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Mermaid Cakes

Pink Lemonade Mermaid Cakes

A recipe for an easy-to-make cake with buttercream frosting and mermaid scales.
5 from 3 votes
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Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 50 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 12
Calories 785 kcal

Equipment

  • 15 x 11 x 2-inch sheet cake pan
  • 1 long parchment paper sheet that extends outside the pan (use for handles to remove cooked cake from pan)
  • fine mesh strainer (sieve) for sifting flour
  • (1) 3-inch round cookie cutter
  • 6 piping bags

Ingredients
  

Cake
  • zest from 2 lemons
  • 2 lemons, juiced
  • 1 ½ cups buttermilk, room temperature
  • 1 ⅓ cups sour cream, room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 6 large eggs, room temperature
  • 2 large egg whites, room temperature
  • ⅔ cup vegetable oil
  • 2 boxes White Cake Mix (Duncan Hines used)
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • (1) .23-ounce packet Pink Lemonade Kool-Aid, without sugar
  • vegetable shortening (for coating the pans)
  • extra flour (for coating the pans)
Miscellaneous
  • 1 jar lemon curd (Stonewall Kitchen brand used)
Buttercream
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • ½ cup vegetable shortening
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • ⅛ cup fresh lemon juice
  • 1 large lemon, zested
  • ⅓ cup heavy cream
  • 7 cups powdered sugar, sifted
  • green food coloring gel
  • yellow food coloring gel
  • blue food coloring gel
  • pink food coloring gel
  • sprinkles in coordinating colors

Instructions
 

Cake
  • Preheat oven to 325°F. Prepare the cake pan by coating it with shortening and then dusting it with flour. Then place a long sheet of parchment paper in the pan, letting it extend 4 to 5 inches over each side.
  • In a large mixing bowl, add the lemon zest, lemon juice, buttermilk, sour cream, vanilla, whole eggs, egg whites, and vegetable oil. Whisk until thoroughly mixed.
  • In a mixing bowl, sift together both cake mixes, 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour, and Kool-Aid until thoroughly mixed. Stir dry ingredients into the liquid mixture until combined and smooth. Don’t overmix.
  • Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 325°F for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean or with cooked crumbs. If not fully cooked, bake for additional 5-minute increments, checking after every 5 minutes. Be careful not to overbake.
  • Cool in the pan for a few minutes. Then, using the parchment paper handles, lift the cake out of the pan and cool on a wire rack.
  • When cool, if necessary, level the domed cake with a knife by shaving off the peaks.
  • When the cake has fully cooled, use the parchment handles to transfer it to a flat surface. Use the cookie cutter to cut 12 circles out of the cake. On 6 of the cakes, spread a layer of lemon curd. Place the other 6 layers on top of the lemon curd layers to make 6 mini layer cakes. Place the cakes on individual cake stands or small plates now, as they will be hard to move once decorated.
Buttercream
  • Using a large mixing bowl and mixer, beat the butter and shortening until smooth. Add the vanilla extract, salt, lemon juice, lemon zest, and cream. Beat well. Sift in the powdered sugar and beat until smooth, 3-5 minutes.
  • Separate the frosting evenly into 6 bowls. Set one bowl aside. You will not color it.
  • In the second bowl, stir in 2 drops of blue food coloring until the color is distributed. This color will be light blue.
  • In the third bowl, stir in 4 drops of blue and 4 drops of green. This is a light teal color.
  • In the fourth bowl, stir in 9 drops of blue and 9 drops of green to create a darker teal.
  • In the fifth bowl, stir in 3 drops of green and 2 drops of yellow to make a lime green color.
  • In the sixth bowl, stir in 2 drops of pink food coloring.
  • Place each frosting color in a separate piping bag or in resealable storage bags with one corner cut off.
  • Practice making mermaid scales. Place a dot of color on a plate. Use a spoon tip and light touch to press the dot and pull the frosting upwards. After practicing, place the practice frosting back into the appropriate-colored frosting bag.
  • Starting at the bottom of the cake, place your first dot of frosting. Press the dot with the tip of the spoon, then pull upwards to spread the frosting. Clean the back of the spoon between each frosting color. Use alternating colors and repeat until the bottom row is finished. Circle the cake with a new row. Continue until the cake is completely covered in scales. Repeat for all cakes.
  • Add coordinating sprinkles on the top middle of each cake.

Notes

Recipe Yield

Makes (6) 3-inch cakes.

Serving Size

A serving size is half of a 3-inch decorated cake.

Nutritional Information

Nutritional information is provided for half of a 3-inch decorated cake.
 

Nutrition

Calories: 785kcalCarbohydrates: 116gProtein: 6gFat: 34gSaturated Fat: 13gPolyunsaturated Fat: 9gMonounsaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 55mgSodium: 580mgPotassium: 142mgFiber: 1gSugar: 85gVitamin A: 496IUVitamin C: 5mgCalcium: 204mgIron: 2mg
Keyword Buttercream Recipe, Buttermilk Cake Recipe, Decorated Mini Cakes, Lemon Frosting Recipe, Mini Cakes, Mini Mermaid Scales Cakes, Pink Lemonade Mermaid Cakes
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