For the Cake:

Cake Ingredients*:

1.5 cups gluten free Cup4Cup all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon white vinegar (or cider vinegar)
1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil
1 cup brewed coffee, cooled
*This is for one cake. I tripled this recipe to make a triple layer cake. The cake itself is Gluten and Dairy free.

Instructions for the cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease three 8” square cake pans.
2. Measure all dry ingredients in a large bowl and whisk together.
3. Make a well in the center and add oil, vanilla, vinegar, and coffee.
4. Using an electric hand mixer (or stand mixer) stir thoroughly to combine.
5. Divide between three cake pans. It is best to use a kitchen scale to make sure you get the same amount in all three pans.
6. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs clinging to it.
7. Let cool on a wire rack until they come to room temperature.
8. Cover with plastic wrap or tin foil and put them in the freezer for 30 minutes to an hour, or in the refrigerator overnight. Leveling the cake will be easier when it is more firm.

For the Buttercream:

Buttercream Ingredients:

3 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
6 cups confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar)
3/4 cup heavy cream
12-15 drops teal Wilton food coloring gel
32 drops of Wilton vanilla custard flavoring (or 6 teaspoons of vanilla extract)

Instructions for the Buttercream:

Since you need so much icing for this cake I did this in three batches using 1 stick of butter, 2 cups of sugar, 1/4 cup of cream, 4-5 drops of food coloring, and 8 drops of flavoring in each batch.

1. Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment cream room temperature butter on medium speed until light and fluffy.
2. Beat in confectioners’ sugar until fully incorporated. Be sure to start on low because the sugar will fly everywhere if you go too high too soon (telling you from experience!).
3. Beat in heavy cream, food coloring gel, and flavor if using, and let it beat for about 5-10 minutes until it’s very fluffy. Scrape down the bowl with a spatula if needed during the 5-10 minutes.
4. Transfer to a bowl and make the next batch, and repeat for a third and final time. If you’re lucky enough to own an extra large stand mixer bowl you’ll have the luxury of only doing this in one batch!
5. Cover with a damp paper towel while you go to the next step and level your cake, or if you cover with and airtight lid and put into the fridge you may have to rewhip your icing when you’re ready to use it.

Assembly:

Get a piece of cardboard or one of these and cover with tin foil. Spread a tiny bit of icing in the center and place your first layer of cake on top. Using a long serrated knife try to slice the very top of the cake as evenly as you can. Get down low at eye level to really see.

The next cake you should level on a cutting board before you ice the bottom layer and put the 2nd layer on top. It’s not easy to level a layer when it’s on top of another layer (again, telling you from experience!). Once your second layer is leveled go back to the icing and put a few spoonfuls into a piping bag or ziplock bag, cup off the corner and pipe in even lines on top of the first layer and place the second layer of cake on top. Repeat for the third layer.

Put a thin layer of icing on the whole cake (called the crumb coat) and let sit in the fridge for at least a half hour. Finish icing the cake with an offset spatula and/or bench scraper and make it as smooth as possible. If you’re brave enough to try your hand at Swiss meringue buttercream frosting instead of a traditional buttercream then your icing will look much smoother (or so I’m told). Once iced, chill cake again until buttercream is cold.

Decorating:

White chocolate ganache ingredients:

1 bag of white chocolate baking chips
4oz of heavy cream
4-5 drops of purple Wilton food coloring gel

Heat heavy cream in microwave for 1 minute and pour over white chocolate baking chips. Stir to combine. The heat from the cream should melt all the chocolate. If you need more heat put mixture in the microwave for about 15-20 seconds at a time. You shouldn’t need to do this more than once. When ganache is smooth mix in the purple food coloring gel. Stir until combined.

For the “melting” effect on the cake it is very important that the buttercream on your cake is cold before you start dripping the ganache on top. This is so your buttercream doesn’t melt. When you’re ready, pour the ganache in the top center of the cake and let the pool begin to make its way to the edge. Using a spoon lightly “nudge” some of the ganache over the edge of the cake. It will drip down on it’s own. Push some more and some less over the edge to get the alternating effect. I watched about a dozen YouTube videos on how to do this before I had the guts to get up and try it, but it’s way easier than I thought.

Then have fun decorating the top of your cake! Here are the links to some of the things I bought specifically to make this cake (all of the Wilton products are gluten free except they say that they were made in the same factory (not machinery) as other wheat and soy products, so there’s always the risk of cross contamination, as always.):

3 Tier Assorted Cake Board Set
Bright Gel Food Coloring 4 pack
Custard Flavor
Flowerful Medley 6 cell Sprinkles
Bright Jumbo Confetti Sprinkles
Gold Star Edible Accents