• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Urban Bliss Life logo

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • contact
  • shop
  • cookbooks
  • resources
  • Home
  • Recipes
    • 30-Minute Meals
    • Air Fryer
    • Appetizers
    • Asian
    • Bread
    • Breakfast
    • Cookies
    • Dairy-free
    • Dessert
    • Filipino
    • Holiday
    • Instant Pot
    • Main Dish
    • Pasta
    • Salads
    • Side Dishes
    • Seafood
    • Vegan
    • Cocktails
    • Dog Treats
  • Wine
    • Food & Wine Pairing
    • Oregon Wine
    • Washington
    • California
  • Travel
    • Travel Gear
    • Travel Tips
    • Hotels
    • USA travel
    • Europe
    • Japan
    • Canada
    • Asia
  • Restaurants
  • About
    • Work With Us
    • Press
    • Contact
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • All Recipes
  • Wine
  • Travel
  • Cookbooks
  • About
  • Work With Us
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×
    Urban Bliss Life » All Recipes » Dessert Recipes » How to Make an Ombre Cake

    Published: May 9, 2014 / Updated: February 25, 2022 by Marlynn Jayme Schotland · This post may contain affiliate links.

    How to Make an Ombre Cake

    2 shares
    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    If you've ever wondered how to make an ombre cake, these step-by-step instructions will walk you through how to make one of these colorful, layered cakes of your own.

    pink and purple ombre cake sliced open with white frosting and topped with M & Ms.

    Ombre cakes are SO beautiful. I love the gradual increase and decrease in color from one layer to the next.

    They're also easier to make than you might think! I made this cake for my daughter's birthday party, and it was a hit.

    You can create ombre cakes that include subtle shade changes in one color. For example, from very light pink to bright fuschia. Or, you can create layers of shade of different colors, as I did in the cake that you see in these photos. I did a layer of light pink, a layer of pink, a layer of light purple, and a layer of standard purple.

    Ombre cakes are bright, vibrant ways to add even more color to birthdays, anniversaries, work events, and bridal and baby showers. They are also a lovely way to celebrate holidays like Saint Patrick's Day and Valentine's Day.

    In this post, I'll walk you through the steps of how to create an ombre cake, using your favorite cake and frosting recipes. You can also use store-bought cake mix and store-bought frosting to make these cakes!

    Jump to:
    • Ombre cake ingredients
    • Step-by-step ombre cake instructions
    • Assemble the ombre cake
    • Decorate the ombre cake
    • Kitchen tools and equipment
    • More cake recipes to try
    • How to Create an Ombre Cake
    • Want more baking inspiration & ideas?

    Ombre cake ingredients

    slice of Ombre Cake showing the colored layers on a paper plate with fork.

    Powdered sugar - this is optional, but I sprinkle a bit of powdered sugar onto the lined cake pans before pouring the batter. This helps further prevent the cakes from sticking.

    Cake batter - You can use your favorite vanilla cake recipe, or use store-bought cake mix. Make sure you make or buy enough to make four cake layers.

    Food coloring - You can use food gel coloring or food coloring drops to create the ombre colors of your cakes.

    Frosting - use your favorite frosting recipe! I have a great Vegan Chocolate Frosting recipe here. Make sure you make or buy enough to frost four cake layers.

    Decorations - Get creative! Use sprinkles, M & M candies, and other edible decorations to bump up the style points of your cake!

    Step-by-step ombre cake instructions

    Here's how to create the layers of graduated color for an ombre cake.

    two cake pans with scissors, pencil, and parchment paper.
    1. Place the baking pans onto parchment paper. Using a pencil, trace the outside of the bottom of each pan.
    2. Place one parchment paper circle onto the bottom of each pan. If you'd like, you can lightly grease the pan with a little butter before adding the parchment paper, to help keep the paper in place.
    powdered cake pans

    3. Optional step: sprinkle each prepped pan with a light dusting of powdered sugar. This helps ensure that the cake doesn't stick to the pan or the parchment paper. I have found that when I just use parchment paper on its own, the cakes tend to still stick. Plus: the powdered sugar adds a little extra sweetness to the cake!

    Ombre Cake Batter

    4. Once you've chosen the icing colors you would like to use, place a small toothpick full of color in one bowl. Then in the next, place double that amount of color to make it slightly darker. Continue until you get a noticeable difference in color between the bowls.

    Ombre Cake Icing

    5. Swirl the gel coloring into the batter as evenly as possible. When done, it should look similar to the photo above (except using your colors).

    Ombre Cake Batter

    6. Next, simply pour each bowl into a separate prepared baking pan.

    7. Bake according to your cake recipe's directions.

    Assemble the ombre cake

    Ombre Cake with icing

    Once each layer is done baking, it's time to assemble the ombre cake!

    1. Allow the cakes to cool at room temperature until they are no longer hot to the touch.
    2. Remove the parchment paper.
    3. Stack the layers from lightest to darkest. You can put the lightest layer at the top and the darkest at the bottom, or do the opposite. It's up to you!
    4. While stacking, spread a thin layer of frosting between each cake layer. You don't want the cake to be TOO tall.
    5. Then finish by frosting the outside of the cake. Use a cake turntable to make it easy to decorate your cake. I suggest using an offset spatula to spread the frosting evenly across the cake. Then use a bench scraper to help smooth out the sides of the cake.

    Decorate the ombre cake

    Ombre cake with m&ms

    Now it's time to decorate!

    If you have a specific theme for your cake, stick to decorations that follow that theme and color scheme to make the most impact.

    Some ideas for decorations:

    • M & Ms in the same colors and shades as the ombre cake layers.
    • Funfetti sprinkles in coordinating cake colors.
    • Chocolate chips or white chocolate chips.
    • Macarons colored to match your ombre cake.
    • Line the bottom of the cake with madeleines decorated in the same color theme as your ombre cake. You can stand them up and have them stick to the outside frosting all around the cake. Or simply place a few on top.

    For the My Little Pony Equestria Girls theme cake that I made for my daughter's birthday, I kept the decorations very simple on the outside. I used with rows of M & M's around the sides to match the interior cake layer coloring.

    decorated ombre Cake

    Ombre cakes take a bit more time but they are well worth the effort!

    Kitchen tools and equipment

    Here's what you need to make an ombre cake:

    • Round baking pans. I use four 8-inch round baking pans to make ombre cakes. You can, of course, use more if you want to create more layers of colors. Be sure to adjust your cake and frosting recipe as needed if you want to create more layers.
    • Parchment paper - Use parchment paper to prevent the cakes from sticking to the pans.
    • Pencil - to trace the circles on parchment paper.
    • Scissors - to cut out the parchment paper.
    • Offset spatula - Use a large offset icing spatula to frost the cake and a bench scraper to smooth out the frosting.

    More cake recipes to try

    • slice of vegan chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream frosting, fresh fruit on top of a purple plate.
      Vegan Chocolate Cake Recipe with Vegan Chocolate Frosting
    • plate of three mini bundt cakes with citrus
      Mini Bundt Cakes with Citrus
    • green velvet cake with cream cheese frosting
      Best Cream Cheese Frosting
    • Green velvet cake
      Green Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
    slide of ombre cake with pink and purple layers

    How to Create an Ombre Cake

    5 from 1 vote
    Prep Time: 5 minutes mins
    Cook Time: 20 minutes mins
    Baking Time: 35 minutes mins
    Total Time: 1 hour hr
    Recipe by Marlynn Schotland
    Follow these easy instructions to create your own beautiful layered ombre cake!
    Servings: 10 slices
    Calories: 574kcal
    PRINT PIN RATE 🤍 SAVESaved!

    Equipment

    • 4 8-inch Round Baking Pans
    • parchment paper

    Ingredients

    • 2 boxes cake mix
    • food coloring
    • 2 cups frosting
    Get Recipe Ingredients

    Instructions

    • Make your favorite vanilla cake recipe according to the cake instructions. Divide the batter into four bowls and set aside.
    • Place the baking pans onto parchment paper and, using a pencil, trace the outside of the bottom of each pan. I usually wipe the inside bottom of each pan with a little pat of butter, just to keep the paper in place, then place one parchment paper circles onto the bottom of each pan.
    • Sprinkle each with a light dusting of powdered sugar. This helps ensure that the cake doesn't stick to the pan or the parchment paper. I have found that when I just use parchment paper on its own, the cakes tend to still stick.
    • Once you've chosen the icing colors you would like to use, place a small toothpick full of color in one of the bowls containing batter. Then in the next bowl, place double that amount of color. And so on, until you get a noticeable difference in color between the bowls of batter. Completely swirl the gel coloring into the batter as evenly as possible.
    • Next, simply pour each bowl into a separate prepared baking pan. Bake according to your cake recipe's directions. While the cakes are baking, make your favorite frosting recipe.
    • After each layer is done baking, allow the cakes to cool completely at room temperature. Once the cakes are cool to the touch, remove the parchment paper. Use a cake turntable to make decorating easier. Start by stacking the cake layers from lightest to darkest color, or vice versa. It's up to you what order you stack the colors!
    • As you stack, frost the top of each layer with a thin layer of frosting.
    • Once the cake is assembled, frost the outside of the cake and decorate as desired.

    Notes

    Cake: Two boxes of your favorite cake mix should make 4 cake layers (2 layers per box). 
    Frosting: One or two cans of your favorite storebought frosting should work. Or feel free to use my favorite Cream Cheese Frosting recipe!
    Tried this recipe?Please leave a star rating and comment! Then snap a pic of your dish and share it on social media. Tag @UrbanBlissLife and #UrbanBlissLife!

    Nutrition

    Calories: 574kcal | Carbohydrates: 115g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 800mg | Potassium: 79mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 72g | Calcium: 228mg | Iron: 2mg

    Nutrition information is a general estimate. Actual nutrition details may vary depending on the exact foods & brands you use to make this recipe. It does not take into account any substitutions, toppings, or optional ingredients.

    Want more baking inspiration & ideas?

    Check out my latest cookbook: The Super Easy Teen Baking Cookbook!

    « Acadia Portland [Closed]
    Fogo de Chao: An Authentic Brazilian Steakhouse »
    2 shares

    Get recipes, travel tips, deals and more delivered to your inbox!

      Reader Interactions

      Comments

      1. Pech says

        May 10, 2014 at 9:21 am

        So pretty! Good tip about a little extra sugar on the parchment paper too

        Reply
        • Marlynn Jayme Schotland says

          May 10, 2014 at 11:52 am

          Thank you, Pech! A little extra powdered sugar makes a big difference for me ;)

      2. Rosie D. says

        May 09, 2014 at 11:38 pm

        Love this post! I always love seeing real life versions of the cakes I drool over from Sweetapolita! It makes me feel like I can actually make cute cakes too! Super cute, especially for a little girls birthday :)

        Reply
        • Marlynn Jayme Schotland says

          May 10, 2014 at 11:51 am

          Thanks, Rosie! Sweetapolita does such a gorgeous job with cakes. This recipe tasted so good that I think we'll use it again for future white cakes!

      3. Catherine says

        May 09, 2014 at 9:33 pm

        1. How beautiful! This would be a stunning addition to any party. 2. I love the last three ingredients in your recipe. I think any involved or potentially frustrating recipe should include fair warning like this. 3. Did I mention the cake was gorgeous?

        Reply
        • Marlynn Jayme Schotland says

          May 10, 2014 at 11:51 am

          Thanks so much, Catherine! Yes, I try to remind myself of those last three key ingredients with time consuming baking projects in particular ;)

      4. Samantha Moore says

        May 09, 2014 at 9:28 pm

        It turned out so beautifully! I love your color choices :)

        Reply
        • Marlynn Jayme Schotland says

          May 10, 2014 at 11:50 am

          Thank you, Samantha! They were my daughter's color choices - she loves pink and purple. She also wanted blue, but we decided the cake would be way too tall for three colors ;)

      5. Adventures in Dressmaking says

        May 09, 2014 at 6:24 pm

        Pretty!! I love the soft tones. I've seen some cool natural food coloring ideas lately, like this grain-free treat http://ourfourforks.com/paleo-king-cake-natural-food-coloring/... would be fun to try different shades!

        Reply
        • Marlynn Jayme Schotland says

          May 10, 2014 at 11:49 am

          Thanks! Always love ideas for natural food coloring. So many great options out there!

      6. Sarah says

        May 09, 2014 at 1:49 pm

        I have always wanted to make an ombre cake! And this one even has purple. Love it!

        Reply
      7. Marlynn Jayme Schotland says

        May 09, 2014 at 12:05 pm

        Thanks so much, Megan!

        Reply
      8. Megan says

        May 09, 2014 at 11:40 am

        I LOVE this cake-- it turned out beautifully, right down to the m&m's dotting the exterior. Darling! (I always line my cake pans with parchment, too...great tip.)

        Reply
      5 from 1 vote (1 rating without comment)

      Leave a Reply Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Recipe Rating





      This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

      Primary Sidebar

      Marlynn Jayme Schotland 2021 profile pic

      Hi! If you're looking for easy, fast, delicious family-friendly recipes, wine pairings, and travel tips, you've come to the right place! I'm Marlynn - a cookbook author, writer, photographer, and mom of two teenagers + a lovable lab retriever. I hold a WSET 2 with Distinction in wine, and am a member of Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) and the International Food, Wine, and Travel Writers Association (IFWTWA).

      More about me →

      Featured In

      Urban Bliss Life Press Featured In graphic

      Spring Recipes

      • Half of a quiche in a pie pan with salmon, asparagus, and leeks.
        Salmon Quiche
      • strawberry crinkle cookies on a plate
        Strawberry Crinkle Cookies
      • dill pickle potato salad
        Dill Pickle Potato Salad
      • bowl of cucumber dill salad.
        Cucumber Dill Salad

      More Spring Recipes ➡️

      New Recipes

      • berry overnight oats in a mason jar.
        Berry Overnight Oats
      • ube ice cream, ube donuts, ube cookies, ube bars with title text overlay "Best Ube Dessert Recipes"
        Filipino Ube Desserts
      • chicken and chorizo orzo in a pan.
        Chicken and Chorizo Orzo
      • bowl of chicken tzatziki salad with side of pita bread.
        Tzatziki Chicken Salad

      New Travel Tips

      • scenes from Casablanca, Chefchaouen, Fes, and Sahara Desert with title text overlay 10 Day Morocco Itinerary.
        10 Day Morocco Itinerary: From Casablanca to the Sahara to the Sea
      • bottles of syrah
        Wine Tasting in Tournon-sur-Rhone
      • vineyards at Domaine De Fond-vieille in Beaujolais, France
        Wine Tasting in Beaujolais: Domaine De Fond-vieille
      • exterior of abba hotel san sebastian spain
        Where to Stay in San Sebastian: Abba San Sebastian

      Visit our Sister Sites

      Fifty cups of coffee logo
      • Twitter
      • Facebook
      • Pinterest
      • Instagram
      • YouTube

      Footer

      ↑ back to top

      logos of media outlets that have featured urban bliss life.

      Recipes

      • 30-Minute Meals
      • 5-Ingredients
      • Air Fryer
      • Asian
      • Dairy-Free
      • Pasta
      • Seafood

      About

      • About
      • FAQs
      • Privacy & Accessibility Policy
      • Terms & Conditions

      Contact

      • Contact
      • Work with me

      As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
      Copyright © 2024 Urban Bliss Life

      All rights reserved. You may not use any photos or recipes on this site for any personal or commercial use without my express written permission.

      Rate This Recipe

      Your vote:




      A rating is required
      A name is required
      An email is required

      Recipe Ratings without Comment

      Something went wrong. Please try again.