The drip cake is deceptively hard. Get it slightly wrong and your drips either run all the way to the board and pool, or seize halfway down in stubby blobs.
The two variables
Everything comes down to consistency and temperature: of the drip and of the cake.
- Too thin or too warm: drips run to the bottom and pool
- Too thick or too cold: drips barely move and look like blobs
- Cake too warm: drips slide straight off and melt your frosting
Chill the cake, not to freezing
The cake should be cold and firm so the drip sets as it descends, but not frozen, or condensation forms and the drip slides off. Twenty to thirty minutes in the fridge is usually right.
Making a colored drip
The classic base is white chocolate ganache, which takes color beautifully.
- Melt white chocolate gently with a small amount of cream
- Color it with an oil-based color, water-based will seize the chocolate instantly
- Let it cool to slightly warm, not hot
- Test on the inside of a bowl or the back of the cake before committing
That test drip is not optional. It tells you everything about whether your consistency is right, and it costs you nothing.
Applying
Two approaches:
- Squeeze bottle: most control. Work around the top edge, pausing at each drip and varying the pressure so the lengths differ.
- Spoon and push: pour a pool on top, then push it over the edge in spots with the back of a spoon.
Vary drip length deliberately. Evenly spaced identical drips look mechanical; irregular lengths look intentional and handmade.
Then fill the top
Once the drips are set, flood the top surface and smooth it. Doing this before the drips set drags them.
Color choices
Drips read strongest against contrast, deep magenta or black on white, gold on navy, white on dark chocolate. A drip in a shade close to the frosting disappears.
Color With Confidence
Yeast Bakers is an Authorized Dealer for Colour Mill, so every bottle you buy from us is genuine stock. Shop the full Colour Mill oil blend range, free shipping on orders over $25.