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–+ servings
space cake
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Space Cake

For when you're looking to pull out the stops and really impress the crowd, this cake exceeds all expectations. A delicious pear and raspberry interior with a visually stunning frosting decoration on the outside.
Course Dessert, Snack
Cuisine American
Keyword Cake
Prep Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Decorating Time 4 hours
Total Time 5 hours 40 minutes
Servings 1 cake

Equipment

  • Stand Mixer
  • Fine mesh sieve
  • piping bag
  • Fondant molds not necessary, but they look cool
  • rotating cake stand needed for frosting the cake
  • 3 8" cake pans
  • uneven spatula
  • pastry scraper
  • 8" cake round

Ingredients

Cake Ingredients

  • 374 grams Cake flour
  • 350 grams white sugar
  • 16 grams Baking powder
  • 5 grams Salt
  • 170 grams unsalted butter, room temp 12 Tbsp
  • 266 ml Buttermilk, room temp
  • 4 large egg whites room temp
  • 1 large egg room temp
  • 13 grams Clear vanilla extract
  • 115 grams raspberry jammy bits optional, but highly recommended

Vanilla Buttercream Ingredients

  • 454 grams Unsalted Butter, softened 4 sticks worth
  • 720 grams Powdered Sugar sifted
  • 13 grams vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
  • 59 grams Heavy cream or half&half

Filling and Decorating Items

  • Fondant as much or as little as you want to use
  • gel food coloring black, pink, purple, and blue for the frosting. Red, gold, yellow, and orange for the fondant.
  • 400 grams Pear jam recipe here: https://trophyhusbandbakeshop.com/?p=581
  • edible glitter, edible stars, edible dusting powder

Instructions

Cake Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
  • Spray the cake pans with non-stick baking spray. Line the bottom with a round of parchment paper and spray again.
  • Whisk the egg whites, egg, and clear vanilla extract in a small bowl and set aside.
  • Cut the butter into 1" pieces and set aside.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the cake flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt and mix on low for 15 seconds. With the mixer still on low, add the butter pieces one at a time. Let the butter mix into the flour mixture before adding the next piece.
  • Once all of the butter has been added, slowly stream in the buttermilk and mix until well combined. Scrape down the bowl.
  • Add ⅓ of the egg mixture to the bowl of the stand mixer and mix on medium low until incorporated. Continue two more times until all of the egg mixture has been added. Scrape down the bowl to ensure the mixture is well combined.
  • Add the jammy bits in and mix on low speed until just incorporated.
  • Divide the cake batter evenly between the three cake pans.
  • Bake the cakes in the center rack of your oven for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out mostly clean with a few crumbs.
  • Let the cakes cool in the pans for ten minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Wrap the cakes in cling film and store in the freezer until ready to use.

Vanilla Bean Buttercream Frosting

  • Using a stand mixer, beat the butter on medium for 2 minutes. Add the vanilla bean paste and mix again until incorporated.
  • Slowly add in the sifted powdered sugar a bit at a time keeping the mixer on low when first starting. Mix until all of the sugar has been added and the mixture is well combined
  • Add the heavy cream and mix on medium high for 4 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, beat the mixture to get rid of any air bubbles.
  • Cover the frosting and place in the fridge until ready to use.

Assembly and Decoration Instructions

  • Take the cakes out of the freezer an hour before assembling to thaw. Once thawed, cut the tops of the cakes so that they're level and thus easier to stack.
  • While the cakes are thawing, prepare your fondant decorations. Knead the fondant, add color as necessary, and press into molds to create the shapes you'd like to finish your cake with. If you're not using fondant, skip this step obviously.
  • Take the frosting out of the fridge and let it sit out for 15 minutes. Mix the frosting with a wooden spoon to help make it more workable. Fill one piping bag with frosting and cut a 1/2" hole at the tip of the piping bag.
  • Pipe a small circle of frosting in the center of the cake round and place the first cake down in the center of the cake round. Pipe a continuous line around the edge of the cake, taking care to not have any cracks or openings.
  • Spread a layer of pear jam inside of the circle of frosting. Place the second cake in top and repeat. Lay the third cake bottom side up.
  • Pipe a thin layer of frosting around the entire cake to create a crumb coat. Smooth with a pastry scraper and place in the fridge to chill for ten or so minutes.
  • In separate bowls, dye the frosting so you have blue, pink, and purple. Leave enough to make black frosting to cover the cake.
  • Take the chilled cake out of the fridge and using the uneven spatula, apply dabs of the blue, pink, and purple frosting. Using the pastry scraper, smooth the frosting into a uniform layer. Take care not to mix the colors too much, you don't want it turning to mud.
  • Place cake in the fridge to chill for ten or so minutes. While the cake is chilling, dye some frosting black in a clean bowl.
  • Take the cake out of the fridge and using the uneven spatula and pastry scraper, apply the black frosting in a thin uniform layer.
  • Scrape away the black frosting in sections until the blue, pink, and purple frosting underneath starts to peek through. Once frosting is to your satisfaction, dust with edible dusting powder, glitter, and stars.
  • Once the desired effects have been achieved, add the fondant molds to the cake as desired. Once done, take a bunch of pics so you can brag about it later. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week. Leave out at room temperature for 30-60 minutes before serving to allow frosting to warm up.