Ombre Sheet Cake Recipes

OMBRE SHEET CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan; dust with flour. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
• Beat butter with 1 cup sugar on medium speed in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy, 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until combined after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with buttermilk and beginning and ending with flour.
• Transfer batter to prepared pan, smoothing top with an offset spatula. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until cake is golden and puffed and a tester inserted in center comes out clean, 22 to 25 minutes. Let cake cool completely in pan on a wire rack.
• Frost top of cake with 2 1/2 cups buttercream. Divide remaining buttercream among three small bowls (about 1/2 cup each). For pink, add 1/4 teaspoon Berry food color. For red, add 1/4 teaspoon Berry and 1/8 teaspoon Sunflower. For yellow, add 1/4 teaspoon Sunflower. Let stand 10 minutes before using to allow dyes to fully saturate.
• Using a small offset spatula, randomly scatter a few dollops of colored frosting around the cake (more white space will create a lighter effect, closer together will be more pigmented). Lightly drag a large offset spatula or bench scraper end-to-end across the cake to create a blended effect. Add more frosting as desired. Be sure to wipe off the spatula or bench scraper completely between strokes.

OMBRE WAVE SHARK CAKE

Steps:

• For the cake layers: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat five 6-inch round cake pans with flour-based baking spray.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the flour, granulated sugar, cake mixes and salt. Whisk on low speed until combined. Add the sour cream, eggs and 2 cups water. Mix on medium speed until just combined. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl; add the vanilla extract. Mix again until no streaks of the dry ingredients remain.
• Divide 1 cup of batter between two small bowls (1/2 cup in each); tint one bowl of batter with the blue food color and tint the other with the teal food color. Stir to combine. Add the food color a little at a time until a bright hue is achieved.
• Divide the remaining white cake batter among the prepared pans. Spoon a little blue and teal batter into each pan and swirl the colors together with a skewer or butter knife. Bake the cakes until they are lightly browned and a toothpick tester inserted near the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let the cakes cool completely. Level each cake layer using a serrated knife or a wire cake leveler.
• For the Swiss meringue buttercream: Set a saucepan filled one-third full of water over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer.
• Whisk together the egg whites, granulated sugar and salt in a large heatproof bowl. Set over the simmering water and whisk until the mixture is hot to the touch and the sugar has dissolved.
• Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer filled with the whisk attachment. Beat on low speed for 2 minutes. Increase to medium high and beat until stiff peaks are formed. Continue beating at medium-high speed until the mixture is fluffy and has cooled, about 5 minutes (the mixing bowl should feel cool to the touch).
• Turn the mixer off and switch from the whisk to the paddle attachment. Turn the mixer on medium low and add the butter a few cubes at a time, beating until well incorporated before the next addition. Add the vanilla extract. Beat until the frosting is thick and completely smooth.
• Remove about 1/2 cup of the frosting to each of 6 bowls. Tint one bowl navy blue using the navy blue food color, tint another bowl dark blue with the blue food color, tint another bowl dark teal using the teal food color, tint another bowl light teal using the teal food color and tint the fifth bowl light blue using the blue food color. The last bowl should remain untinted. Transfer each of the colors to separate piping bags, each fitted with a #104 decorator piping tip.
• For the marshmallow fondant shark fins: Place the marshmallows and 1 tablespoon water in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 1 minute at 100% power, or until the marshmallows puff out of shape. Stir the mixture until the marshmallows deflate.
• Add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, kneading the mixture well with your hands (kitchen gloves make this job less messy). Keep adding the powdered sugar until the mixture is thick, smooth and pliable. You may not have to use all of the powdered sugar.
• Add a drop of black food color and a drop of blue food color to the fondant and knead until a dark blue-grey color is achieved.
• Roll the fondant flat on a work surface lightly dusted with powdered sugar. Stamp two 3.5-inch circles from the fondant using a pastry ring or cookie cutter. Cut each circle into quarters. Use a 2-inch round cookie cutter to trim away 1/8 inch from a flat side of each piece, creating a shark fin shape. Transfer the shark fins to a baking sheet and let dry until firm and rigid and the fins can stand upright, 1 to 2 hours.
• For the frosting and assembling: Use the remaining untinted frosting to fill the cake layers. Apply a thin even layer of buttercream to the cake's exterior and insert a 9-inch dowel through the top center of the cake to anchor the layers together. Chill until firm, about 20 minutes.
• Use the back of a butter knife to score lines around the cake to divide it into 6 sections (2 1/2- to 3-inch sections). Begin piping frosting at the bottom of the cake using the navy blue buttercream. Hold the piping bag so that the smaller end of the decorator tip is positioned away from the cake. Pipe lines of buttercream close together, traveling towards the top of the cake to the first score line. Repeat the process using the remaining colors in this order: dark blue, dark teal, light teal, light blue, white (untinted).
• Using the leftover navy buttercream in the piping bag, pipe enough frosting on top of the cake to cover it; use an offset spatula to create swirls resembling choppy ocean water. Place the set fondant shark fins around the top edge of the cake in a circle. Sprinkle on white nonpareil "bubbles" and place white sugar pearls at random on top of the cake and around the fins. Serve tall slices of cake at room temperature on large plates.

OMBRE STRAWBERRY CAKE

Steps:

• Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Butter five 8-inch round cake pans; line with parchment. Butter parchment, then dust with flour, tapping out excess. Whisk together milk, eggs, and vanilla.
• In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt on low speed until well combined. Continue beating while gradually adding butter until mixture is crumbly, about 3 minutes.
• Slowly add half of milk mixture; increase speed to medium and beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Slowly add remaining half of milk mixture, scraping down bowl as needed. Beat until incorporated, about 1 minute more. Remove bowl from mixer; divide batter evenly among five bowls (about 1 heaping cup per bowl).
• Tint four of the bowls with pink food color, starting with a small drop and gradually adding more to each bowl to create a gradient of shades.
• Transfer batter from each bowl to one of the prepared pans, spreading to edges with a small offset spatula. Tap pans on counter to release any air bubbles. Bake until a tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 15 minutes per cake. Transfer pans to wire racks; let cool completely. Turn cakes out of pans and remove parchment. In a small saucepan, heat jam and lemon juice and zest until warm.
• Swiss Meringue Buttercream: Combine 1 1/2 cups sugar, 6 egg whites, and a pinch of salt in the heatproof bowl of a mixer set over (not in) a pot of simmering water. Whisk until sugar is dissolved and mixture is warm to the touch and feels completely smooth when rubbed between fingertips, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Transfer bowl to mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; whisk on low speed until foamy. Increase speed to medium-high and whisk until stiff, glossy peaks form and mixture has cooled completely, about 10 minutes. Reduce speed to medium-low; add 4 sticks butter, 2 tablespoons at a time, whisking until fully incorporated after each addition. (Don't worry if buttercream appears curdled after all of butter has been added; it will become smooth again with beating.) Whisk in 1 teaspoon vanilla.
• Switch to paddle attachment; beat on low speed until air bubbles are eliminated, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl, cover with plastic, and let stand at room temperature. Repeat process twice more with remaining ingredients, using the same amounts each time, then combining all three batches of buttercream in the large bowl and covering with plastic.
• Add pink food color, a drop at a time, until desired shade of light pink is reached.
• To assemble cake, place darkest layer, bottom-side down, on an 8-inch cardboard cake round. Using a pastry brush, brush cake with a thin layer of jam mixture; top with 1 cup buttercream, spreading evenly to cover completely. Repeat process with three more layers, stacking darkest to lightest. Finish with lightest cake layer, bottom-side up. Evenly spread top and sides of cake with a 1/2-inch thickness of buttercream, smoothing sides with an offset spatula. Refrigerate until chilled, about 20 minutes.
• Transfer remaining buttercream to a pastry bag fitted with a large petal tip (such as Wilton #127). Hold bag perpendicular to top of cake, with the wider part of the tip opening at the bottom. Pipe a petal in a circular pattern so that it adheres to top of cake. Simultaneously, rotate cake, and continue piping petals so that the end of each petal overlaps the beginning of the previous petal, until top of cake is covered completely. Next, pipe petals onto sides of cake: hold bag perpendicular to side of cake and pipe around cake, slightly overlapping each layer of frosting as you work from top to bottom of cake to cover completely.

GHIRARDELLI OMBRE BROWNIE CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease and line three 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper.
• Blend oil, water, and eggs together in a large bowl. Stir in brownie mix until moistened. Divide batter evenly into 3 pans.
• Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 38 to 40 minutes. Cool completely before removing from pans.
• For Ganache: Place each type of chips into 3 bowls.
• Heat cream in microwave at 30 seconds intervals until it just boils. Immediately pour 3/4 cup cream over each type of chips; stir until chocolate melts. Add 1/4 cup corn syrup to each; stir until shiny.
• Let cool 2 hours before whipping with an electric mixer until fluffy.
• Stack cooled brownie layers on a plate, spreading a different variety of ganache between each layer. Serve chilled.

UPSIDE-DOWN CITRUS OMBRE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• For the citrus: Slice the Meyer lemons into 1/4-inch-thick wheels, then trim the wheels into even squares (about 1 1/2 inches in size). Repeat with the navel oranges, tangerines, Cara Cara oranges, grapefruits and blood oranges. Line the cut citrus pieces on a baking sheet in a single layer. Set aside.
• For the glaze: Place the granulated sugar, brown sugar, butter and water into a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat; simmer until the sugars dissolve. Pour the mixture into a 9-by-13-inch baking dish and, using a pastry brush, brush over the entire surface.
• Starting with blood oranges and beginning at the top right corner of the baking dish, tightly line the blood orange pieces side by side, with the corners at the top, bottom and sides so you have a row of diamonds, not squares. Repeat, fitting the second row tightly into the gaps from the first row. Repeat with remaining citrus, going from dark to light and creating 2 rows for each type, until the entire baking dish is filled. Cut the remaining citrus diamonds in half and place into the edges of the dish to fill in the remaining gaps around the border. Set aside.
• For the buttermilk cake: Place the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a mixing bowl and whisk together. In another mixing bowl, combine the butter and granulated sugar and beat together with an electric hand mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat together. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and beat together. Add the buttermilk and beat together until a thick batter forms with no lumps. Stir the vanilla and citrus zest into the batter until just combined.
• Pour the cake batter over the arranged citrus in the baking dish and spread around until you have an even layer. Bake the cake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the cake and the top is golden brown. Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool for at least 30 minutes.
• Place a cutting board or large platter upside down over the top of the baking dish and quickly but carefully invert the cake. Carefully lift the baking dish from the cake to reveal the ombre top. Slice and serve.