One of the hottest trends in wedding cakes is the Naked Cake, where the sides of the cakes are exposed with minimal frosting, and often adorned with fruit and/or flowers. As a baker, I welcome the emphasis on the flavor instead of on inedible decorations. And the simple, rustic look pairs well with today’s shiplap-wood pallets-reclaimed wood-farmhouse aesthetic.
The good news is that you don’t have to be a professional cake decorator to pull this trendy cake off. Doing a single tier, with a lovely pile of fresh fruit on top, makes an elegant centerpiece for any home celebration and only minimal equipment is needed.
I like to use fillings in my scratch-made cake, instead of putting frosting between the layers. My favorite is pairing seedless raspberry jam with French custard, a mixture of pastry cream and sweetened whipped cream. And I love using true classic buttercream, made with a hot sugar syrup and egg whites, with loads of unsalted butter. But you can certainly use boxed cake mixes, pre-made frosting and fill with a mixture of whipped topping and instant vanilla pudding instead.
This post isn’t about recipes, but about the technique. The pictures below will walk you through the process. Enjoy!
Bake 3 single layers of the same size. I used 8-inch rounds. If the cake is rounded, trim off the crown with serrated knife. Cakes must be flat to be stacked. You can bake the cakes in advance and after cooling, wrap them in plastic, and freeze them. For bigger cakes, I’ll put a pizza screen or cardboard circle under them to help them retain their shape. You can work with the cake layers while still frozen; no need to thaw first.
Put a dab of frosting on your cake platter to help hold the cake in place.
If you have a pastry bag, use a tip with a very large round opening, or just the coupler by itself. You can also cut the end off a disposable pastry bag. Worse case, use a Ziploc-type bag and trim off one end. Create a dam of icing on the edge of the layer and spread your favorite jam up to the edge.
Next, put a layer of your French custard (or other filling). Center the next cake layer on top and repeat with the frosting dam and your fillings. Top with the last layer, putting the baked bottom on top. This makes it easier to frost later. I like to let my cake spend a little time in the refrigerator at this point so the frosting dam can become stiffer, but it’s not absolutely necessary.
Take your pastry bag and add enough frosting to your ‘cracks’ so they can be filled in. Scrape the sides, either with a large flat-edged plastic scraper or long spatula knife along the sides, smoothing as you go. If you have a turntable, that helps. If not, just work your way around. You can add as much frosting as you like. Some naked cakes only have some frosting where the layers meet, while others have a little bit of the cake peeking through here or there. It’s up to you.
I like to put a nice layer of frosting on top, so the fruit has a good place to sit. I wash my berries and set them out to dry in advance. You don’t want to put wet fruit on the cake. Arrange in however way you wish. A toothpick in the bottom of a large strawberry can help it stay in place, and small dabs of frosting will help with smaller fruit.
To give your fruit added shine, use some apple jelly stirred well (you can briefly warm it in the microwave to make it thinner) and ‘paint’ your fruit after they are set in place. Some people like to sprinkle powdered sugar on their fruit but be aware this effect doesn’t last long as the sugar can quickly dissolve if there is any moisture. You can use sprigs of fresh mint or other pretty herbs to dress up your cake even more.
And there you have it: a Naked Cake. Elegant, rustic, and of course, delicious. And easy to make, by you.
