Naked cakes have been a popular trend over the last 5 years.  Naked cakes are cakes with only icing on top and no icing on the sides.  It is what the cake looks like before the baker adds icing to the sides.  One thing I like about naked cakes is it has less icing!  Naked cakes are being seen at more weddings and birthday parties.  The cake with just the icing in the middle gives a new style to the traditional layered cake that we’ve seen for decades.

I attempted my first naked cake in honor of a very good friend.  My friend is getting ready to celebrate her daughter’s first birthday and she asked me about making a naked cake. I gave her some instructions and sent her a video that I found on YouTube. Then realized that I would be better able to help her make this cake if I tried one myself. I’ve made tiered cakes in the past but I’ve never done one without icing on the sides.  Putting together the cake was quite easy and a lot less stressful.  I didn’t have to make a ton of icing or have to worry about the icing being smooth and even on the sides.

So, for my first naked cake, I tried to mirror it off of the picture that my friend sent me.  Here is what I decided on:

• 3 layers-6 x 2 inch round pan Funfetti cakes (1 batch)
• Buttercream Icing with sprinkles inside (1 batch)

A couple of things to be aware of when making a naked cake.  First, you can make this cake in ANY size.  Just make sure you are putting the right amount of batter into the pans.  For a 3 tiered 6 inch cake, I used 2 cups of Funfetti batter per pan.  Most cake recipes make 6 cups of batter.  Please use this very helpful Wilton Guide to know how much batter you need per pan size.

Materials for Naked Cakes

• 3 cakes in any shape or size
• Icing
• Cake Leveler or knife
• Spatula
• Wilton piping bag (Optional)
• Wilton Round Tip (Optional)
• Decorations for top of cake (Optional)

Naked Cake Instructions

Step One

Make cake batter per instructions. Wipe the pan with cooking spray or vegetable oil. Add parchment paper to the bottom of the pan. This will allow for easy removal.

If you need a cake recipe,  check out my Funfetti, Red Velvet, or Banana Cinnamon recipes.  (Make sure to follow the Wilton Guide for the correct cake batter amounts and cooking time.)

Step Two

After the cake has finished backing.  Use a butter knife, go around the edge of the pan to make sure the cake is not stuck.  Tip the cake pan upside onto a plate.  The cake should come right out of the pan. Using another plate put the cake right side up.  Be very careful doing this, the cake is still hot and could break.  Let the cake cool for at least 4 hours.  Repeat for each cake.

Step Three

Once cakes have cooled, make the icing.

If you need any icing recipes, please check out my Buttercream and Cream Cheese icing recipes.

Step Four

Remove the tops of each cake using a Cake Leveler or a knife.  Make sure the cakes are flat on top.

Step Five

It’s time to build our cake.  Go around each layer of the tip with icing in a piping bag using a 2M tip.  This will give you a nice border to follow while icing your cake (If you don’t have a tip or piping bag you can skip this step, just be careful when spreading the icing).  Then spread icing around the top of the cake.

Step Six

Add 2nd cake, repeat Step Five. Add 3rd layer, repeat Step 5.

Step Seven

Decorate the top of your cake and enjoy.  I used sprinkles and pink roses on the top.