Sprinkles Fault Line Cake
This epic sprinkles fault line cake is full of rich chocolate cake & creamy peanut butter frosting! The icing and sprinkles create a design that mimics a fault line, as if the glittery sprinkles are bursting forth from the delicious cake!
Ingredients
Chocolate Cake
- 2 teaspoon white vinegar
- 1 scant cup milk (dairy or dairy-free, of your choice)
- 1¾ cups all purpose flour
- 1¾ cups granulated sugar
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1½ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ¾ cup strong, freshly brewed black coffee
Peanut Butter Buttercream (in between the cake layers)
- 3 sticks unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- ⅔ cup peanut butter powder
- ¼ cup milk (dairy or dairy-free, of your choice)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3¾ cups powdered sugar
Purple Vanilla Buttercream (to decorate the outsides of the cake)
- 3 sticks unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoon milk (dairy or dairy-free, of your choice)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3½ cups powdered sugar
Instructions
Make the Chocolate Cake Layers
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease two 8-inch round cake tins.
- Pour the two teaspoons of white vinegar and the scant cup of milk in a bowl and let sit for 10 minutes at room temperature to curdle a bit & become homemade buttermilk. Alternatively, you could use one whole cup buttermilk from the store.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.
- In another large mixing bowl, whisk together the two eggs, vanilla extract, vegetable oil and your homemade or store-bought buttermilk.
- Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix it with a whisk or spatula until there is no dry mixture visible.
- Add the hot strong coffee and whisk again until the batter is smooth.
- Pour half the batter into each of the two cake tins. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean from the center of each cake. (Be sure to check each cake for doneness, as they could finish baking at different times.)Let the cakes cool in the pans for 15 minutes, then remove them from the pans and allow to cool to room temperature on a cooling rack.
- Once the cake is completely cool, trim off the caramelized edges, then slice each parallel to the countertop to create a total of four layers, each about ½ inch thick.
Make the Peanut Butter Buttercream
- Beat the room-temperature butter in a mixing bowl with an electric whisk or in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment until it is pale yellow and fluffy.
- Scrape the sides of the bowl then add the peanut butter powder, milk, vanilla, salt and half the powdered sugar. Mix on a low speed until everything is well combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.Add the rest of the powdered sugar and mix again until everything is well combined. Set aside at room temperature covered with plastic wrap.
Make the Purple Vanilla Buttercream
- Prepare the vanilla buttercream just like the peanut butter buttercream. Beat the butter until it's pale yellow and fluffy. Add the vanilla, milk, salt and half the powdered sugar and mix on low until combined.Add the rest of the powdered sugar and mix again until fluffy.
- Add a tiny bit of purple food coloring and mix on low until you achieve your desired shade of purple.Set aside at room temperature covered with plastic wrap.
Assemble Your Fault Line Cake
- Spread a tablespoon of peanut butter buttercream on a plate or cake stand, then place the first cake layer in the center.
- Spread the peanut butter buttercream on top of this first cake layer, until it's about ½-inch thick.
- Place the second cake layer directly on top, and spread more peanut butter buttercream on top. Repeat with the third and fourth cake layers.
- Spread the remaining peanut butter buttercream on the sides and top of the cake. It doesn't have to be thick - just enough to lock in all the cake crumbs.Let it set it the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
- Place the cake in the center of a baking sheet (to catch any sprinkles that fall off).
- Spread the purple vanilla buttercream along the sides of the cake, just in the middle-third section. Then immediately use your hand to pat sprinkles onto the wet buttercream.
- Return the cake to the fridge to set for another 20 minutes, to make sure the sprinkles don't fall off when you add the rest of the frosting.
- Spread the rest of the purple buttercream on the top and bottom-third and top-third of the sides of the cake. The buttercream on the sides should just barely overlap the sprinkle line. Keep the edges jagged to look more natural.
- It's easiest to slice when pulled straight from the fridge after allowing the top layer of buttercream to set for at least 30 minutes. Enjoy!!
Nutrition
Serving: 1sliceCalories: 999kcalCarbohydrates: 121gProtein: 7gFat: 58gSaturated Fat: 31gPolyunsaturated Fat: 7gMonounsaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 2gCholesterol: 150mgSodium: 546mgPotassium: 148mgFiber: 3gSugar: 101gVitamin A: 1487IUCalcium: 72mgIron: 2mg
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