Anyone can bake a cake, but turning that cake into something special is another story. There’s always the option to put in a lot of extra time and money to make your cake really stand out, but what if there was a quicker & easier way? These 3 creative cake recipes take the effort out of baking stunning cakes by using a simple trick. Instead of baking your cakes the traditional way, you can bake ½ a cake, slice it using our special techniques, and add 1 of these 3 incredible fillings. Between our double chocolate layer cake, blueberries & cream cake, and floating berry cake, you can be sure that these ideas aren’t ½ bad!
Yield: 1 per recipe
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 40 minutes
Inactive Time: 2 hours
Difficulty Level: Easy
1. Double Chocolate Layer Cake
You’ll Need:
For the chocolate ½ cake:
- 1 stick butter, softened
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 pinch of salt
- 2 eggs
- ¾ cup flour
- ⅔ cup cocoa powder
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tbsp milk
- semi-sweet chocolate shavings for the topping
For the white chocolate ganache:
- 2 cups cream cheese
- 1 lb white chocolate chips
- 1 tbsp unflavored gelatin powder + water
Here’s How:
1.1 Preheat the oven to 325°F and grease an 8-inch springform pan. For the chocolate ½ cake, beat the softened butter and sugar together with a hand mixer until smooth and creamy. Add in the eggs 1 at a time, then beat the mixture on the highest setting. Add in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and milk, and stir until everything is combined. Pour the batter into the springform pan, then attach a lid to it. Transfer the springform pan to the oven and place it on its side. Bake the chocolate ½ cake at 325°F for 45 minutes.
1.2 For the white chocolate ganache, slowly heat the cream cheese and white chocolate chips in a double boiler until the mixture becomes smooth. Dissolve the unflavored gelatin powder in cold water, then stir the unflavored gelatin into the white chocolate mixture. One the cake has baked, let it cool completely, then position it on its side on a cutting board and cut it into 4 equally thick ovular layers. Place the first slice of cake on ½ of an 8-inch springform pan and spoon the white chocolate ganache onto the other side.
1.3 Place the second piece of cake over the layer of white chocolate ganache and spoon a new layer of white chocolate ganache on top of the first layer of chocolate cake. Repeat this process with the remainder of the ingredients, ending on a full layer of white chocolate ganache.
1.4 Sprinkle chocolate shavings on top of the cake, transfer the cake to the refrigerator, and let it chill for 2 hours. After the cake has chilled, it’s time to dig in!
2. Blueberries & Cream Cake
You’ll Need:
For the ½ cake:
- 1 stick butter, softened
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 pinch of salt
- 2 medium eggs
- 1¼ cups flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 4 oz blueberries for the topping
For the blueberry cream:
- 2 cups cream cheese
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- 7 oz blueberries
- 1¼ cups heavy cream
- 1 tbsp unflavored gelatin powder + water
Here’s How:
2.1 Preheat the oven to 325°F and grease an 8-inch springform pan. For the ½ cake, beat the softened butter and sugar together with a hand mixer until smooth and creamy. Add in the eggs 1 at a time, then beat the mixture on the highest setting. Stir in the flour and baking powder and mix everything together until combined. Pour the batter into the springform pan, then attach a lid to it. Transfer the springform pan to the oven and place it on its side. Bake the ½ cake at 325°F for 45 minutes. Once the cake has baked, let it cool completely. For the blueberry cream, dissolve the unflavored gelatin powder in cold water. Heat the heavy cream together with the unflavored gelatin mixture and stir until combined, then remove it from the heat and let it cool. Combine the blueberries, cream cheese, and powdered sugar while mashing the berries with a fork. Pour in the cooled heavy cream mixture and stir everything together until combined.
2.2 Cut the ½ cake vertically into 4 slices and space them apart evenly in an 8-inch springform pan. Pour the blueberry cream into the springform pan, filling in the gaps, and pour a layer of the blueberry cream on top of the cake so that it’s covered completely. Transfer the springform pan to the refrigerator and let the blueberries & cream cake chill for 2 hours.
2.3 Once the cake has chilled, remove the ring from the springform pan and decorate the top with blueberries.
3. Floating Berry Cake
You’ll Need:
For the ½ cake:
- 1 stick butter, softened
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 pinch of salt
- 2 eggs
- 1¼ cups flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- whipped cream for the topping
For the floating berries:
- 4 cups water
- 3 tbsp unflavored gelatin powder
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 handful of blueberries
- 1 handful of raspberries
- 1 handful of mint
Here’s How:
3.1 Preheat the oven to 325°F and grease an 8-inch springform pan. For the ½ cake, beat the softened butter and sugar together with a hand mixer until smooth and creamy. Add in the eggs 1 at a time, then beat the mixture on the highest setting. Stir in the flour and baking powder until everything is combined. Pour the batter into the springform pan, then attach a lid to it. Transfer the springform pan to the oven and place it on its side. Bake the ½ cake at 325°F for 45 minutes. Once the cake has baked, let it cool completely. Seal the base of the 8-inch springform pan with plastic wrap to prevent any leaks, then cut the cake into 5 equally sized slices. Place the slices of cake in the springform pan, leaving equally sized gaps between each slice.
3.2 Place blueberries, raspberries, and fresh mint in the gaps between the slices of cake, then fill in the gaps halfway with the unflavored gelatin mixture. Let the jello set, then add another layer of berries and mint. Pour a second layer of the unflavored gelatin mixture, transfer the floating berry cake to the refrigerator, and let it chill for 2 hours.
3.3 Once the cake has chilled, decorate the top with whipped cream.
Easy-to-make, delicious as can be, and absolutely stunning – these 3 cake recipes are sure to become some of your favorites. It turns out that sometimes a ½ is better than a whole!
Get the recipe for the Chocolate Rotary Cake featured in the bonus video.