Have you seen a pull-apart cupcake cake? They’re a brilliant way to create shaped cakes without carving — and they’re perfect for parties because guests can simply grab a cupcake and go. With cacti on the brain this month, we made a cactus-shaped pull-apart cupcake cake inspired by the cactus clutch and pin.
Pull-Apart Cactus Cupcake Cake
Servings:
1
Cake
1
Cake
Ingredients
- 23 cupcakes (any flavor)
- 4–6 cups vanilla buttercream
- Pink, yellow and green food dye
- Large cake board
Instructions
- Using a sharp knife, cut two cupcakes into quarters. Arrange the remaining cupcakes on a cake board to form a cactus shape. Put a small dab of buttercream under each cupcake to adhere them. Use the quartered cupcakes to fill larger gaps down the center of the cactus.
- Tint most of the buttercream cactus green. Reserve about 3/4 cup tinted light yellow and about 1/2 cup tinted pink for spikes and flowers.
- Fit a piping bag with a large round tip (for example Wilton 1A) and add some green buttercream. Outline the cactus shape and then fill the centers of the cupcakes. Smooth the buttercream with an offset spatula to create an even layer and tidy the edges and the three rounded tops of the cactus.
- Fill another piping bag with green buttercream and fit a Wilton 352 leaf tip. Pipe parallel vertical lines from the top to the bottom for the cactus center, and curved parallel lines for the arms.
- Pipe pink buttercream flowers onto parchment with a medium round tip. Use a fine round tip to pipe thin yellow lines in each flower’s center. Freeze for about 10 minutes until firm, then peel the flowers from the parchment and place them on the cactus cake.
- Use the remaining yellow buttercream to pipe small dots along the vertical lines to create cactus spikes.
Tried this recipe?
Mention @studiodiy or tag #studiodiy if you share your version.
Photos by Jeff Mindell | Recipe by Theresa Rountree
Have you ever made a pull-apart cupcake cake? What shape did you try? I’m already thinking about how to use a cupcake cake for Arlo’s second birthday — maybe I have a theme in mind. Feel free to judge!