Loria's Flowering Butterfly Cake

A cake meant to feel like a fleeting moment—part dessert, part garden, part gesture.  A soft, vanilla-kissed cake shaped into a butterfly and finished with a cloudlike cream cheese frosting—perfect for spring gatherings, garden parties, or a quietly celebratory afternoon.  This recipe transforms a simple vanilla cake into something sculptural and expressive. The batter can be tinted with natural plant-based colorants (as featured throughout Eat Your Flowers) or left classic and folded in flecks of edible flowers from our Flowerfetti folded into the batter, like something carried in on the breeze.  It’s the kind of cake you make on a slow afternoon, with the windows open and something blooming nearby.

Butterfly Cake 

Yields one 8” butterfly-shaped cake - serves about 10-14

Ingredients: 

1/2 cup + 1 tablespoons (125g) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/4 cups (250g) granulated sugar (OR 1 full jar Flower Sugar and adding in remaining granulated sugar)

1 tablespoon + 1/2 teaspoon (13.5g) baking powder

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

2 large eggs

1 1/2 tablespoons (22.5g) vanilla extract

1 cup + 1/2 tablespoon (247.5g) milk

1 3/4 cups + 1/2 tablespoon (222.5g) all-purpose flour

1-2 tablespoons Flowerfetti (to fold into batter if Flower Sugar is not used and to scatter dried petals on top)

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 package (217g) cream cheese, room temperature

7 tablespoons (100g) unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup (84g) powdered sugar, or more to taste

1 teaspoon (5g) vanilla extract (or orange blossom / rose water)

Pinch of salt

 

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

Grease and line two 8-inch round cake pans with parchment, then lightly grease again, I used coconut oil spray.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cream on low-medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3–5 minutes, scraping the bowl as needed.

With the mixer running on medium speed, add eggs one at a time, allowing each to fully incorporate before adding the next. Add vanilla extract.

If using natural colorants, sift them into the flour before incorporating.

Reduce speed to low. Add the flour and milk in alternating thirds:

• 1/3 flour → 1/3 milk
• Repeat, ending with flour

Mix just until combined. The batter should be thick and silky.

Divide evenly between pans and place on a sheet tray. Bake for 30–40 minutes, until golden and set in the center.

Allow cakes to cool completely before assembling.

Make the Frosting

In a stand mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese until smooth and airy.

Add powdered sugar, salt, and vanilla (or floral water). Beat until light, fluffy, and spreadable.  This frosting is soft and delicate—best used as a finishing layer rather than a structural filling.

Shape the Butterfly

Once cake is fully cooled, level the cake so it's fairly flat

• Cut each 8” cake in half to create four semicircles
• Arrange the curved edges outward to form butterfly wings
• Place two halves on top and two on bottom, meeting in the center
• Use the remaining small pieces cake to form the butterfly body

Frost & Finish

Gently frost the entire cake with cream cheese frosting using an offset spatula.  Set in the fridge.  Pipe a border around your butterfly and wings and add any details, I used a standard round piping tip #4.

Finish with:

• A sprinkling of 1 teaspoon Flowerfetti
• Or pressed edible flowers
• Fresh petals
  

Notes & Variations

• You can tint the batter using natural powders like butterfly pea, hibiscus, matcha, or turmeric for soft marbling or vibrant color blocks.
• For added flavor, consider infusing the milk with tea, herbs, or citrus zest before baking.
• This cake is best served slightly chilled, when the frosting holds its shape but remains soft and creamy.