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Photo of a shag cake on a white cake stand with a piece being removed
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Shag Cake

A delicious raspberry vanilla cake with a colorful and shaggy exterior.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 34 minutes
Total Time 54 minutes
Servings 10
Calories 280kcal
Author John Kanell

Ingredients

INGREDIENTS

For the Cake

  • 1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour 213 grams
  • 1 cup granulated sugar 190 grams
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 3/4 cup butter 190g, unsalted, room temperature, 170 grams
  • 3 egg whites
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
  • 1/2 cup sour cream 120ml
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream 120ml
  • 1 cup raspberries fresh
  • 1 tbsp lemon zest

For the Vanilla Buttercream:

  • 3 lbs confectioners sugar 1300g
  • 1.5 lb butter 681g, unsalted, room temperature,
  • 2 tbsp vanilla bean paste
  • 5 tbsp heavy cream
  • 2-2 drops rose water optional
  • multiple food colorings

Instructions

INSTRUCTIONS

    For the Cake:

    • Preheat oven to 340 degrees F. Butter and flour three 6-inch pans. I use cake strips on my pans for more even baking as well.
    • Sift the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
    • Beat the wet ingredients together in a medium bowl. Add lemon zest.
    • Add the wet to the dry and mix until just combined. Fold in fresh raspberries at the very end and mix until just combined.
    • Divide the mixture evenly into the cake pans.
    • Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until the centers are springy to the touch.

    For the Vanilla Buttercream:

    • Beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add the confectioners' sugar. Beat until smooth. 
    • Add vanilla, rose water and cream. Beat until combined. 
    • Save some white buttercream. Add food coloring to create blue and teal> transfer to piping bags. 
    • Get out 6-8 bowls. Add about 1 cup of buttercream to each.
    • Leave one bowl white.
    • Use food coloring to dye each bowl a different color.
    • Transfer all smaller batches to piping bags fitted with a grass tips.

    For the Assembly:

    • Pipe rings of buttercream between the cake layers.
    • Cover the cake with a thin, crumb coat and chill for a few minutes.
    • Using a large grass tip to pipe patches of each color to create a design. You can really use whatever pattern you'd like just try to not repeat the colors in the same section to much and keep the patches of color on the smaller side. 

    Video

    Notes

    • If you’re not using 6-inch pans, double the recipe for 8-inch pans or triple the recipe for 9-inch pans. 
    • If you see little clumps of butter after you mix the wet ingredients don’t panic, it all works out by the time you mix in the dry ingredients. You can even use melted butter and warm the milk and sour cream up a bit if you like.
    • You can substitute  whole milk yogurt for the sour cream if desired, I do it all the time and can’t really tell the difference.
    • To get FLAT layers that are moist inside and out try using cake strips! You can buy a set on the shop page or make your own from foil and paper towels at home. I made a whole blog post on it so check it out if you’re interested!

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1slice | Calories: 280kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 5mg | Sodium: 180mg | Potassium: 55mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 100IU | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 0.4mg