This is a beautiful cake with a number of thin layers of cake and thin layers of filling. Don’t be tempted to overfill. Fondant is used to cover the cake and black fondant is used to simulate zebra stripes. Add as many strips as you wish, some thin, some thicker. Make it your own. This cake is decorated with a few extra fondant items for a client. There is no right or wrong way here.
Assembling the 18 Layer Cake
The ingredients. Layer cake slices, simple syrup, chocolate whipped cream and vanilla buttercream
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- I used 1 2-inch high layer sliced into 3 pieces for the cake layers.
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- Simple syrup
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- Chocolate Whipped Cream
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- Vanilla buttercream
Place a dab on icing on the cake board you are going to assemble the cake on, nothing fance here, you will be cutting the excess off. Place the first layer of cake on the board, dab with simple syrup and ice with a thin layer of chocolate whipped cream.
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- Place a dab of icing on cake board cake will be build on. The icing will hold the bottom layer in place.
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- Place the bottom layer on cake board.
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- Brush/moisten with simple syrup.
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- Top with either whipped cream or buttercream.
Place the next layer of cake on top, dab with simple syrup and this time use vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream as the filling. Repeat placing cake layers, simple syrup and filling until all the cake is used up. I like doing 2 vanilla cake layers then a chocolate layer And alternate between the chocolate whipped cream and the vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream. Once the top layer has been added, sprinkle with simple syrup and crumb coat the cake with chocolate whipped cream. Place the cake in the freezere for 10-15 to allow the cake to set up.
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- Repeat for each layer remaining, cake – simple syrup and filling. Repeat until all layers are used up.
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- I wanted to do 2 layers of white cake then 1 layer of chocolate cake, repeated for 9 cake layers and 9 filling layers.
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- After the top layer is added, time for a crumb coat. Using chocolate whipped cream here. Ice top then sides of cake.
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- Smooth top and sides of cake. Freeze cake for 10-15 minutes while you work fondant covering.
Knead the fondant to make it smooth and workable. Roll it out to less than 1/4-inch (6mm) thick, I am using The Mat for fondant rolling here. Drape the fondant iced the crumb iced cake. Smooth the top and sides of the cake.
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- Knead the fondant until it gets smooth and is workable.
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- Roll out no more than 1/4-inch (6mm) thick). Show here is “The Mat” for rolling fondant. It is a big sheet of food grade acetate.
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- Cover cake with fondant.
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- Smooth top and sides.
Trim off excess fondant as close as you can. Cut the cake board close to the cake. To the final serving board/platter place a piece of tape.
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- Trim off excess fondant.
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- Cut cake board as close to the cake as possible.
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- This is my cake display board.
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- Add a piece of tape to hold the cake board with the cake firmly in place.
Center the cake on the serving board/platter. Roll out the black fondant and cut random strips. Attach the strips to the fondant by brushing lightly with water (the water will act as glue.) Finish off witha few more decorations and you are done. To get a cake with more strips like the youtube video picture, just cut more strips and position them accordingly.
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- Center and place cake on serving board.
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- Roll out some pre-colored black fondant and cut random stripes out.
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- Damped strips with water, which acts like a glue, and position strips on the cake.
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- Add a few more decoration and the cake is finished.
Recipe for Zebra Fondant 18 Layer Cake
- 2 layers of vanilla sponge cake cut into 3 layers each
- 1 layer of Chocolate cake cut into 3 layers
- chocolate whipped cream
- vanilla Swiss Buttercream
- Simple syrup
- white fondant
- black fondant
- powdered sugar
- rolling pin
- fondant mat
- water
- paint brush
- knife/pizza cutter
- scissors
- cake boards
- tape
- Having all ingredient ready is a big time saver.
- On the cake board you will be building the cake (a plain board works great, it does not have to be foil coated), place a dab of icing, then a layer of vanilla cake. Moisten the cake with simple syrup and top with chocolate whipped cream.
- Repeat with another vanilla layer, simple syrup and vanilla Swiss buttercream.
- Add a chocolate layer, simple syrup and chocolate whipped cream
- Keep repeating layers 2 vanilla and then 1 chocolate layer until all cake layers are used up. I like filling every other layer with chocolate whipped cream and the other layers with vanilla Swiss buttercream.
- Once all layer have been assembled, crumb ice cake with chocolate whipped cream. Once smooth place the cake in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to set up firm while you roll out the fondant,
- Remove the cake from the freezer, add the fondant on top. Smooth the top and sides. Trim excess fondant as close to the cake as you can. Cut the cake board as close to the cake as you can. Set aside.
- Get the serving cake board/platter and place a piece of tape on the board. Place fondant covered cake on top.
- Now roll out the black fondant and cut unto random stripes.
- Wet the back side of the black fondant stripes with water (which will act like glue) and position on the fondant covered cake.
- Add more decorations to complete the cake.
- Enjoy.
Watch me Make a Zebra Fondant 18 Layer Cake
