How To Make a Basket Weave Cake (video)

A basket weave cake topped with fresh fruit and berries is the perfect cake for a special occasion! I love this pretty cake for Easter, Mother’s Day or really for any spring or summer time holiday celebration! You can turn any cake into a basket cake with this easy cake decorating tutorial. I absolutely LOVE the end-result and it’s actually quite easy to do! Try this technique with my ‘Summer Sangria Cake’ or my ‘Almond Roca Cake’.

My Basket Cake Video Tutorial

Watch my YouTube video recipe for the step-by-step instructions for making this beautiful basket cake! Want new recipe updates? Subscribe to my website emailing list and my YouTube channel to get a notification each time a new recipe goes live!

What Frosting to Use

This basket cake is actually fairly easy to make and so much fun! First, choose the frosting. For this cake decorating technique, I recommend using a firmer frosting, like my ‘Chocolate Buttercream’ , ‘Chocolate French Buttercream’, or my ‘Salted Caramel Frosting’. If you want a color other than brown, you can also use my ‘Vanilla Buttercream’ and color it with a bit of food coloring.

How to Make a Basket Cake

Here’s how to decorate your cake and make it into a basket cake!

1. To begin, make sure to smooth down the sides of the cake with an offset spatula or cake comb before you start applying the design! This will make things much easier for you.
2. Make sure the cake is well chilled and set. If the original cake recipe used a different frosting, switch the frosting recipe to one I recommend.
3. First pipe thin, vertical lines that will serve as the inner structure for the weave. I used tip number 5 for the stems.
4. For the weave pattern, I used tip number 48. You can use any tip that has a weave pattern.
5. Work slowly and practice on a sheet of parchment paper before applying to the cake.
6. These disposable pastry bags will save you so much time. And this set of 52 cake decorating tips include everything you need for cake decorating (affiliate links).

Adding the Fruit

Once you have the cake decorated, it’s time the garnishes! Top the cake off with loads of fruit to make the cake look like an incredible dessert fruit basket! I added strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and some sliced dragon fruit, for extra drama! Feel free to add your favorite fruits! Some other great choices would be blackberries, mango, kiwi, cherries or even mandarins.

More Recipes!

Try making this basket weave cake using some of the other recipes!

• This technique would be great with my ‘Summer Sangria Cake’!
• Or, try it with my ‘Blackberry Lime Cake’
• My ‘Lemon Raspberry Cake’ would also look great with a basket weave garnish!

Enjoyed this tutorial? Share and save it to Pinterest!

Supplies/Tools

Need some supplies to make this recipe? You can get them here (Amazon affiliate links):

• My classic KitchenAid stand mixer is a must for every kitchen!
• I also love my classic Ateco turntable – makes cake decorating a breeze!
• These disposable pastry bags will save you so much time. And this set of 52 cake decorating tips include everything you need for cake decorating.

Print

How To Make a Basket Weave Cake (video)

30 mins prep + 0 mins cook

1 cake

Learn how to make a basket weave cake with a step-by-step video tutorial using chocolate buttercream!

Ingredients 

• 2 cups unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 to 3 tsp dark cocoa powder
• yellow food coloring, optional
• 4 cups confectioner’s sugar
• 2 to 3 cups fresh fruit and berries, for garnish

Instructions

• Prepare any type of cake for this decorating technique. Smooth down the sides of the cake with a flat spatula before beginning.
• Prepare the buttercream. Place the softened butter into a mixer bowl and whisk on high speed until the butter is light and fluffy. Add the heavy cream, vanilla extract, a few teaspoons of cocoa powder and a few drops of yellow food coloring for a warm brown color. Begin adding the confectioner’s sugar. You want your buttercream to be stiff enough so it holds its shape when piped. Whisk buttercream until light and fluffy. Adjust the amount of cocoa powder to your liking for a lighter or darker brown frosting.
• Using a flat spatula, apply a smooth layer of the buttercream to the cake. Transfer a small amount of the frosting into a bag tipped with a #5 round tip (any small, round tip will work). Transfer the remaining frosting into a bag tipped with a #48 tip.
• Using the #5 tip, pipe vertical lines around the cake, spaced about 1/2 inch apart. Switch to the #48 tip and alternate adding basket weave details. Pipe from one stem to the next, filling in the empty space.
• Garnish the edges of the cake with a #4FT tip. Fill in the top with fruit and berries.