To make this 6-inch birthday cake with easy buttercream flowers, I started with sprinkle cupcakes, a simple recipe originating from these reader-favorite vanilla cupcakes. The original cupcake recipe makes 12-15 cupcakes. Cupcake recipes that yield around 12-15 cupcakes make enough batter for 3 layer 6 inch cakes. I discovered that while testing this recipe! We even have a page dedicated to 6 inch cake recipes, explaining it in more detail with many other flavor ideas, including a 6 inch citrus cake. I love this size cake because it works for smaller celebrations. Many of you will enjoy decorating this one. The cake is adorned with beautiful buttercream flowers and swirls in a palette of muted colors. It’s a terrific opportunity to hone your decorating skills—and to be honest, it’s super fun!
Tell Me About This 6-Inch Birthday Cake with Easy Buttercream Flowers
Texture: This soft and fluffy cake has a delicate crumb that tastes wonderful with creamy buttercream frosting. The result? A stick-to-the-back-of-your-fork moist cake. Flavor: This 6-inch birthday cake is filled with confetti sprinkles and has the most unforgettable buttery vanilla flavor, much like my larger 9 inch confetti cake. The familiar birthday cake flavor and fun sprinkles take you back to childhood! Ease: The cake recipe is pretty standard, but the buttercream designs take some patience and time. If you’re new to frosting decorations, don’t fret! It may seem tricky at first, but it’s just a matter of building your confidence with practice. (You can find more instructions and a video below.)
Recipe Testing: What Works & What Doesn’t
How to Make Easy Buttercream Flowers Cake Decoration
If you’re a beginner, don’t get nervous—you can absolutely decorate a cake like this! This particular cake-decorating technique is relatively straightforward.
Apply a thin coat of frosting around the assembled cake (this is called a crumb coat). Then, divide the remaining frosting between 3-4 bowls to tint with different colors. If you’d like to use the same colors as the pictured cake, follow the instructions in the recipe note. Fill the piping bags with 1 or more colors, then apply swirls, roses, and hydrangea-like flowers all over the cake. This is where the fun comes in. It’s best to begin at the bottom of the cake and work your way up. A “plain” section on top looks really pretty, but feel free to cover the entire cake.
Use 2 Wilton #1M star piping tips (piping tip #2D is similar) and 1 Ateco star piping tip #844. Any star tip will create a similar look! This design is deceptively easy. If you mess up, just cover it up with another rose, swirl, or hydrangea. Enjoy the process and know that you are your own worst critic. This cake impresses everyone—that’s part of its beauty! You can also watch me decorate the cake in the video below. We hope the instructions give you the confidence to try. (The blue is darker in the video cake because we used more blue food coloring.) If you’re looking for more piping inspiration, here’s my Cookie Monster Cake, Elmo Cake, and Sunflower Cupcakes. And my Piping Tips Tutorial is always helpful too!
