Ombré Drip Cake Inspired by Elsa and Frozen 2

The new trailer for Disney Animation Studios’ Frozen 2 dropped today and it looks epic. Not only will we get new songs and more Olaf (both of my favorite things!), but we will finally learn how Elsa got her powers.

About Frozen 2

Why was Elsa born with magical powers? The answer is calling her and threatening her kingdom. Together with Anna, Kristoff, Olaf and Sven, she’ll set out on a dangerous but remarkable journey. In Frozen, Elsa feared her powers were too much for the world. In Frozen 2, she must hope they are enough. From the Academy Award®-winning team—directors Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck, producer Peter Del Vecho and songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez—and featuring the voices of Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell, Jonathan Groff and Josh Gad, Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Frozen 2 opens in U.S. theaters on Nov. 22, 2019.  

Elsa-Inspired Ombré Drip Cake

I’ve had my sights set on making an ombré cake for awhile and I thought the perfect time to try it out would be for Frozen 2 and Elsa! With her signature icy shades of blue, I knew this style of cake, paired with a delicious white chocolate ganache drip, would make for the perfect Elsa-inspired cake.

Elsa even sprinkled a little magic dust on top! 🙂

How do you think it turned out? Yes, I know it looks a little wintry (and it is only September), but this cake isn’t about winter, its about Frozen 2!

Looks like Sven would like a piece of cake…

What You Need:

EDIBLE SNOWFLAKE DECORATION
(Note: You’ll want to make this the day before you decorate your cake)

• 1 tbsp. of meringue powder
• 1 1/3 c. of powder sugar
• 1-2 tbsp. of water
• Pearl sprinkles

CAKE

• Three 6-inch circular cakes

BUTTERCREAM ICING

• 4 sticks of salted butter, room temperature
• 2 lbs. of powder sugar (1 bag), sifted
• 2 tsp. of vanilla extract
• 3-5 tbsp. milk
• Food gel coloring — blue

WHITE CHOCOLATE GANACHE

• 1/6 c. heavy whipping cream (aka 2 tbsp. + 2 tsp.)
• 1/2 c. white chocolate chips

DECORATING TOOLS

• Assorted white sprinkles
• Parchment paper
• Angled spatula
• Icing bags
• Icing couplers
• Icing tips — open star tip, large round tip
• Serrated knife

For your edible snowflake topper, be sure to prepare this ahead of time, as it takes awhile to dry!

Mix your meringue powder, water, and powder sugar until stiff peaks are formed in your icing. Prepare an icing bag with a small round tip and fill it with your white icing.

Carefully pipe your snowflake design on a piece of parchment paper. If you’re like me and don’t want to pipe the design freehand, you can cheat by printing out a snowflake design and placing it under the parchment paper to trace!

While your icing is still wet, carefully add pearl sprinkles to give your snowflake some extra appeal.

Let your snowflakes dry overnight.

Prepare and bake three 6-inch circular cakes (you choose the flavor!).

CAKE BAKING TIPS: Grease your cake pans and then sprinkle flour all over the surface. Next, cut out a circular piece of parchment paper and lay it on the base of the pan before pouring the batter into the pans. These steps will help your cakes slide right out of the pan once they cool.

Once your cakes are out of the oven, set them aside to cool. Then, using a serrated knife, level off the top of the cake, if needed.

Before you begin to ice your cooled cakes, place several small pieces of parchment paper on your cake stand or cake plate and then place your first cake on top. By doing this, you will help to keep your cake plate clean and free of extra icing while you work.

Next, it’s time to prepare your buttercream icing.

Using a stand or hand mixer, beat your softened butter, vanilla, and a tablespoon or so of milk until blended and smooth. (I let my stand mixer go for several minutes until the butter mixture is creamy). Slowly add your sifted powdered sugar, a few cups at a time, until all of it is incorporated. Next, add one tablespoon of milk at a time, if needed, until you reach your desired frosting consistency. Taste test to be sure it’s perfect! 🙂

Using a large round icing tip (or just an icing bag with the tip cut out!), add a generous amount of icing to the top of your first cake. Then, using your angled spatula, smooth the icing out across the top of the first cake.

Once your icing is smooth and even, place your second cake on top. Repeat the process, adding a layer of icing to the top of the second cake. Spread the icing across the top of the second cake with your angled spatula and spread the excess icing over the edge of the cake. Repeat process for your third cake, smoothing the top icing layer.

Pipe white icing rows around the edge of your cake. Then, using your angled spatula, smooth the icing around your cake.

For my ombre cake, I chose to do three rows of blue icing in different shades. Separate some of your white icing into three separate small bowls. Add blue food coloring to the first bowl to create your darkest shade of blue icing. Once you are satisfied with the hue, take a spoonful of the dark blue icing and add it to one of the remaining white icing bowls. Mix the white and blue icing colors together to create your second shade of blue. Then, take a spoonful of the lighter shade and add it to your last bowl of white icing. Mix the white and blue icing colors together to create your third, and lightest, shade of blue icing.

Prepare three icing bags with icing couplers and large round tips and then place each shade of your blue icing in one of the icing bags.

Starting with the darkest shade of blue, pipe icing rows around the bottom of your cake until 1/3 of the cake is iced with this shade. Repeat the process for the remaining two shades of blue.

Oh, and don’t worry if your cake looks like mine while you’re icing your rows! The next step will smooth everything out!

Using your angled spatula, carefully smooth the icing around the edge of your cake, removing the excess icing as needed. Make sure to keep the spatula touching the cake stand or plate as you “drag”  it around the cake, this will help your icing colors not to blend too much and maintain their straight rows.

Smooth the edges of the top of your cake, but don’t worry if it’s not pretty. This area will be covered with chocolate ganache soon!

Carefully remove the parchment paper from under your cake. Then, place your cake back in the refrigerator to chill for 20 minutes or so while you prepare your chocolate ganache.

Heat your heavy whipping cream in a microwave-safe bowl for approx. a minute (or until it begins to bubble). Carefully remove the bowl from the microwave (it will be hot!) and add your white chocolate chips to the bowl. Let the chips soften, stirring to combine. Place the bowl back in the microwave for 20 seconds at a time until the chocolate chips are completely melted and the mixture is smooth. I chose to go with an icy blue color for my drips and I achieved this by adding extra blue buttercream to my ganache until my desire color was reached.

Remove your cake from the refrigerator and, using a spoon, add a small amount of warm chocolate ganache to the top edge of the cake, letting it roll down the edge.

NOTE: Test one drip first to ensure you have the right consistency and “drippage” before continuing.

Continue adding drips around the top edge of your cake (this is a great way to hide any flaws in your icing too!), then fill in the top of your cake with chocolate ganache.

Let your chocolate ganache cool, then add small white and blue icing designs around the top and bottom edges of the cake using an open star tip (see photo below for what I did). Add assorted white sprinkles for an extra touch.

On the top center of your cake, add a good amount of buttercream to act as a base, then add your edible snowflake (but be very careful — It’s fragile just like a real snowflake).

Movie images and footage courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures.