Fault Line Cake Tutorial
Fan of the trendy 'Fault Line' cake? Here's my Fault Line Cake Tutorial, with all my tips and tricks and an overview video!
Servings: 16 servings (varies with cake size)
Calories: 779kcal
Equipment
- Cardboard cake circle (optional, but a flat base to work on makes decorating much easier! I recommend a circle an inch or two larger than your cake layers - I used a 10-inch circle.)
- large offset spatula (to spread frosting)
- Cake turntable (I know decorators that don't use turntables, but I'd highly recommend one for this cake style - or you may have a frustrating time smoothing the frosting around the fault line.)
- cake scraper or pastry cutter (to smooth frosting)
- large piping bag + star tip (If decorating with ice cream cones; linked is a set that contains both)
Ingredients
- Cake layers + fillings of your choice (In the video above I used this Chocolate Cake recipe, with a caramel sauce + buttercream filling. Since I was adding ice cream cones to the top, I also added some crushed waffle cone to the filling, as well as some sprinkles for a bit of color.)
- Frosting of your choice (I used my favorite Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting for decorating, but you can use whatever type you prefer!)
Decorations
- Sprinkle blend of your choice (the mix in the video's' been discontinued, but Sprinkle Pop’s Unicorn Mix is very similar!)
- 6 small ice cream cones
- Lustre dust (optional; I used lustre dust and a bit of clear vanilla extract to add a metallic accent to the fault line)
- New or food-safe paintbrush (optional; to add a metallic accent to your fault line)
Instructions
Okay! Steps and tips for creating your ‘fault line!’
- First, crumb-coat your cake – in other words, apply a thin coat of frosting to keep all of the crumbs out of your final layer!
- Next, spread a layer of frosting the middle of your cake, covering the crumb coat. This is where you’ll put the sprinkles (or whatever you’d like to put in the middle of the ‘fault line’)! (I placed a large shallow pan under the cake at this point; sprinkles can make a huge mess.)
- Press your sprinkles (or other decorations) into the frosting, being sure to press any large ones in deeper so they don’t create bumps that will make smoothing your frosting difficult.
- (I found it the easiest to smooth the upper layer before adding the bottom layer – as suggested but @sheri.wilton on Instagram.)
- With an offset spatula, spread frosting around roughly the upper third of the cake and cover the top. (The frosting will spread some as you smooth it.) Use your cake scraper in several gentle swipes to smooth the frosting – be careful not to take too much off.
- (If the sprinkles/decorations in the fault line are getting in the way, press them a bit further into the frosting or add a bit more frosting to make the coat around the upper third thicker.)
- (Because the frosting spreads as it's smoothed, I usually end up with a small 'fault line' than I'd planned - but if there's a large gap between your top frosting layer and the sprinkles in the 'fault line' you can add more frosting and repeat the smoothing process.)
- Repeat the process around the base of the cake - spread frosting around the bottom third of the cake, and smooth with your cake scraper. , adding on a similar layer of frosting and smoothing it with your bench scraper.
Optional - decorate the rim of the fault line
- Mix a teaspoon of lustre dust with a 5-6 drops of vanilla extract or vodka, to create a thin paint consistency (or spray a thick layer of edible silver cake spray into a bowl or small plate). With your paintbrush, outline the edges of the ‘fault line’ you just created in your ganache.
Optional - add ice cream cones
- Transfer remaining frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Add 6 frosting swirls evenly around the top of the cake.
- Decorate 6 sugar cones with frosting swirls and sprinkles. (I cut the tops off regular sugar cones so they'd fit between the frosting swirls, and punched holes in the cone box to stand them up so decorating them would be easier.)
- Place cones evenly around the top of the cake, resting the 'ice cream' end on top of the frosting swirls on the top of the cake. Add a few more sprinkles to the cake top if you like!
- Cut in and enjoy!
Video
Notes
(Nutrition information is an estimate for the chocolate cake + frosting recipe linked above. Please note nutrition information is only an estimate and may not be exactly accurate, and will vary with size and flavor of cake and frosting used.)
Nutrition
Serving: 1slice (varies with cake flavor/size) | Calories: 779kcal | Carbohydrates: 99g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 39g