What is a Naked Cake? Here's What You Need to Know
Sometimes, a more minimal, pared back design is what makes the biggest impact. That’s true when it comes to personal style and that’s true when it comes to cakes. Enter: naked cakes. And while super rustic naked cakes were all the rage at 2010s weddings, they’re getting new life now—with a slightly upgraded twist.
Whether you’re celebrating a wedding, a birthday, an anniversary, a baby shower, or a big promotion, a naked cake might be just the right centerpiece for your dessert table. Here, we’re breaking down what a naked cake really is, why we love them, our best naked cake tips, and more.
Let’s get into it.
What Is a Naked Cake?
A naked cake is a layer cake coated in a thin layer of frosting (buttercream, whipped ganache, whatever you prefer)—the sides will be barely frosted. You’ll be able to see the cake through the frosting, giving it a rustic look.
Naked cakes are super versatile. You can use any kind of cake, any type or color of frosting, and any decorations—as minimalist or as intricate as you’d like. They can be tailored to any event or occasion and made at home or ordered from a pro.
Why We Love Naked Cakes
There are so many cakes out there, so why are naked cakes so fun? Here are just a few reasons we love them:
They’re visually stunning: The contrast of the exposed cake and minimalist frosting with decadent decorations is so chic.
They put flavor in the spotlight: Because there’s minimal frosting involved, a naked cake lets the flavor of the cake itself and the filling between layers really shine.
They fit just about any occasion: Weddings, baby showers, birthdays, and more, naked cakes are always ready to celebrate.
Our Favorite Naked Cake
The Naked Drip
This cake is so simple, yet so elegant. Frosted in a layer of vanilla Italian meringue buttercream, filled with the filling of your choice, and topped off with a swirly, swoopy chocolate ganache drip, our take on a naked cake is utterly delicious. You can order (and customize) your cake through our Cake Shop. We require at least 5 days’ notice for all Cake Shop cakes because each cake is baked and decorated to order.
Looking for a different kind of naked cake? Reach out to learn more about our custom cake process. (We need a bit more notice for custom cakes—at least 2 weeks—so that your cake can be baked and decorated to perfection.)
Pro Tip: Make your cake extra special with one of our add-on options: cherries, butterflies, cookies, candles, French macarons, and more. You won’t be sorry.
How to Make Your Own Simple Naked Cake at Home (Moist Vanilla Cake Recipe)
Ingredients
For the cake:
516g cake flour
18g baking powder
8g salt
600g sugar
345g oil
180g eggs
45g vanilla extract
339g sour cream
234g whole milk
For the Italian Meringue Buttercream:
620g granulated sugar
158g water
300g egg whites
908g unsalted butter, at room temperature
20g pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
2g salt
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven and prep the pans: Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Grease and flour 2-3 round cake pans. Line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper.
2. Make sure all ingredients are room temp: Don’t start making your cake batter until all of your ingredients have come to room temperature. You’ll get the best results that way.
3. Make the egg mixture: Add the eggs, vanilla, and sour cream to a medium bowl. Whisk thoroughly to combine.
4. Mix the dry ingredients: Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed for 1 minute.
5. Stream in the oil: With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add the oil until combined. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and the paddle attachment.
6. Add the egg mixture: Add the eggs, vanilla, and sour cream to the bowl of the stand mixture all at once. Turn the mixer onto low speed and mix until it starts to combine. Turn off the mixer, scrape the paddle and the bowl, and mix until just combined (it’s okay that there are lumps!).
7. Add the milk: Pour half of the milk into the bowl of the stand mixer. Pulse the mixer to combine and then add the rest of the milk. Mix on low until almost combined.
8. Finish mixing the cake batter: Turn off the mixer, remove the bowl and paddle attachment, and use a rubber spatula to finish mixing the batter. Mix until just combined. Do not overmix.
9. Bake the cake: Divide the batter evenly into your prepared cake pans and bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Make sure to rotate the pans after 20 minutes of baking so that the cake layers bake evenly.
10. Cool the cake: When the cakes are done baking, remove them from the oven and cool on wire racks. If you baked the layers of the cake ahead of time, wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and store in the freezer until you're ready to assemble your beautiful cake.
11. Make the Italian buttercream: In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites, vanilla, and salt on low speed. In a small saucepan, combine the water and sugar and heat it over medium-low heat until it reaches 240 degrees F on a candy thermometer (soft-ball stage). When the syrup is heated, turn the mixer to speed 3 and stream in the hot syrup. Keep whipping the mixture on speed 3 for about 10 minutes.
12. Add the butter: With the mixer running, add the room temperature butter in small pieces, one piece at a time, letting the butter fully incorporate before adding the next piece.
13. Whip the buttercream: Once you’ve added all of the butter, mix on speed 3 until silky smooth, then go down to medium speed for about 1 more minute.
14. Store the buttercream: Transfer the buttercream to an airtight container and either store in the fridge or frost and assemble your cake. Use a bench scraper and offset spatula to scrape the excess frosting off of the cake so you're left with a very thin layer of frosting over the entire cake.
Our Best Tips for Naked Cakes
Our team has made our fair share of naked cakes. Here’s what we’ve learned that can help you make your own naked cake at home:
Keep your cake moist: One of the jobs that frosting has is to add moisture to your cake. Since naked cakes aren’t heavily frosted, you’ll want to make extra certain that the cake itself is moist and well-baked so that it doesn’t taste too dry.
If your layers aren’t even, trim them: Because you can see the sides of the cake with a naked cake, it’s even more important that the layers are flat and even. If you need to, trim off a domed top so everything stacks correctly.
Pick a fun filling: Sure, you can just fill with the buttercream you use on the outside of the cake, but an out-of-the-box filling will add more flavor and flair to your minimalist cake. Try a pastry cream, fruit compote, or luscious salted caramel.
Put thought into your finishing touches: Just because your cake is simple, doesn’t mean you can’t add some chic and gorgeous finishing touches. Think about how you can use seasonal fruit, fresh flowers, fresh berries, herbs, greenery, and the like to finish your cake and make it really stand out.
FAQs
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A thick layer of frosting can help combat dryness, but what happens when you’re making a naked cake and you don’t have that frosting to help? It’s extra important to make sure your cake layers bake correctly and stay moist when you’re making a naked cake. Pick your filling thoughtfully, because that can help add moisture as well. You can also brush a flavored simple syrup over the tops of each cake layer for a bit of extra moisture.
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They sure are! Although naked cakes might not be quite as popular at weddings as they were a few years ago, we still love an elegant and refined naked wedding cake decorated with matching florals or seasonal fruit. They make a statement!
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So customizable! You can choose from so many different flavors of cakes and fillings and, of course, decorate it to your heart’s desire. If you’re shopping our Naked Drip cake, you’ll get a whole list of things from which to choose during the ordering process. It’s not just plain old vanilla over here! Go for a strawberry cake, lemon cake, chocolate cake—you have tons of different choices.
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So glad you asked! Since we're not a retail bakery, we do need a little bit of time to bake and decorate your cake to perfection. We need at least 5 days' notice for cakes from our Cake Shop and we need at least 2 weeks' notice for custom cake orders. If you're looking for a wedding cake, reach out sooner rather than later so that we can get you on our calendar and make sure that everything comes together just as it should.
Whether you go for a naked cake or a semi-naked cake (with a bit more frosting), these elegant cakes will be the hit of your event. Chic yet simple, super customizable, and totally delicious, they’re everything you could ever want.
