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Home » Dessert » Cake » Easter Cake Recipe

Easter Cake Recipe

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An Easter Cake recipe that’s easy to make and so beautiful to serve! This spring layer cake is covered with fluffy vanilla bean frosting and topped with cake crumb sprinkles.

Easter Cake side view

Easter is a month away! I love all of the pretty spring colors and gorgeous desserts to go along with the season. It has been a while since I’ve decorated a cake, so I decided to make an Easter cake.

I decorated this spring layer cake with rustic ruffles like I did when I made my sister’s wedding cake. The ruffles are super easy to make with this light, airy vanilla bean frosting!

How To Make A Layered Easter Cake

Grease Cake Pan

To make this Easter cake recipe, start by preheating the oven to 325 degrees. Next, prepare three 9-inch cake pans. Generously grease the pans with shortening.

A quick kitchen tip for greasing pans: put your hand in a plastic sandwich bag, use your plastic covered fingers to grease the pan, turn the bag inside out as you pull it off your hand and toss it in the garbage.

Flour Cake Pans

Then, sprinkle some flour in the cake pan. Tip the pan and turn it in circles, gently tapping the pan as needed to completely flour the pan bottom and sides. Turn the pan upside down, over the sink to remove any excess flour.

Parchment Liner

Finally, trace the bottom of the pans on parchment paper and cut out parchment circles to line the bottom of each pan.

Rainbow Cake Batter

Put two white cake mixes (I used Pillsbury Moist Supreme Classic White Cake Mix), vanilla yogurt, water, egg whites and oil in large mixer bowl. Mix for about 30 seconds until moistened. Then, beat for 2 minutes.

The batter will be thick. Measure three cups of batter into three separate bowls (3 cups of batter in each bowl). Tint the batter with your desired colors. I used Wilton Icing Gel in lemon yellow, teal, and pink.

Spread the batter into the prepared pans and firmly tap the pans on the counter a couple of times. Bake at 325 degrees for 35-45 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool for 30 minutes on a wire rack.

Remove Parchment

Carefully remove the cakes from the pans and peel off the parchment circles. Cool the cakes completely on a wire rack.

Once the cakes the cooled, level the cakes by using a serrated knife to cut off the rounded tops. Set the cake tops aside for later.

When ready to frost the cakes, prepare the fluffy vanilla bean frosting. Use a mixer to beat a package of softened cream cheese. Mix in the powdered sugar.

Beat in the marshmallow cream and vanilla bean paste until smooth. Gently stir in the thawed whipped topping by hand.

Pink Cake Layer

Place the first cake layer on a cardboard cake round on a rotating cake stand or place it directly on your cake platter. Spread one cup of the frosting on the first layer.

yellow cake layer

Repeat with the two remaining layers.

How To Make A Layer Cake

Frosting Ruffles

Use the remaining frosting to cover the top and sides of the cake. Then, use an offset spatula to make rustic ruffles around the sides and the top.

Hold the tip of the offset spatula in the frosting and turn the cake platter until you get back to where you started. Continue making ruffles, moving up the cake after each ruffle.

To make ruffles on the top of the cake, hold the tip of the spatula at an angle in the center of the cake, turn the cake platter while slowly moving the spatula to make bigger and bigger spirals.

Cake Crumbs

I looked through my supply of sprinkles and I didn’t have any that matched the cake. So, I checked my local grocery store, but they didn’t have the right colors either. One of the joys of living in a small town!

So, I improvised and used cake crumbs instead. I still had the cake tops that I had cut off when leveling the cakes. Set the cake top on a piece of waxed paper and use a serrated knife to gently scrape crumbs off the cake onto the waxed paper. Repeat this with each of the cake tops.

Easter Cake

Sprinkle the cake crumbs on the top of the Easter cake. Don’t the cake crumb sprinkles too adorable!

pink, yellow and blue sliced Easter cake

Store the pretty Easter cake in the fridge until ready to serve.

a slice of multi colored Easter cake on a plate

This Easter cake recipe was easy to make, pretty to look at and fun to eat. It could also be served at a spring party or a girl’s birthday party. The light, airy frosting, and the moist cake layers were fantastic!

Continue to Content
Easter Cake Recipe

Easter Cake Recipe

Yield: 16
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes

An Easter Cake recipe that’s easy to make and so beautiful to serve! This spring layer cake is covered with fluffy vanilla bean frosting and topped with cake crumb sprinkles.

Ingredients

  • (2) 15.25 oz white cake mixes
  • 1 1/2 cups vanilla yogurt
  • 1 cup water
  • 8 egg whites
  • 1/2 cup oil

Fluffy Vanilla Bean Frosting

  • 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 3/4 cup marshmallow cream
  • 3 tsp vanilla bean paste, (or substitute an equal amount of vanilla extract)
  • 16 oz cool whip, thawed, (about 6 1/2 cups) or use whipped cream

Instructions

Cakes:

  1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
  2. Generously grease and flour three 9 inch cake pans. Line them with parchment circles.
  3. Mix together cake mixes, vanilla yogurt, water, egg whites, and oil for about 30 seconds, until moistened. Beat for two minutes. Batter will be thick.
  4. Put three cups of batter in three separate bowls (3 cups of batter in each bowl). Tint the batter the colors you want.
  5. Spread the batter into the prepared pans and firmly tap the pans on the counter a couple of times.
  6. Bake at 325 degrees for 35-45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  7. Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for 30 minutes on a wire rack.
  8. Carefully remove the cakes from the pans, peel off the parchment circles, and cool completely on wire racks.

Fluffy Vanilla Bean Frosting:

  1. Use a mixer to beat a package of softened cream cheese.
  2. Mix in the powdered sugar.
  3. Beat in the marshmallow cream and vanilla bean paste until smooth.
  4. Gently stir in the thawed whipped topping by hand.

Assembly:

  1. Once the cakes the cooled, level the cakes by using a serrated knife to cut off the rounded tops. Set the cake tops aside for later.
  2. Place the first cake layer on a cardboard cake round on a rotating cake stand or place it directly on your cake platter. Spread one cup of the frosting on the first layer and repeat with the two remaining layers.
  3. Use the remaining frosting to cover the top and sides of the cake.
  4. Then, use an offset spatula to make rustic ruffles around the sides and the top.
  5. Sprinkle top of the cake with cake crumbs from the leftover cake tops.
  6. Store in the fridge until ready to serve.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 16 Serving Size: 1 grams
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 461Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 5gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 21mgSodium: 482mgCarbohydrates: 75gFiber: 1gSugar: 50gProtein: 7g

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© The Gunny Sack
Cuisine: American / Category: Dessert

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Comments

  1. Dawn Balsamo says

    February 9, 2021 at 4:45 pm

    Looks delicious! Can this recipe be modified to fit into three 8″ pans instead?

    Reply
    • Tonia says

      February 10, 2021 at 10:45 am

      Yes, you can make it in three 8″ pans instead of 9″ since the cakes are fairly thin in the 9″ pan. I’ve got a picture of what the baked cakes look like in the pans in this post: https://www.thegunnysack.com/christmas-cake/ You may have to slightly increase the baking time.

      Reply
  2. Jayden Smith says

    April 6, 2020 at 1:00 pm

    The creator or anyone that’s made this recipe, did y’all use Greek yogurt or regular?

    Reply
    • Tonia says

      April 8, 2020 at 11:30 am

      Hi Jayden,
      I used light ‘n fit vanilla yogurt. But you can use your favorite kind.
      Happy Easter!
      ~Tonia

      Reply
      • Jayden Smith says

        April 9, 2020 at 2:29 pm

        Okay thank you so much Tonia! I’m so excited to try this! Happy Easter to you too!

        Reply
  3. Jennifer says

    April 24, 2019 at 11:18 am

    I made this cake for Easter and it was beautiful and very tasty. I used the same box cake and yogurt that was used in the recipe. I didn’t have vanilla paste, so I used vanilla extract. The frosting was soooo delicious and the cake was super moist! This is a keeper! Thank you for sharing this.

    Reply
    • Tonia says

      April 26, 2019 at 8:01 am

      That is fabulous! Thanks for stopping back to let us know!

      Reply
  4. Becca says

    April 11, 2019 at 9:41 am

    How far ahead can I make this frosting? I have 5 cakes to make and I am freezing each layer individually prior, but I would like to know if the icing stands up to being transported, holding an orange flavoring with cake lacing, room temperature melting, and length made ahead of time. Or should I just omit the cool whip?

    Reply
  5. Eva says

    April 4, 2019 at 10:38 am

    I made this cake last year for my birthday. It was so good. It tasted just like my Grandma’s cakes. If I use use a chocolate cake mix, should I still use the vanilla yogurt?

    Reply
    • Tonia says

      April 4, 2019 at 5:26 pm

      How wonderful! Yes, you can make it the same way with vanilla yogurt! Enjoy! ~Tonia

      Reply
    • Stacy Hinton says

      April 19, 2019 at 2:46 pm

      Did you use Greek yogurt?

      Reply
  6. Violet says

    February 19, 2019 at 8:51 am

    Can this be made ahead, frosted and kept in the freezer?

    Reply
    • Tonia says

      February 19, 2019 at 11:10 am

      Yes, it can be kept in the freezer! ~Tonia

      Reply
  7. Lisa says

    April 25, 2018 at 7:41 am

    Someone asked if this could be made into cupcakes vs cake… has anyone done that?

    Also is the consistency of the frosting thick enough for piping decorations? such as rosettes?

    Reply
    • Meagan says

      April 12, 2020 at 12:55 pm

      I made cupcakes with the extra batter and they were awesome. Only bake for about 25 min though

      Reply
  8. Audrey says

    April 1, 2018 at 2:48 pm

    I just saw this today…Easter 2018! But I’m thinking this could be used for any holiday or occasion from Easter to a baby shower or reveal, 4th of July to Mother’s Day, Christmas, birthdays, etc. I am planning on trying it soon!

    Reply
  9. Lisa says

    April 25, 2017 at 8:35 am

    Just wondering if you could add sprinkles to the cake batter and make a funfetti cake? Has anyone ever tried it?
    Or do you have a good recipe for a funfetti cake?

    Reply
  10. Serena says

    December 15, 2016 at 9:18 am

    I made this cake for Easter and everyone loved it. I plan on making it again for Christmas using red white and green. But what the heck is vanilla bean paste? I don’t think I used that when I made it for Easter. Is it necessary?

    Reply
    • Tonia says

      December 17, 2016 at 10:17 am

      You can substitute vanilla bean paste with vanilla extract. Best of luck! ~Tonia

      Reply
    • Angie says

      February 7, 2017 at 11:34 am

      I found the vanilla bean paste in Walmart in the section where they have the cake decorating things. Like the party section of Walmart.

      Reply
      • Seria evans says

        April 13, 2017 at 7:28 pm

        I am using egg whites from a carton how much should I use?

        Reply
        • Tonia says

          April 13, 2017 at 9:14 pm

          Hi Seria,

          I’ve never tried using the egg whites from the carton for this recipe.

          Does it say on the package how much equals one egg white? The All Whites brand says 3 tbsp = 1 egg white. So you would need 24 tbsp which equals 1 1/2 cups. http://www.allwhiteseggwhites.com/faqs/how-to-measure/

          Happy Baking!
          ~Tonia

          Reply
    • Denise says

      March 31, 2018 at 4:26 pm

      Its on shelf with extract. Has real vanilla bean in it. Nielsen-Massey is one brand. I use all the time instead of vanilla extract.

      Reply
  11. Megan says

    April 6, 2016 at 12:34 pm

    We made this cake for our Easter Life Group get together and it was a huge hit. The frosting is by far one of my favorites I have ever made. Do you think you could make it and pipe it onto cupcakes?

    Reply
  12. Brittany says

    April 1, 2016 at 11:55 am

    I made this cake for Easter and it was delicious! It even impressed my mother in law!

    Reply
  13. Amy says

    March 30, 2016 at 7:15 am

    My husband and I made this cake for the first Easter dinner we hosted, and it was a HUGE HIT. Everyone loved it, kids and adults both. I love the cool temp of the cake and the refreshing cream-cheese-cool whip frosting. This is definitely a new Easter tradition for us!

    Reply
    • Tonia says

      March 31, 2016 at 7:41 am

      Wonderful! Thanks so much for letting us know!

      Reply
  14. Emily says

    March 28, 2016 at 1:06 pm

    What cooking time would you recommend make cupcakes instead of taking it to the cake step? Thank you!

    Reply
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Tonia LarsonHi, I'm Tonia, a lover of food and photography! Fill a gunny sack with ingredients, tie on an apron and let's get cooking!
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