Flower Basket Cake

When Christmastime rolled around this year...

This year I needed a Christmas dessert - and finally tackled something I've always wanted to do and made a Flower Basket cake! I've seen gorgeous flower basket cakes and basket weave photos online for years. I always wanted to try one, but was a little unsure how it would go. I've never considered myself a great pipe-r. Or whatever the word is. :/ 

But I had some extra time to put this cake together, so I pulled out my piping tips and gave it a shot! 

I wanted to go out on a limb a bit – do something I hadn't done before and make a unique dessert. I set my intimidation aside and gave it a go. And - I'll be honest - it turned out better than I was hoping for! 

So if you're feeling intimidated wondering how the piping will go - don't be! I can almost guarantee the whole process is easier than you think.  

"Am intimidated. How do I pipe basket weave onto the side of the cake?" 

• First off - don't stress! It's way easier than I thought it would be. And the first part of the process is just like any other cake! Cake layers plus a crumb coat will set you up for success as you pipe on the basket weave and decorations. Speaking of that basket weave...
• I've included a link for a video tutorial in the recipe card. It goes into tons more detail. There's also a shorter 'overview' type tutorial at the bottom of the recipe card. 
• Short version - you'll start with a basket weave tip on your piping bag. (It's oblong; smooth on one side and jagged on the other.) I linked the piping tip set I have below.
• With your piping bag, start the process with a line down the side of the cake. (I say down, but I actually find the line easiest to pipe from the bottom of the cake upwards.) Using the piping tip as a spacing guide, pipe short horizontal lines across the vertical line. You want a space the length of the piping tip between the horizontal lines. 
• Pipe another line upwards from the bottom, about a piping tip's length away from the first one. 
• Now repeat the horizontal line process, but start between your vertical lines, and space the second set of horizontal lines between the first set. (See the 'weave' starting to form?') 
• Repeat around the rest of the cake! 

"How do I decorate the cake with flowers?"

• To pipe the flowers and leaves -
• Color the remaining frosting with red and green gel coloring. (More details are below in the recipe card.)
• Transfer red frosting to a piping bag fitted with flower tips, and green frosting to a piping bag fitted with leaf tip.
• When it comes to the actual flowers - I went with a super 'ring of petals' design, but the design(s) you use are up to you! Again, I've linked a YouTube tutorial below in the card for more details should you want them. 
• Add a rope border to the top of the cake - some frosting to the center if you'd like to fill it in a bit - and then add frosting flowers to the top of the cake!
• Once I liked the way they were arranged, I used my leaf tip to add in green leaves - I hadn’t planned to add any to the rope border, but I ended up really liking the way that it looked. Up to you!

You could use a classic buttercream frosting for decorating, but I made brown sugar frosting! It goes perfectly with the chocolate cake layers, and doesn't require any food color to get a beautiful light tan shade perfect for a basket weave. Add in some gel color and you've got great frosting for flowers! 

Recipe below, along with links to all my favorite basket weave and flower piping tutorials! Happy baking!

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