Cool, right?! Whether you’re needing a buttercream backdrop for your next Star Wars cake or other space-themed creation, this technique was so quick and easy with a few supplies I picked up at my local JOANN store. From the space-colored buttercream to the star textures and sprinkle accents, I found everything I needed to get the look in a one-stop shop!

This Galaxy Cake all starts with a watercolor buttercream technique in a spacey colored palette: pink, blue, purple, and black. I used the Wilton Color Right Food Coloring System for each of the colors, and found it really easy to make a pitch black buttercream with the concentrated gel. It helps that you (surprisingly!) only need a little bit of black buttercream for this project, so if you’ve ever struggled with making a deep black color with vanilla buttercream, you won’t have to worry about that this time around. Just a few drops of black gel added to about ½ cup of vanilla buttercream and you’re good to go! 

To really enhance the look of a star-filled galaxy, I splatter painted the cake with diluted vanilla buttercream, added these gorgeous Silver Edible Glitter Stars, and topped it all off with a few clusters of these Silver Sprinkles. It turned out so galactic!

Here’s a quick video of the process so you can see all of the techniques in action before you read all about it below:

You Will Need:

• A 6-inch round cake that’s been crumb coated and chilled
• Cake turntable 
• 1.5 batches of vanilla buttercream
• Wilton Color Right Food Coloring System
• Bowls and spoons for color mixing
• Angled Spatula
• Icing Scraper
• Food-Grade Paint Brush
• Wilton Silver Edible Glitter Stars
• Wilton Silver Sprinkles

Step 1: Frost The Cake

With your crumb coated and chilled cake on the turntable, frost a thin layer of vanilla buttercream onto the top of the cake and smooth it down with your angled spatula.

Add a thin layer of vanilla buttercream to the sides of the cake and smooth it with your icing scraper until the sides are smooth and even. Then, swipe the crown of buttercream that appears around the top edges of the cake inward to create sharp edges.

At this point, I like to chill the frosted cake for about 20 minutes to let the buttercream set up. Frosting white buttercream underneath the galaxy finish saves on the amount of black buttercream you’ll need to use to cover it. Aka, no black stained teeth once you get to eat it!

Step 2: Color The Buttercream 

While the frosted cake is chilling in the refrigerator, it’s time to mix up your space-themed color palette. Add about a Tbsp of white buttercream into one bowl and set it aside, then divide the remaining buttercream into four separate bowls.

Using the Wilton Color Right Food Coloring System, mix a little Pink into one bowl, a little Blue into another, and a mixture of Pink and Blue into the third bowl to make a purple tone. In the last bowl, add a few drops of Black and mix it up until you’ve got a deep black tone.

Step 3: Create The Galaxy Buttercream Finish

On your frosted and chilled cake, add a few dabs of the pink buttercream to the sides and top of the cake with your angled spatula, then smooth it all with your icing scraper.

Next, add a few dabs of purple buttercream to the sides and top of the cake and smooth it with your icing scraper. Repeat this process with the blue buttercream until you’ve got a nice watercolor finish on your cake.

Finally, add the black buttercream over the top of everything and smooth it with your icing scraper. Continue to add and smooth the black buttercream until the colors underneath peek through just a little.

When you’re finished, pop the cake back into the refrigerator for another 15 minutes to let everything set up. 

Step 4: Splatter Paint The Stars

In the bowl of white buttercream you reserved in Step 2, add a few drops of water and mix it all together until it becomes a thick liquid.

Dip your food grade paintbrush into the diluted buttercream and splatter paint it all over the cake to create the look of stars. 

Step 5: Add Glitter Stars And Sprinkles 

Finally, add some Glitter Stars wherever your heart desires in your galaxy. It’s best to place a few on your finger and gently press them onto the cake. Use that same technique to add some clusters of Silver Sprinkles to your galaxy cake. Simply dip your finger into the sprinkles to get a nice finger-full, then gently press them onto the cake.

And there you have it! When you’re all done with your Galaxy Cake, feel free to turn on “Intergalactic” by Beastie Boys and dance around the kitchen. It’s only fitting!

Now that you know how to make the perfect Galaxy Cake, all that’s left to do is make a trip to your local JOANN store and pick up the supplies. If you don’t live near a JOANN, fear not! You’ll find everything you need on their website. I’m so blown away at all the cake decorating tools and supplies they offer, so no matter what you’re creating in the kitchen, know that they’ve got just the thing.  

Disclaimer: I was compensated by JOANN for my work of creating this project, styling, filming, photographing, and writing about their products. As always, all opinions are honest and my own. Thank you for supporting brands that support Sugar & Sparrow.

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