Sources for the wafer paper butterflies, chocolate frame molds and cloth-covered wire can be found in the blog post. To make the white chocolate frames, melt 16 ounces of white chocolate and pour into the mold cavities; place molds in the freezer until firm and pop them out on a piece of parchment paper. Let the frames come to room temperature before dry brushing with gold luster dust.
Yields a triple layer 6-inch round cake (as written) or a 9 inch round double layer cake
3 1/2cups420g cake flour (such as Swan's down, do not substitute homemade cake flour)
1Tbsp.plus 1 tsp baking powder
1/2tspsalt
6large egg whitesroom temp
1 1/2cups12 oz. whole milk, room temp
1cup226g unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2cups300g sugar
2tspvanilla extract
4ouncespastel confetti quins
Lemon buttercream and décor
2cups/450g unsalted buttersoftened
5-6cups/640 to 770g confectioners’ sugar
3teaspoonslemon extract
Milk or heavy creamoptional
Pink food color
8white chocolate framessee headnote
20wafer paper butterfliesof varying size and color
Cellophane tape or light corn syrup
Cloth-covered stem wire
Plastic wrap
Instructions
Make the confetti cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease three 6x3-inch springform pans and line with parchment, or spray with flour-based baking spray.
Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. Whisk together egg whites and milk in a separate bowl; set aside.
Beat butter using the paddle attachment until soft and creamy. Add sugar gradually and beat until light and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla.
Add flour mixture alternately with the egg white/milk mixture. Begin and end with flour mixture and beat until smooth on medium-low speed after each addition. Fold in the confetti quins.
Divide batter between pans. Bake 6-inch cake at 350 for 30-40 minutes, or until the cakes spring back when pressed in the centers. Let cool slightly in pan, then turn out and cool completely. Level the cakes using a cake leveler or large serrated knife.
Make the lemon buttercream: In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, mix together the butter and confectioners’ sugar. Begin on low speed until crumbly, and then increase to high and beat for 3 minutes.
Add lemon extract and beat again for another minute. If you find the buttercream is too stiff, you may add milk or heavy cream 1 tablespoon at a time until the mixture is spreading consistency.
Fill the cake layers with about 1/3 to 1/2 cup each of white lemon buttercream, and stack them on a cake stand. Add pink food color to the remaining buttercream and whip until a pastel pink color is achieved. Frost the exterior of the cake with a crumb coat of pink buttercream; refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. Generously frost the chilled cake with the remaining buttercream. Use an offset spatula warmed in hot water and wiped free of moisture to perfectly smooth the outer coating of buttercream.
Decorate! While the frosting is still tacky, place the chocolate frames onto the buttercream, evenly spaced along the bottom edge of the cake stand. Place a large wafer paper butterfly in the centers of each frame. Place two frames propped against each other on top of the cake. Attach butterflies to cloth stem wire using a small amount of cellophane tape on their backs, or use a dot of corn syrup to attach them tp the wire(extended drying time is needed for the corn syrup method; consider making the butterfly stems a day ahead of time). Wrap the stems with a small amount of plastic wrap and then insert them into the cake upright, so that the butterflies appear to be flying out of the chocolate frames.
Randomly place the remaining wafer paper butterflies on the cake by folding them in half gently and gently pushing them into the buttercream.
Store the cake loosely covered in plastic wrap at room temperature.
Important! Moisture is the enemy of wafer paper. It will break down if refrigerated.
Keyword confetti cake, lemon buttercream, wafer paper butterflies