I’ve seen some stunning painted cakes this summer and it inspired me to try my hand at a painted buttercream cake!

I don’t have an artistic background and my painting experience is limited to one wine and paint night. Nonetheless, I wanted to try this technique.

This cake took quite a while to decorate but was such a fun change of pace! I love trying new techniques and challenging myself in different ways. That’s what life’s all about, right??

Different Types of “Paint”

There are a few different techniques that can be used to paint a cake! 

One technique uses thinned buttercream as paint, which is another approach! I used this technique to create this beautiful Fall Foliage Painted Cake.

However, this painted buttercream cake uses a different technique! It involves using an actual paint brush and edible paint made with gel food coloring and a bit of clear alcohol or extract.

This summer I fell in love with the floral sundress I’m wearing in the picture above. It turned out to be the perfect inspiration for this cake design.

Painted Cakes: Fondant vs. Buttercream

Most of the painted cake designs out there are done on fondant cakes. As you know, I rarely work with fondant. I have nothing against people using it, I just prefer working with buttercream.

So, I did a little experimenting and tried painting directly on buttercream. I found painting on buttercream is totally doable as long as the cake is properly chilled. 

The cake needs to sit in the fridge for at least an hour. This allows the buttercream to really firm up.

Usually I recommend using the freezer to chill a cake, but sometimes this can cause condensation, which will make a cake almost impossible to paint a cake!

If you plan to make a painted buttercream cake, avoid the freezer at all costs.

What Type of Frosting Works Best on Painted Cakes?

A crusting buttercream is ideal for making a painted buttercream cake, but not all types of buttercream crust.

I love using this technique with my vanilla American buttercream, which I think works best. The paint is the most vibrant on white or light colored frosting.

You could also paint on chilled vanilla Swiss meringue or Italian buttercream, but it softens more quickly and is much more challenging to paint on.

How to Make The Gel Food Coloring “Paint”

To make the edible paint for this painted buttercream cake, all you have to do mix together some gel food coloring and vodka.

The ratio can vary based on the strength of color you’re after. In general, I like to mix about 1 tsp of vodka with 1 or 2 drops of gel food coloring.

The vodka helps the food coloring dry faster because of its high alcohol content. It also thins out the food coloring. This can help create different shades of blue, using the same gel food coloring.

The cake I made above uses two different shades of blue gel food coloring. One was navy blue, the other was royal blue.

If you don’t want to use alcohol you can also use almond extract or any clear extract.

My Advice for Painting a Buttercream Cake: Start Small

One thing to note…painting on buttercream takes forever!! Between letting the food coloring dry and popping the cake in and out of the fridge to keep the frosting firm, it’s a time consuming process.

I highly recommend using a small cake when making a painted buttercream cake for the first time.

This cake is made with a batch of my favorite 6-inch cake recipe and is frosted with my American buttercream. 

My small batch recipe makes three, six-inch cake layers. It’s are the perfect size for this type of project!

How to Get Started Painting

I recommend painting the sides of the cake first by outlining the main objects of the pattern you’re painting. Then you can fill in the outline and begin to work on the shading.

A thin brush works best for outlining and a slightly wider brush is great for filling in the petals of the flowers.

I used a few different sizes of paint brushes from a pack of brushes I ordered online.

Be sure to use a new or super clean paint brush, or a kitchen-specific paint brush that isn’t used for more traditional, non-edible painting projects.

I keep a set in my kitchen to ensure there’s no contamination from non-edible paint.

Take Breaks When Painting a Buttercream Cake

I was able to get about a quarter of the way around the cake before the frosting began to soften. You’ll know when this happens, because the frosting will start to smear from the paint brush.

When this happens, chill the cake in the fridge for about 20 minutes and then resume painting.

While you may be forced to take breaks to chill the cake, it’s actually a good thing. Taking breaks not only is good for your sanity, but it also allows the paint to dry.

This makes it possible to layer the paint and create more depth and shading. It also it good for your back and hand to take breaks!

I also used this technique to create this painted pumpkin cake! It was made using my pumpkin layer cake recipe and was frosted with my cream cheese frosting.

It surprisingly took a lot less time to paint than my blue floral cake.

Painted Cake Troubleshooting

If you do have a section that goes awry or smears, simply pop the cake back in the fridge.  Then use a warmed bench scraper to carefully remove a thin layer of frosting.

If you try this painted buttercream cake technique, please tag me @chelsweets and use #chelsweets so I can see your beautiful creations!!

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