Easy Cake Tower {With Buttercream Icing}

Learn how to make an easy cake tower recipe with simple ingredients. Slices of pound cake are stacked and decorated with pink buttercream and fondant flowers. It's also great for birthday parties, anniversaries, weddings, Valentine's Day and Mother's Day.

This cake is so easy to make that kids can help too. Since my own Mom lives in Canada, I made her this virtual cake and took the real one to my Grandma's place. She absolutely loved it. The main concept behind this dessert is that you cut slices of cakes and arrange them on top of one another in a rounded "pyramid" formation. Then, you decorate as you like and you end up with a stunning piece of art that's almost too pretty to eat! It's great to serve on Valentine's Day or even Mother's Day. Be sure to check out all these other delicious Mother's Day Recipes too for more inspiration. You can even set up a Mother's Day Dessert Table and it can be a wonderful surprise. Also, be sure to have a look at these Pink Desserts that can work for today's theme too.

Key ingredients

• Cake- Pound cake is best which can be homemade or store-bought.
• Frosting- Color it pink with gel food coloring.
• Edible flowers- I used fondant ribbon roses but you can also use real flowers or buy sugar flowers online.

How to make easy DIY cake tower?

1. Bake cake- It should be a firm pound cake.
2. Let it cool- Until it's room temperature.
3. Cut slices- Make sure they are all about the same size.
4. Make icing- And color it pink.
5. Assemble- Arrange a layer of slices on a cake stand and top it off with frosting. Continue doing this until you have a "pyramid" style tower.
6. Decorate- With fondant flowers.

What frosting goes well with this cake?

The icing works like "glue" to stick all the cake slices and decorations together. The most important thing to keep in mind is that the frosting flavor should compliment the cake flavor well. Nothing is worse than eating a dessert where flavors are not playing harmoniously together. Also, keep in mind that the icing should be white so that you can easily color it pink to fit this holiday theme. The classic choice is American buttercream because it pairs well with so many different cake flavors. Here are some other white icing options:

• Best Cream Cheese Frosting
• Cinnamon Roll Icing (Without Cream Cheese)
• Marshmallow Frosting
• Cooked Flour Buttercream (Ermine Frosting)
• White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
• Seven Minute Frosting

Variations

• Other cake decorating ideas- Use edible fresh flowers or even fresh berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries), gourmet candies, Homemade Sprinkles, store-bought sugar decorations. Another beautiful idea is to decorate with Sugared Cranberries (Candied Cranberries) or Candied Nuts (Glazed Nuts) or Candied Orange Peel and Slices.
• Add fillings- Like a layer of Easy Homemade Strawberry Jam or preserves under the frosting on top of each slice.
• Try different colors- I used pink flowers and pink icing but get creative and try red or an ombre style. Check out this tutorial on How to Make Ombre Cake, if you have never made one before.
• Use a firm cake- That is the main thing to need to remember here because if you use a very soft cake, the slices will start to break apart, as they are arranged on top of one another due to weight and decorations. However, if you use a firm cake like pound cakes, the slices can easily be stacked without falling apart or digging into one another. Here are some cake options:Cream Cheese Pound Cake or Lemon Pound Cake (With Cake Mix)or Chocolate Pound Cake (With Cake Mix) or Sour Cream Pound Cake.
• Make cupcake tower- Apply the same concept and stack cupcakes instead of slices.
• Make donut tower- Use glazed donuts instead of slices. Try these Jelly Filled Donuts (Sufganiyot) or Baked Apple Cider Donuts.

Tips and techniques

• Avoid soft cakes- I have said this before and I will say it again. Stick to pound cakes because they firmer and stronger and can handle the weight of all the slices and decorations without falling apart.
• Keep cake covered- Since the slices are all exposed to air, they will start becoming dry. To prevent that from happening, cover with saran wrap or a large box.
• Don't assemble a warm cake- It must be completely cool and at room temperature because decorating a warm cake would melt the icing and make a mess.
• Use gel colors for icing- Because they are thick and concentrated and don't affect the consistency. However, a small amount of liquid food coloring can be used.

Storage

• Make ahead instructions- This can be made 1 day in advance. Cover and keep it in the fridge until you are ready to serve.
• Room temperature- Sore in a sealed container or covered box for 24 hours.
• Refrigerate- In a sealed container or box for 3-5 days.
• Freeze- Store frosting and cake separately in sealed container or bags and thaw in fridge overnight when you are ready to assemble. Fondant decorations cannot be frozen and have to be stored at room temperature for up to 1 month, once dry.

More unique cakes

• Modern Abstract Cake
• Bundt Cake Decorating Ideas
• Easy Cake Decorating Ideas (Beginners)
• Cookies and Cream Cake (Oreo Cake)
• Birthday Cake Ideas

Recipe