Cherry Vanilla Tuxedo Cake
Back before I started blogging (and for awhile WHILE I was blogging), I used to take custom cake orders and do them from home.
I am sure it was highly illegal, especially considering the fact that I would sometimes download pictures of cartoon characters and trace them. So the fact that I’m not in prison stamping license plates and smuggling a shank made from a toothbrush in my you-know-what is really quite a miracle.
Anyways. The reason I STOPPED doing cakes is A) I didn’t have enough time to keep up with that AND a blog B) Most people didn’t really want to pay what a cake was worth after time/materials and C) it’s just too stressful.
Seriously. When it comes to custom cakes, people DO NOT MESS AROUND. And once Cake Boss and Ace of Cakes got popular, it was worse. People would call with the most insane requests and follow it up with “but it’s not going to cost more than about $40 right??”
?!?!?!?!
Once, a woman asked me to send her a picture of how the cake was “coming along” when I was about halfway through. She proceeded to micromanage and send revisions VIA TEXT for the next hour.
I seriously almost drop kicked her cake out the window. Not kidding.
So. Although I do know HOW to decorate fancy cakes, I rarely make them or post them. Blah. And to tell you the truth, fancy piping and decorating takes a lot of practice. It just does. There is really NO way around it. So unless you’re determined and prepared to invest not only time but money for tips, etc…stick to simple stuff. You can really make quite a nice cake without any training or major skill involved.
And if you ARE interested, I really do recommend taking a class. Hands on really helps. There are some things that just need to be shown instead of read.
Tuxedo Cakes are one of my favorites because of how dramatic and gorgeous they look with a small amount of effort. I made one for Breaking Dawn, some gorgeous strawberry topped cupcakes, aHot Fudge Whopper Birthday Cake for my husband AND some creepy Halloween cupcakes all using the basic Tuxedo Cake technique. And because the glaze is poured over the cake, the frosting doesn’t even have to be smooth and perfect.
For this version, you’ll need some Disco Dust (optional…but so pretty) and some heart candies. I made mine from pink and red candy melts, but you could also buy some heart candy or sprinkles.
If you’re using candy melts, melt about half a cup of each color in a disposable piping bag in the microwave.
Then pipe the melted candy onto a wax paper lined cookie sheet. Set aside until firm and set.
For the cake, I used a French Vanilla cake mix but doctored it up so it would be extra special.\
I added some Vanilla Bean Paste…(one of the best inventions EVAH)
…and some chopped Maraschino Cherries.
Once the cake was baked and cooled, I frosted it with Cherry Vanilla Frosting and topped it with chocolate glaze.
Before the glaze set, I topped it with Raspberry and Silver Disco Dust and the hearts I made from the Candy Melts. Isn’t it pretty and sparkly?
I had a bunch of hearts leftover so I scattered them on the bottom. Really, this would be cute with any sprinkles or candy.
Wasn’t that easy peasy? You need this in your life.
See? You can totally make your own gorgeous cake without spending an arm and a leg or taking dozens of lessons. Or harassing some poor socially awkward woman who works from her home via text.
You can buy Disco Dust HERE, and Vanilla Bean Paste HERE if you’re interested.Cherry Vanilla Tuxedo Cake
INGREDIENTS
- 1 box French Vanilla cake mix
- Eggs called for on box
- Vegetable oil called for on box
- Water called for on box
- 1 jar maraschino cherries in juice
- For Frosting:
- 2 sticks butter, slightly softened
- 5 Tablespoons maraschino cherry juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
- For Glaze:
- 4 oz semi sweet chocolate, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup Corn Syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Heart candy or hearts made from Candy Melts (optional)
- Disco dust (optional)
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour (2) 8 inch round cake pans, or use Bakers Spray with flour in it. Set pans aside.
2. Remove cherries from jar, reserving juice for later. Roughly chop and set aside. Prepare cake mix as directed on box, adding vanilla bean paste with other ingredients before mixing. Fold cherries in the batter before pouring into pans and baking. Bake as instructed on the box, removing from oven once center of cakes spring back when lightly touched. Let cakes cool in pans for about 5 minutes, then remove to wire rack.
3. Once cakes are completely cool, use a serrated knife to trim off any dome or unlevelness (if needed) and set aside. Place butter, cherry juice, and vanilla bean paste in bowl of a mixer. Beat on medium low until combined. Slowly add powdered sugar, beating on low until just combined. Increase speed to high and beat for about a minute and a half.
4. Place one 8 inch round on a plate, top side down. Spread frosting evenly over surface of cake and top with the other 8 inch cake, top side down. Frost top and sides of cake with remaining frosting. Place cake in refrigerator for at least an hour before topping with glaze.
5. Prepare glaze: Place chopped chocolate in a medium bowl. In a saucepan, heat cream on medium until it starts to steam. Remove from heat and pour over chopped chocolate. Stir until chocolate is melted. Add vanilla and corn syrup and stir to combine. Place bowl in refrigerator for about 5 minutes. Remove glaze and spoon over center of cake. Spread to the very edges and let it drip down the sides. Top with heart candies and Disco Dust. Sprinkle additional candies along bottom if desired.
Make this cake for someone you LOOOOVE. Or yourself. You love yourself right?
Have a happy Monday, thank you so much for reading!!
Thanks for visiting my blog! I realize you could be doing more important things with your time. Like watching the news or washing socks. I hope you stay awhile. Much more fun than socks, I promise. 
So fun! And pink! Gah people are forever-asking me to make them cakes and I am forever saying no. How stressful! Also you can’t taste the final product before sending it off so that just gives me the shakes.
I sometimes do special order cakes from my own kitchen…..haven’t been harassed by text yet, and the first one who tries it will be scraping cake from their face when I catch up with them!
Lovely post, thanks for sharing xxxx
I *LOVE* baking, but I hate baking for other people. I will gift you a cake or cupcakes, or bake for a bake sale/auction, but I have sold one cake and was grossly underpaid for the work we did. Never, ever again.
This is absolutely beautiful! And those hearts you piped. Wow…I need to take cake decorating classes from you :)
Those are some of the exact reasons that I stopped doing cakes from my home. Way too stressful and not enough money for the time. This cake is amazing!!! Love the glitter-ized chocolate!!!
It’s so purdy!! I love doctoring up cake mixes. No one can ever tell if you do the right things to it :)
I love that chocolate glaze on the cake and the disco dust just looks to cute!
Same reason I went out of business. Someone could starthave a calecookie decorator horror story blogshort and makeI millions. This really is beautiful and sounds amazing. U make it look easy!
I totally agree with your perspective on custom cakes. Some people have requested some crazy and/or difficult cake and cupcake designs from me and they aren’t willing to pay me for the time, effort and supplies these types of requests demand, so I just say no. People be crazy when it comes to cakes, and not crazy in a good way, but like crazy annoying. As for this fabulous cake, I love those darn little hearts and you can never have too much disco dust on any dessert (I even put it on my homemade marshmallows)! Love it! Now I’m going to pin it on Pinterest.
I think we are cherry-vanilla sisters! All the recipes I looked for called for white cake mix – I bet it is SO good with french vanilla. I’ve never used vanilla bean paste before. Must get some of that!
Your cake is so pretty and I can’t wait to try this recipe! You are so right about customers not wanting to pay the price. People look at pictures on Pintrest of 7 layer cakes and ask can you make that for 4o dollars? Crazy, but I love doing it and never charge enough!! Thanks for your pics and blog, love it!!
I love this cake and your take on why you don’t want to do it for a living. I got roped into making one for a friend, four huge cakes plus additional cupcakes and I told her I would only charge her the cost, when I told her it cost $80 because of all the fondant, she about fell over, lol. Love those hearts with the candy coating, I have some leftover coating I wasn’t sure what to do with, will try your cute hears. Hope you had a wonderful weekend.
-Gina-
I make everything else so I’m pretty sure I come across evil that when people ask if I “do” cakes and I immediately tell them “No. Go buy one from Sam’s-they taste great and are super cheap.” Unless someone else bakes they just don’t get why it costs more than going to the grocery store bakery. Blah. Beautiful cake and post as always!
I would like to drop kick a cake just for fun… But only if we have like two back up cakes to eat :-)
You make such amazing stuff. This looks super yummy! <3
You’re right. I do need this in my life!
my husband hates cherrys. could i use strawberries instead?n is so what would i use n place of the cherry juice?
Gorgeous as usual, and I bet it tastes as good as it looks too! You are so talented. Pinned to my board.
So pretty… love the disco dust!!!… and love the cute candy hearts!!!
Almost too pretty to eat! I think I could actually pull this kind of cake decorating off, but no guarantee. I make the ugliest cakes ever!
Your cake is very elegant looking and the hearts are so decorative! That chocolate looks amazing. I would say I can’t believe you were being micromanaged and sent texts while making a cake, but nothing surprises me anymore. Smart decision to get out of it!
I don’t know if I could have the patience to make that many hearts but they do complement the cake and it looks really pretty
Ugh, I also stopped doing cupcake/treat making because it is SO unbearably stressful. I’d rather deliver babies than make custom cupcakes and cakes for people. They get SO picky and I’m never quite as worried about my product as I am with theirs. And always, everytime I was doing someone’s order, my frosting would mingle together in my mixer and plot my demise–droopy or goopy or too soft icing–and ruin some of the cupcakes. So lame!
ANYWAYS, this cake looks delicious and I need that vanilla bean paste uhNOW.
This cake is absolutely beautiful! Love this!
I LOVE this cake! So fun and I know it has to taste scrumptious! Pinned for Valentine’s Day!
Wow! You really outdid yourself on this one! Love it!
Love the cake, cracked up over the writing and the 10 pound jar of vanilla bean paste in my pantry affirms your assessment of its grandeur.
This cake really is gorgeous! I’m trying to get the hang of some simple cake decorating skills but really should take a class like you suggest.
This cake is just beautiful! I am really not great at decorating cakes, but you have totally inspired me to give this one a try.
Cake orders.
Yuck.
Cakes made by me for me?
Yum.
Or more accurately, by you for me.
I can so relate to your past cake decorating frustrations. I used to decorate cakes as a favor to my friends and co-workers. At least I thought it was a favor, apparently they did not. After spending an ENTIRE day mixing colors baking, decorating and cleaning up, I’d deliver the cake, and they’d fork over the $10 (YES $10) I’d charge, with barely a thanks, like THEY were doing ME a favor. Granted, this was 20 years ago, but $10 was still a bargain! Of course not everyone was like that, but enough were that I quit the cake decorating ‘business’.
BTW, I enjoy your blog and creative yet not too time-consuming posts.
the cake’s lovely but more importantly HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! Hope you’re having a great day and being spoiled and rolled in glitter.
Amazing and so beautiful! Happy Birthday, hope you have a super fabulous day!
Beautiful cake! I never knew vanilla bean paste existed, I’m definitely going to have to add that to my grocery list.
Oh my gosh! It’s like we’re sparkly twins! Those are exactly the reasons that I am saying “NO! Oh, heck NO!” to any future cake requests. People just don’t have a clue about the time and cost. I lose money on cakes every single time. Cupcakes are not so bad, but cakes…uuugh! Anywho! Great post and lovely cake! :) I’ve made your Whopper Cake many times and it’s awesome. I’ll try this one for Valentine’s Day. LOVE!
This is such a pretty cake. Hoping your birthday was a fun and sparkly celebration and all the best for a wonderful year for you.
So beautiful! Happy Birthday!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY YOU LITTLE CUTIE-PIE, YOU!!! could never, ever do any type of baking for people – i know i would commit 1st degree murder by the time i was into my second cake/cookie . . . oy . . . sending you TEXT MESSAGES . . . OY!
Oh, Kristan! This cake is BEAUTIFUL!!! I think I might be a little in love with it!
PS…happy birthday, sweet friend! ?
Happy Birthday Kristan!!!!!
Thank you for your delicious blog filled with yumminess and laughter!
Your cake is gorgeous! How fun! I have heard that cake decorating for a living is brutal and know some friends that have done cakes as favors with similar stories. I agree…make one for yourself. Love the disco dust! :-)
Oh my goodness – this is amazing!! I don’t have a reason to bake a gorgeous cake right now, but I may want to try this just because!
And happy birthday to you!
I’m soooo making this cake! Looks so pretty! I have a question about the frosting, you put 1 tsp vanilla bean paste, then later put 2 tsp vanilla bean paste. Is it a total of 3 tsp, or was this just a typo? Thanks so much! I can’t wait to try it!!!!!
This cake makes me want to be a Valentine’s Day person… I may just have to make this for my husband.
And Happy Birthday!! I love all the posts from your blog friends today, they’re fantastic!
I can’t believe you used a box cake mix! This looks amazing!
This cake looks wonderful!! What size jar of cherries? I buy the big one from Sam’s Club and I’m not sure of other sizes??
Omaghee. You make me laugh. You make me drool. Do something to make me sneeze and you’ll have covered the bodily function trifecta.
Seriously, this cake is gorg and I hope you enjoyed it with friends and family on this, your very special day.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LADY!!
So true! People want elaborate desserts and only want to pay a fraction of how much they cost and the work that is put into it. We’ll I’m happy that you stopped making custom cakes and started blogging your beautiful desserts :). This cake looks incredible!!! Stunning! {A birdy told me it’s your birthday — Happy Birthday!!!}
Happy Birthday, Kristan! I drooled over this cake early this morning.
No waaaayyyy did that gal want to watch your progress. I mean really ~ isn’t that why she hired you to make the cake for her?? Because you are awesomely talented & it would free her up to do other things in her life. Oh wait, she probably had nothing else to do…
Love the tuxedo cake and a bit freaked that I need to start posting Valentines day ;)
Such a beautiful cake! I just wondered is disco dust safe to eat or is it just for decoration? I’d love to try some but I didn’t know if it was safe for kids?
what a beautiful cake! and a little birdie mentioned it was your birthday so Happy Birthday!!!
Such a pretty cake … and my mouth is watering! You are sooo right about people not understanding how much a specialty cake should cost. It makes me happy when cake prices are stated on TV shows … maybe people will start to understand.
P.S. I think cake mixes are one of the best inventions!
Lovely! And I would’ve loved to see you drop kick a cake. There is no way I could hang with junk like that. Nuh uh.
Haaappppeeeee burfffdayyy! :) For your birthday present, I’m going to admit to you that I was probably one of those customers who asked a cake company for a ridiculously creative shower cake and gulped when the total was $120 instead of $40. Yep. Don’t tell anyone. ;)
Hope you’re enjoying your day!! Live it up, girl!
I’ve never posted a comment before….anywhere….ever! But I couldn’t resist when I read
your story about the lady that micromanaged your cake…through text! UUgghh! It’s people
like that, that cause you to rethink your job….last year a lady wanted me to make a ‘Holy
Spirit’ Cake………other than make it INVISIBLE, I had no clue what the heck she wanted me
to do!!! She called me every day for 2 weeks trying to convince me….oh, and she wanted to
feed 150 people and wanted to pay $35!!! Thanks for your post, it was nice to hear your
perspective. Oh, and I love your site, the food, the pics, your personality shines through
and is endearing.
I can;t believe you failed to mention it is your freaking birthday woman!!!! HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! I promise I’m not a creepy stalker person, i just read about it over at cookies n cups…by the way this cake sounds quite yummy. My birthday is in 2 days, so that means we are practically twins! Okay, this isn’t helping my stalker/creeper claim. I’ll stop now, happy birthday again! :)
Happy Birthday Kristan!!! Well said about custom cakes!
I know what you mean about being paid what your decorated cake is worth. Sometimes family members are the worst offenders. They tend to think the bloodline entitles them to a free or deeply discounted cake. OMG, where are my manners, Happy Birthday!!!!!!
we got the kids birthday cakes from a bakery and while they were ridiculously expensive they were seriously amazing. There was an entire dinosaur jungle on/around our cake.
I could never bake for money. I would be such a ridiculous stress case.
Happy Birthday Hope you are going to do something pretty and fancy. :)
Wow! This cake is amazing! Thanks for all the how-to info in addition to the recipe! It’s unbelievable how people don’t understand what it takes to make a great looking cake! If they think it’s so easy, let ‘em do it themselves!
xoxo
Joy
Happy Birthday! :)
I want this cake NOW! It is so pretty and yummilicous looking! I also dropped into to say I hope you are having the best sparkly pink birthday you could hope for! Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday! Hope it is very sparkly, pink, and wonderful! The cake is gorgeous! My husband loves cherries. I may have it try and make one.
Happy Birthday!!! I wish for you a health, prosperous year ahead. I hope it is filled with lots of cake, new cookbooks, family and friends. Happy Birthday!! Enjoy the beautiful cake you deserve it!!
I’m running a little behind today, but I wanted to wish you a very happy birthday!!! I just love reading your blog – you always make me smile! Here’s a chocolate martini toast to a fabulous 2012 for you!
Cheers,
MeLissa
That cake is so darned pretty! To me, that it is hard cake! I am tempted to make iit but 1) I’m afraid it won;t turn out good or pretty, and 2) I’m afraid I will eat too much – as in almost the whole cake. See? I live in fear! :) Has anyone told you lately how awesome you are? :)
Kristan!!!
You have no idea how MUCH I understand you… as of right now, it is a passion of mine, but I’m constantly reminded of how many people want thier CUSTOM cakes for Kroger/Sam’s/Walmart prices.
You never fail to ‘wow’ me and I think this is just awesome. I love the care you take in detail from baking, creating, to photo-taking. Many hugs and kisses your way from one baker to another!
Happy Belated Bday btw. I hope you had a wonderful one and wish you many more!
So I need to say first that I love your blog. So much so that you are in my toolbar. You never fail to crack me up. This cake looks delicious! HOWEVER, I am totally shocked that after 68 comments no one has said that the pic where you’ve piped the hearts looks like adorable little butts. Hilarious! Happiest birthday to you!
Such a beautiful cake! And fancy piping does take a lot of practice. That’s why I stick with the simple stuff :).
wow it looks really cute !! and I bet it tastes even better :D
I’m a few days late to the party, but better late than never. I hope you had a wonderful Birthday WEEK! You made yourself a beautiful cake AND I love all the treats that your bloggy friends made! The cupcakes and meringues and cookies were all beautiful and looked fun and delicious! Happy Birthday!
Thank you for the great recipe and tips (from the choc malted cake)… I just made for my mom’s bday and I have not tried but it looks fantastic! Impressive! Thank you for sharing your knowledge and sense of humor!
-AB
All I have to say is WOW!!!! I’m speechless!!! For sure I”m going to make this!!! THANK U for sharing your recipe!!!!
[...] made a Cherry Vanilla Tuxedo Cake for Valentines Day. You can make one too. Easy [...]
What a lovely cake! I want to make one but i have a quick question, in the event that i can’t find vanilla paste, can i replace with pure vanilla extract?
Thank you! And keep blogging i just love your comments!!!
I was just wondering under the frosting, are you to use both vanilla bean paste in it or just the first(1 tsp). Looks yummy!
I think this was my story! I made the same mistake of sending a picture halfway through and the lady harassed me by text the rest of the night, wanting all kinds of changes, including a gumpaste high heel. Ummm, takes days to dry. I too totally wanted to throw the cake out the window. This cake is awesome, can’t wait to try it!
Question: In the ingredient list you call for vanilla paste twice in frosting but not in cake itself? Huh? Your directions make it look simple to do and it looks perfect for Valentine’s Day. How pretty!
This is gorgeous! I totally hear you on not doing cakes, though. I had a woman who went to my church call me because she wanted me to make a cake for her MIL’s wedding. We talked about it and I gave her a price range (which was very reasonable, considering the amount of work involved!). She told me her MIL would be in town the next week and we’d get together to discuss design, so I waited. And waited. Finally toward the end of the week when I still hadn’t heard anything, I called her back. She said “Oh, it was too expensive, so we decided to do something else.” Seriously? The only people I could imagine being less expensive with me was the grocery store. And she didn’t even call to let me know. Not cool!
What a cute treat! Thanks for the idea…and the Sugar Rush!
[...] Confessions of a Cookbook Queen is one of my favorite blogs to read, and I just love how her Cherry Vanilla Tuxedo Cake turned out. It’s pretty and pink with a delicious sparkly chocolate glaze over the top. Yum. [...]
I followed the trail from this sweet collection to find your blog! Your tuxedo cake is all dressed up, and your directions make it easy to follow! Thanks for the tutorial!
[...] Velvet Whoopie Pies Row 2: Frozen Strawberry Pie Shot, Blackberry Lemon Cheesecake Bars, Cherry Vanilla Tuxedo Cake, Strawberry Yogurt Cubes Row 3: Cinnamon Crisps, Strawberry Hot Chocolate, Raspberry [...]