Instructions

COTTON CANDY CAKE

1. Adjust an oven rack to the center position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Spray 3 8-inch round cake pans with nonstick baking spray and set aside.
2. In a 4 cup liquid measuring cup, whisk together the milk, egg whites, extract, flavoring and sour cream.
   
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, with the paddle attachment attached, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt on low speed until combined. Add butter one tablespoon at a time until the mixture forms pea-sized pieces, about 1 minute. Reserve ½ cup of the milk mixture and pour the remaining to the flour mixture and mix on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low and add the reserved ½ cup milk mixture to the batter and mix until combined, about 30 seconds. Do not over mix. The batter may look curdled.  Give the batter a final stir by hand with a rubber spatula. Remove half of the batter and divide between two bowls. Add the pink gel food coloring in one bowl to color the batter pink. And blue to the batter in the other bowl and stir to combine. Leave the batter in the mixer bowl uncolored. Using spoons or ice cream scoops, add in one scoop of uncolored batter to a cake pan, then one scoop of pink batter and then one scoop of blue and alternate until the batter has been divided between all 3 cake pans. With a wooden skewer or knife, slightly swirl the cake batter in a figure 8 pattern.
   
4. Gently tap cake pans on the counter to settle the batter and bake until a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, about 30 to 35 minutes, switching and rotating pans halfway through baking.
   
5. Let cakes cool in their pans for 30 minutes on cooling racks. Then invert on cooling racks to cool completely.

SIMPLE SYRUP

1. Combine the water and sugar in a small saucepan and stir to combine. Cook over medium heat until the sugar has completely dissolved. Continue to cook for 3 minutes until the liquid has thickened slightly.
   

MARSHMALLOW FILLING

1. Combine the sugar, cream of tartar and water in a small saucepan with a tight fitting lid. Heat saucepan over medium-high heat uncovered. Once the mixture comes to a boil, cover the saucepan and cook for 2 minutes. Uncover the saucepan and continue to boil until the sugar syrup reaches 242 degrees on a candy thermometer.
   
2. While the syrup is heating up, combine the egg whites and salt in a clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Starting on low speed, beat egg whites, and gradually increase the speed to medium-high in the process. Beat until soft peaks form.
   
3. If your sugar syrup is close to reaching 242 degrees, continue to whip the egg whites to firm peaks. If your sugar syrup is not close to reaching 242 degrees, let the egg whites wait at the soft peak stage before whipping them into firm peaks as the sugar syrup comes to temperature.
   
4. Once the sugar syrup has come to 242 degrees and the egg whites are whipped to firm peaks, run the mixer on high speed and slowly pour the sugar syrup down the inside of the bowl and into the whipped egg whites. Continue whipping until the filling becomes thick and holds stiff peaks, about 5 minute. Add vanilla extract and whip to combine.
   

COTTON CANDY BUTTERCREAM

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, pour in the egg whites and sugar and whisk by hand until combined. Fill a medium saucepan with about 2 inches of water and bring to a simmer. Place mixer bowl on top, being sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water and attach a candy thermometer.
2. Whisking occasionally, heat the egg mixture until the temperature reaches 160 degrees. Once the mixture reaches 160 degrees, transfer to a stand mixer and beat the mixture on high speed for 10 minutes or until medium-stiff peaks form. At this point the outside of the mixer bowl should be room temperature. Switch out the whisk attachment with the paddle attachment and with the mixer on low speed, add the butter one tablespoon at a time, and then add the vanilla extract. Once combined, turn up the mixer speed to medium-high and beat until the buttercream is smooth about 5 minutes.
   

ASSEMBLE

1. Trim each cake layer so they are completely flat and even. With a pastry brush, gently brush simple syrup over the top of each cake.
2. Place a nonslip mat on a cake turntable and place an 8-inch round cake board on top. Center the first cake layer on the cake board. Attach a plain round piping tip or coupler to a piping bag and fill with about 1 cup of buttercream. Pipe a buttercream dam around the edge. Spread about 2/3 cup (don’t over fill) of the marshmallow filling in the center in an even layer. Place the second cake layer on top and pipe a buttercream dam around the edge. Fill the center with another 2/3 cup of marshmallow filling. Place the third cake layer on top (bottom side up), pressing gently to adhere to the cake.
   

CRUMB COAT

1. Apply a small amount of buttercream to the top and sides of the cake with an offset cake spatula to catch any loose crumbs and to seal the cake. Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

FROSTING THE CAKE

1. Line an 8 inch round acrylic cake disc with parchment paper by applying a small amount of buttercream to the disc.
2. Place a large dollop of buttercream on top of the cake and smooth out evenly with an offset cake spatula. You should have excess buttercream hanging off the edges. Place the lined acrylic disc on top of the cake, (parchment side down) being sure that the disc lines up with the bottom cake board. Apply buttercream to the sides of the cake. With a cake scraper touching the bottom cake board and top acrylic disc, gently rotate the turntable to smooth out the buttercream. Apply more buttercream on spots that have gaps and smooth out. Place the cake in the refrigerator to chill while you color the buttercream.
3. Take about 1 cup of buttercream and color it with pink gel food coloring. Take another cup of buttercream and color it with blue gel food coloring.
   
4. With a small offset spatula, randomly add small dabs of one of the blue colored buttercream to the chilled cake around the sides. Gently press the cake scraper to the side of the cake and spin the cake turntable to smooth the buttercream. Place the cake in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes before adding the pink buttercream to the cake.
   
5. Randomly add small dabs of the pink buttercream around the sides of the cake. Gently press the cake scraper to the side of the cake and spin the turntable to smooth the buttercream. Apply more blue and pink buttercream in spots that you think need it and rotate one more time to get the look you want.
   
6. Insert a cake spatula under the acrylic disc and slowly rotate the turntable until the disc releases. Peel off the parchment paper and smooth out the top of the cake by gently dragging any raised edges towards the center of the cake. Apply more uncolored buttercream to the top of the cake if need to fill in any gaps.
   
7. Fit a piping bag with Ateco piping tip #827 and fill with remaining buttercreams. Pipe 8 swirls on top of the cake. Place macarons between each swirl if using and decorate the center of the cake with cotton candy and sprinkles. Carefully transfer the cake to a cake pedestal and serve. Cotton candy must be added right before serving. As soon as the cotton candy hits the air it starts to deflate.