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Home » Advertisements » Dia De Los Muertos Cake + Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Published: Sep 29, 2014 · Modified: Oct 15, 2020 by Karly · This post may contain affiliate links

Dia De Los Muertos Cake + Swiss Meringue Buttercream

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Dia De Los Muertos Cake with Swiss Meringue Buttercream - Beautiful, easy, and perfect for the season! I need this cake now!OK guys, this cake. OMG this cake. I’m not normally a cake decorator, but I really wanted to make this Dia De Los Muertos cake something special. And honestly, I am amazed at how well I did, using my swiss meringue buttercream for those delicate details. I will admit, however, that it took me forever to do. Next time, I think I will work with a different type of icing for that style of decorating. Fo realz. But in the meantime, I am loving this cake, which is perfect for your Halloween baking, bee tee double-yew.

When I originally set out to do this cake, I knew I would need more time to work with the decorating, so instead of using my original red velvet recipe, I decided to try out Mam Papaul’s Red Velvet Cake mix. Back when I first created my red velvet recipe, you couldn’t find a box cake anywhere, but now, it’s easy! So I thought I would see how they compare, and honestly, Mam Papaul’s isn’t bad at all! It’s rich, vibrant, and totally sponge-y! And there is enough batter for four, 6 inch rounds, so score on that for sure.

Dia De Los Muertos Cake with Swiss Meringue ButtercreamHow perfect is a red velvet cake for Dia De Los Muertos? I mean, seriously. Duh. Perfection.

Dia De Los Muertos Cake with Swiss Meringue Buttercream - Beautiful, easy, and perfect for the season! I need this cake now!

I actually got the inspiration to do this cake from the new Book of Life movie that is hitting theaters Oct. 17, which is a sort of Romeo and Juliet story set during the cultural Dia De Los Muertos celebrations (which, if you are unfamiliar with, really is an amazing way to celebrate death and life, and makes me love the culture I’ve married into):

Manolo (voiced by Diego Luna) is a young matador who wants to shed the expectations of his family to follow his dreams of being a musician and his best friend, Joaquin (Channing Tatum), is the successful pride of the town. They compete for the heart of Maria (Zoe Saldana). In order to win Maria’s heart and save her life, Manolo must face his greatest fears and follow his heart to rewrite his destiny.

Dia De Los Muertos Cake with Swiss Meringue ButtercreamI went with Swiss meringue buttercream for this cake because of how satiny, shiny, and smooth it is, which is why my cake looks almost metallic black (awesome, right?). It’s a little time-consuming to make, but worth it. It’s a frosting you will return to again and again because it’s so forgiving and easy to make, and it stores like a dream as well.

A few tips for working with Swiss meringue buttercream:

1| Be sure to wipe down everything (bowls, whisks, paddles, spatulas) with vinegar or lemon juice to remove all traces of grease. Grease is the enemy of meringue and will kill it with the quickness.
2| You don’t want the butter to be cold, or warm, but cool. I cut the butter up and put them in a few bowls, taking them out of the fridge every few minutes so they can warm up just slightly. If the butter is too warm, the whole thing will get soupy and you’ll have to put the entire bowl in the fridge to get it to stiffen back up.
3| You may find your buttercream develops a lumpy consistency, or grainy. This is normal, I promise. Just keep on whipping and adding butter, and it will begin to smooth back out in a few minutes.

Dia De Los Muertos Cake with Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Tinting buttercream black is hard work, y’all. I used an entire container of black food color gel to get this right, but it’s worth it, cause I mean, how amazing does this Dia De Los Muertos cake look?

Dia De Los Muertos Cake with Swiss Meringue ButtercreamDia De Los Muertos Cake with Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Dia De Los Muertos Cake with Swiss Meringue Buttercream - Beautiful, easy, and perfect for the season! I need this cake now!You can grab all your Halloween decor, like that awesome jeweled sugar skull in my photos at World Market!

Dia De Los Muertos Cake with Swiss Meringue Buttercream - Beautiful, easy, and perfect for the season! I need this cake now!

Red Velvet Cake + Swiss Meringue Buttercream

5 from 1 vote
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dessert
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 6 -
Author: Karly Gomez

Ingredients

For the Cake

  • Mam Papaul's Red Velvet Cake Mix
  • 3 Eggs
  • 1 C Water
  • ⅓ C Vegetable Oil

For the Swiss Meringue Buttercream

  • 10 Egg Whites
  • 2 ½ C Granulated Sugar
  • 3 C Butter cut into tabs
  • 1 Tbsp Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract
  • ⅛ Tsp Kosher Salt

Instructions

For the Cake

  • Following the instructions on the box, prep the cake mix as directed. Grease and flour two 6-inch rounds, then fill halfway with batter and bake for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees.

For the Swiss Meringue Buttercream

  • Combine the egg whites and sugar in the bowl of a mixer and place it over a pot with one inch of simmering water, gently whisking until the temperature reaches 160 degrees on a candy thermometer, or until the sugar has completely dissolved and the egg whites are hot.
  • With the whisk attachment, beat the mixture on medium-high for a good ten minutes, or until the bowl has completely cooled down.
  • Switching to the paddle attachment on low speed, begin adding butter, a couple tabs at a time, and allow to mix for several seconds before adding more. Continue until all the butter is gone and the buttercream is smooth and shiny.
  • Add the vanilla and salt and beat a few more times.
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About Karly

From her childhood home in Southern Minnesota, Karly embraces the crazy of everyday life by creating delicious dishes her family and friends love, while experimenting with new flavors and techniques and photographing the results. Karly’s love for beautiful foods and joy for creating is infectious to all who meet her.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Lucrecia says

    April 17, 2019 at 7:41 pm

    You said uou use a contauner of black. Was there a bitter aftertaste?

    Reply
    • Karly says

      April 23, 2019 at 11:46 pm

      There wasn’t! I’ve heard that sometimes a bitter aftertaste can occur, so I’m guessing it depends on the brand and quality of the coloring.

      Reply
  2. Shannon says

    August 14, 2017 at 6:31 pm

    How do you get your Swiss meringue to take such deep colours!!??

    Reply
  3. Paige says

    October 02, 2014 at 1:07 am

    Just come to my house and cook all my food. kthnksbye. Seriously though, looks delicious!

    Reply
  4. Amy says

    October 01, 2014 at 5:54 am

    This cake is gorgeous and it looks delicious! I’ve been looking for some new ideas for more “grownup” Halloween desserts and this is perfect. Thanks for posting it!

    Reply
  5. Laura MyNewestAddiction says

    September 30, 2014 at 9:50 pm

    5 stars
    OMG GIVE ME THIIIIIIIS

    Reply

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author karly gomez of a simple pantry with a background of red bell peppers
Hi, I'm Karly! Welcome to A Simple Pantry, where you’ll find inspiration for any meal and every occasion with tried-and-tested recipes, step-by-step tutorials, and occasional cooking videos that help you prepare easy gourmet dishes the whole family will love.
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