoring in a stand mixer and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes.
- Divide batter into pans and bake for 20 minutes, then cool and place in the freezer until firm.
- Whip egg whites and powdered sugar on high for 5 minutes, then gradually add room-temperature butter and maple extract, whipping for an additional 10 to 15 minutes.
- Sculpt a butter pat and small blueberries from tinted modeling chocolate, using scissors to create realistic textures on the berries.
- Stack cake layers with buttercream, apply a thin crumb coat, and chill for 20 minutes.
- Wrap ivory fondant strips around the sides of the cake and paint the edges with an ivory food coloring and vodka solution to create a browned effect.
- Place a fondant circle on top and pour over a warm glaze made of maple syrup and gelatin before adding the chocolate accents.
Notes
To achieve the most realistic ‘browned’ look on the pancake edges, apply the ivory food coloring solution unevenly with a soft sponge rather than a brush. You can also use a toothpick to poke tiny air bubbles into the sides of the fondant layers before they set, mimicking the texture of real pancake batter cooking on a griddle.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American