Spring is officially here! It’s probably my favorite time of year for cake decorating, purely because I’m so inspired by the flowers blooming all around me and adding some color back into the world. While I love all flowers, daisies are just the happiest there are. So to celebrate Spring, I whipped up this sunny cake and piped happy little daisies all over it!
This daisy cake design would make the sweetest birthday party cake (just imagine it with cute birthday candles on top!) or the centerpiece for any special gathering. I’m thinking of Mother’s Day, a picnic in the park, a Sunday brunch, or any happy event on your calendar. You can use any of my cake recipes as the base of the cake and any light colored buttercream for the topping. Here are some of my suggestions, but feel free to use your favorite type of buttercream that’s pipeable and easy to color:
- Vanilla Buttercream
- Vegan Vanilla Buttercream
- White Chocolate Buttercream
- Cream Cheese Buttercream
- Lavender Buttercream (it’s white if you don’t add the lavender color gel!)
The best part about this daisy cake is that the technique for piping the flowers is so easy. All you need is Wilton Tip 104 for the petals and Tip 10 for the centers. Watch this quick video tutorial to see how it’s done:
If you’re into cake decorating videos like this one, be sure to check out my YouTube channel for further learning! I’m always rolling out new videos, so click the subscribe button while you’re there to ensure you never miss a new one.
You Will Need
- A layer cake that’s been crumb coated and chilled (mine is 6” diameter)
- Cake turntable
- Icing smoother
- Angled spatula
- 3 Cups of light colored buttercream (I’m using one batch of this vanilla buttercream recipe)
- AmeriColor Egg Yellow (or yellow color gel of your choice)
- Wilton Tip 104
- Wilton Tip 10
- 2 piping bags
- Palette knife or small food-grade paint brush (optional)
Step 1: Color the Buttercream
Reserve about ⅓ Cup of buttercream for piping the daisies, then add 3-5 drops of AmeriColor Egg Yellow (or other yellow food color gel) to tint the rest of the buttercream a medium yellow color.
Step 2: Frost a Smooth Buttercream Finish
Place your chilled and crumb coated cake on the turntable and use the yellow buttercream you tinted in the previous step to frost a smooth buttercream finish onto the cake. Start by frosting a smooth layer on the very top of the cake with your angled icing spatula. Next, add buttercream to the sides of the cake and glide your icing smoother over them while turning the turntable to create smooth sides.
You’ll notice a crown of buttercream forming on the top edges of the cake, which is essential to getting sharp edges on the top. Use your angled icing spatula to swipe the crown inwards (toward the top center of the cake). Repeat until you’ve got nice sharp edges.
When your cake is looking ultra smooth, pop it into the refrigerator to firm up for at least 30 minutes. If you need more tips on creating a perfectly smooth cake finish, I’ve got a great tutorial for you here.
Step 3: Pipe the Daisies
Place the white buttercream you reserved in Step 1 into a piping bag fitted with Wilton Tip 104. Add another drop of AmeriColor Egg Yellow to any leftover yellow buttercream and mix it to make a slightly darker yellow for the daisy centers. Add this darker yellow buttercream to a piping bag fitted with Wilton Tip 10.
Starting with the white frosting, hold the piping bag so that Tip 104 is parallel to the side of the cake, angled so that the larger part of the opening is the tip of each daisy petal and the smaller part of the opening is the center of the flower. Hovering the piping tip about ⅛ inch from the surface, pipe the first daisy petal by squeezing the bag and quickly releasing pressure once you see a petal shape form. Repeat piping the petals in a circular formation, rotating your hand slightly after piping each petal.
Repeat piping the clusters of daisy petals 1-2 inches apart, all over the sides and top of the cake.
Pipe a dot of the darker yellow buttercream in the very center of each daisy petal cluster to finish each flower.
Step 4: Smooth the Centers (Optional)
If the centers of the daisies are too peaked, you can smooth them down using either a small angled spatula or palette knife, or a small paint brush dipped in a little bit of water. Simply swipe the peaks with the palette knife or use the small paint brush (dipped in water) to gently press each peak down.
And that’s it! The happiest little cake for your next Spring celebration and it couldn’t be easier to whip up with the right tools and a sunny color palette!
I hope you have the best time making this daisy cake! If you do end up making it, let me know what you’re celebrating in the comments below + be sure to tag @sugarandsparrowco on Instagram to show me. I love to see what you create!
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