When the time comes for the cherry blossoms to bloom in the spring, it’s a beautiful sight to behold. We still have a while to go before that season comes around, but with this impressive recipe for a stunning cherry orchard cake, you can bring the cherry blossoms right into your home, no matter the time of the year! This delicious cherry cake gets topped off with a creamy buttercream frosting, chocolate decorations, colorful sprinkles and accents, and even some cotton candy, brining you a cake as stunning as cherry trees themselves. It looks like a work of art that’s too beautiful to eat – almost! After just 1 bite, your taste buds will already be in full bloom!
Cherry Blossom Cake
When the time comes for the cherry blossoms to bloom in the spring, it's a beautiful sight to behold. We still have a while to go before that season comes around, but with this impressive recipe for a stunning cherry orchard cake, you can bring the cherry blossoms right into your home, no matter the time of the year!
Equipment
- 13 x 9-inch cake pan
- Hand mixer
- Piping bag
Ingredients
- 13 egg whites
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- 2/3 cup milk
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 3/4 cups flour
- 1/3 cup cherry juice
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder
- 13 oz cherries, pitted
- vanilla extract to taste
- 2 sticks butter, softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup cream cheese
- 28 Oreos, crushed
- 28 golden Oreos, crushed
- 1 cup ground pistachios
- 200 chocolate Pocky Sticks
- 1/4 cup pink sprinkles
- 7 oz dark chocolate, tempered
- 14 Oreos, crushed
- 3 tbsp ground pistachios
- 7 oz dark chocolate, tempered
- pink cotton candy
- 1 lb crushed ice
- 2 cups cold water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line the bottom of the 13 x 9-inch cake pan with parchment paper. For the cherry cake, beat together the egg whites, vanilla extract, and salt in a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer. Once combined, gradually add the sugar and continue beating for about 5 minutes until the batter becomes smooth and glossy. Divide the batter equally among 2 bowls. Stir 1/3 cup of vegetable oil and 1/2 cup of milk into to the batter in the first bowl, then sift in 1 3/4 cups of flour and stir everything until combined. Pour the remainder of the vegetable oil and milk, as well as the cherry juice into the second portion of the batter, then sift in the remainder of the flour and stir everything until combined. Pour 1/2 of the first batch of batter into the cake pan, then sift a layer of cocoa powder on top. Distribute 1/2 of the pitted cherries evenly on top of the layer of cocoa powder, then pour 1/2 of the cherry batter on top. Dust the layer of cherry batter with a thin layer of sifted cocoa powder, then place the remainder of the cherries on top. Pour the remainder of the plain batter over the cherries, dust the layer with sifted cocoa powder, then pour the remainder of the cherry batter on top. Transfer the cake pan to the oven and bake the cherry cake at 350°F for 50 minutes. Once the cake has baked, remove it from the oven and let it cool completely.
- For the buttercream frosting, beat the softened butter until creamy, then gradually sift in the powdered sugar, beating continuously until combined. Add in the cream cheese and continue beating until a smooth frosting forms. Frost the entire cake with the buttercream frosting.
- Use a spoon to press a winding path into the frosting on the top of the cake. Break the Pocky Sticks so that they're slightly taller than the cake and press them into the edges of the cake to make a fence. Break the Pocky Sticks in front of the path in the frosting into slightly smaller pieces to make an entrance in the fence. Crush the Oreos and sprinkle them on top of the cake, leaving the path clear. Crush the golden Oreos and sprinkle them on the path. Sprinkle the ground pistachios over the crushed Oreos so that they look like grass, making sure the Oreo soil is still slightly visible.
- For the chocolate stone decorations, crumple up a piece of parchment paper several times and temper the dark chocolate. Lay the crumpled piece of parchment paper on your work surface and spread an even layer of tempered dark chocolate over it. Sprinkle the crushed Oreos on top, transfer the chocolate stones to the refrigerator, and let them set. Once the chocolate stones have hardened, carefully peel off the parchment and place the chocolate stones on top of the cake. Sprinkle ground pistachios on top of the stones and decorate the spots where the cherry trees will be displayed with pink sprinkles.
- For the cherry trees, fill a large bowl with 2 cups of cold water and 1 pound of crushed ice. Temper the dark chocolate and transfer it to a piping bag. Pipe the tempered dark chocolate into the shape of a tree, using the surface of the ice to give it texture. Let the chocolate set briefly, then flip it 180° so that it's partially submerged in the ice water. Pipe some additional dark chocolate branches onto the tree. Repeat this process 3 more times in order to make 4 trees in total, then insert the finished trees into the cake. Decorate the top of the trees with pink cotton candy and your gorgeous work of cake art is complete!
VIDEO
This beautiful cake is as breathtaking as the cherry blossoms that inspired it. Give this delicious dessert a try and brighten up your table until springtime comes!