Looking for Elegant Cake Ideas For Women? Here you’ll find 17 Elegant Cake Ideas perfect for a birthday, or any kind of celebration, including easy designs with instructions to recreate them. Whether you’re simply looking for inspiration or want to recreate one of these cakes yourself, you’re in the perfect place.
How to find an elegant cake idea suited to your cake-decorating level?
I’ve come up with a system. The cake ideas are presented to you according to their level of difficulty. There are three categories :
What Are Beginner Cake Ideas?
These are easy cake ideas. If you’ve never decorated a cake before (or only did it once or twice), these are the cakes that you should pay attention to.
- What you’ll find: Beautiful cake ideas that only require basic cake decorating techniques. This is a great place to start your journey.
What Are Intermediate Cake Ideas?
Low Intermediate Baker: If you are confident that you’ve mastered the cake decorating basics, such as how to smooth a cake, but feel like you still have a lot of techniques to learn apart from this foundation, this category is perfect for you.
- What you’ll find: Cake ideas that require both basic decorating skills and one or two techniques that are a little bit more advanced. This is a great place to grow your cake-decorating skills.
High Intermediate Baker: If you’ve mastered both basic techniques and several more advanced cake decorating techniques, these cake ideas are made for you.
- What you’ll find: Stunning cake ideas that can be fairly challenging, but are a great place to get even better than you already are.
What Are Advanced Cake Ideas?
If you consider yourself an experienced cake decorator and have mastered most of the decorating techniques, including the use of fondant, then this is the perfect place for you.
- What you’ll find: Showstopping and challenging cake ideas, perfect to sharpen and maintain your skills.
The Grading System
Finally, I’ve also assigned a grade of difficulty to each cake inspiration: 1/5 being the easiest design and 5/5 being the hardest. The goal is to make the ranking the most accurate possible. You will find this to be particularly helpful if you happen to fall in the Beginner or the Intermediate Cake Ideas categories.
Growth Tip : This list is great a place to set goals about your cake decorating skills. Pin this post and come back later to tell us how far you’ve come in your cake decorating journey !
How to recreate these elegant cake ideas?
What cake recipe should you use to make your perfect cake come true?
To recreate these cake ideas, you will need a trustworthy cake recipe. You have several options.
Adapt your favorite cake recipe.
There are a lot of ways to adapt a cake recipe. You mainly have four options to tweak your favorite recipe :
- You could change the flavor of your cake recipe: with citrus zest, the essence of your choice, or turn it into a chocolate or carrot cake for example.
- You could play with the colors of your cake too, with a checkered cake, a colored cake, or a rainbow cake for example.
- You could add a filling: a caramel sauce, a homemade flavored whipped cream, ganache, or buttercream.
- You could also add some texture: oreo bits, crumble crumbs, nuts, or fresh fruit for example.
- Finally, you could personalize your frosting.
Be careful, if you’re a beginner baker, having to figure out both your cake design and creating a new cake recipe could be overwhelming. Therefore, I always recommend taking your learning journey one step at a time.
Look for a cake recipe.
Where? You can ask friends, or family or simply look on the internet. You have to keep two things in mind though :
- The recipe has to be suitable for cake decorating, especially for cakes that require stacking or carving (intermediate and advanced cake ideas).
- Once again, if you’re a beginner baker, be careful not to put too much on your plate and choose a recipe suited to your current level.
Use my cake recipe recommendation.
Finally, you could try the delicious recipe I recommend. I firmly believe everyone should have a trustworthy chocolate cake recipe, and my chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting is both beginner-friendly and perfect for cake decorating. I’m sure you’ll love it.
What you will love about this recipe :
- It has a perfect chocolate flavor.
- It’s a really easy recipe, perfect for beginners.
- It has a great texture.
How to follow the instructions of the designs.
For the cake designs in the beginner category: I’ll provide written instructions on how to recreate the cake idea presented to you. Don’t hesitate to watch video tutorials about the basic techniques such as how to smooth a cake.
For the designs in the intermediate category: I’ll provide some guidance on how to perform the more complicated techniques.
For the advanced category: you are an experienced baker, at this point, and you will find great opportunities to put this experience to use. To be completely honest, I cannot make myself several cake ideas from the advanced category, so trust your abilities and go for it.
Find the perfect elegant cake idea for your baking skills.
Growth Tip : If you aim to get better at cake decorating, you should choose a cake idea that feels sligthly above your current cake decorating level. Get out of your comfort zone !
Elegant Cake Ideas For Women Perfect For Beginner Bakers
Here, you’ll find 3 easy elegant cake ideas perfect for beginner bakers.
Elegant Pearl Cake.
Difficulty Level: 1/5.
As a beginner cake decorator, the first technique you have to master is how to frost a cake.
What you will need:
- Enough frosting to cover your cake
- Edible pearls.
- Fresh or artificial roses with their stems wrapped in floral tape.
How to recreate this cake?
- First, you must crumb-coat the cake to avoid any crumbs in your final design. Apply a thin and even coat of frosting with your offset spatula all around your cake.
- Smooth it out with your bench scraper, holding it at a 45-degree angle on the cake while spinning your turntable. Your bench scraper isn’t supposed to move, only turn the turntable.
- It doesn’t have to be perfect as it only is the first coat. Chill the cake 20 to 30 minutes in the fridge (until your frosting sets).
- Then, apply a thicker coat of frosting and repeat the smoothing operation. Fill in any gaps and smooth the cake again. Repeat this operation until the cake looks smooth enough for you. Here, you’ll find a video tutorial of the covering process, if needed.
- Next, place your edible pearls and chill your cake in the fridge for 30 minutes or until your buttercream cover sets.
- Finally, use a knife warmed with water to get sharp edges on your cake, and place your roses on top of your cake.
What you’ve learned :
Once you know how to frost a cake, with the help of a few accessories, you can easily create beautiful cake designs like this one.
Elegant Red Roses Cake
Difficulty Level: 1/5.
What you will need :
- Enough frosting to cover your cake.
- Edible golden leaves.
- Small paintbrush.
- Fake or fresh red roses with their stems wrapped in floral tape.
How to recreate this cake?
- First, you must crumb-coat the cake to avoid any crumbs in your final design. Apply a thin and even coat of frosting with your offset spatula all around your cake.
- Smooth it out with your bench scraper, holding it at a 45-degree angle on the cake while spinning your turntable. Your bench scraper isn’t supposed to move, only turn the turntable.
- It doesn’t have to be perfect as it only is the first coat. Chill the cake 20 to 30 minutes in the fridge (until your frosting sets).
- Then, apply a thicker coat of frosting and repeat the smoothing operation. Fill in any gaps and smooth the cake again. Repeat this operation until the cake looks smooth enough for you. Here, you’ll find a video tutorial of the covering process, if needed.
- Chill your cake for 30 minutes or until your buttercream cover sets.
- Next, use a knife warmed with water to get sharp edges.
- With your paintbrush, transfer gold leaf bits to the cake. Don’t use your fingers, it will stick to them.
- Finally, wrap the stem of the roses in floral tape and place them on your cake.
What you’ve learned :
As a beginner cake decorator, decorations like flowers and edible golden leaves are your best friends.
Purple Elegant Cake
Difficulty Level: 1,5/5.
What you will need :
- Enough frosting to cover your cake.
- DIY edible gold paint
- Purple, white, and golden cake toppers.
- Fake or fresh flowers with their stems wrapped in floral tape.
How to recreate this cake?
- For the cover of the cake. Crumb coat and cover your cake with buttercream as explained with the previous designs.
- Add the edible paint splatters Once your buttercream cover has had enough time to set in the fridge, dip your brush in your golden edible paint, and create splatter by pulling back on the bristles with your fingers and releasing it. Repeat until satisfied with the results.
- Finally, place your cake toppers and flowers on your cake. Make sure to wrap their stems in floral tape to avoid direct contact with the cake.
What you’ve learned :
DIY edible gold paint can be used in a thousand ways to elevate your cake designs.
If you’re looking for more easy cake ideas for women, take a look at my other birthday cake ideas for adults.
Elegant Cake Ideas For Women Perfect For Intermediate Bakers
Here, you’ll find 8 elegant cake ideas for women perfect for intermediate bakers.
Floral Elegant Cake
Difficulty Level: 2/5 (Low-Intermediate)
Drip cakes are really trendy these days, so if you’re looking for a sophisticated but trendy cake design, you’ll love this cake idea.
A little guidance
To recreate this drip, you can easily follow this drip cake tutorial. Once again, don’t forget to wrap the stems of your flowers before placing them on your cake.
Pastel Elegant Cake
Difficulty Level: 2/5 (Low-Intermediate)
This elegant pastel cake and its rustic touch create the perfect cake to celebrate a sophisticated spring birthday.
A little guidance
In order to recreate this effect, once your buttercream cover has set, apply very thin layers of buttercream with your angled spatula where you think it will suit. Don’t hesitate to use different colors to make the design more or less vibrant.
Black And White Cake
Difficulty level: 2,5/5 (Low-Intermediate)
Adding texture to a cake is another simple way to elevate its design as with this beautiful textured fault line.
A little guidance
To recreate this effect, once your buttercream cover has set in the fridge, apply a buttercream layer around the bottom third of your cake. Smooth it as usual, then use a cake comb as you would a cake scraper. Make sure to let it set in the fridge before placing your cake toppers.
Printed Elegant Cake
Difficulty Level: 3/5 (Intermediate)
This printed cake is another proof that texture is the way to go for a showstopping while elegant cake.
A little guidance
Once your buttercream cover has set in the fridge, you can easily recreate this pattern effect following this buttercream stencils tutorial. Here, you could try and print your cake with a slightly darker or lighter shade to get a more contrasted look while keeping an elegant cake design.
Glittery Elegant Cake
Difficulty Level: 3/5 (Intermediate)
This glittery cake will definitely elevate your celebration. The secret to keep this cake design elegant is to avoid using too many cake toppers as glitters are already enough of a statement.
A little guidance
In this case, to recreate this glitter cake, you’ll have to cover your cake in black buttercream. Then use a glitter airbrush to cover your cake in sparkles in the most uniform way possible. If necessary, make several passages to get this elegant opaque finnish.
White Elegant Cake
Difficulty Level: 3,5/5 (High-Intermediate)
This white cake is reminiscent of the Renaissance, and what’s more elegant than this era? If you’re looking for a cake worthy of kings and queens, you’ll love this cake design.
A little guidance
To recreate the moldings, push your fondant in silicon molds dusted with cornstarch as explained in this fondant silicon molds tutorial.
Bow Cake.
Difficulty Level: 4/5 (High-Intermediate)
Sometimes, elegance rhymes with simplicity as with this cute bow cake. You can easily personnalize it by changing it’s color.
A little guidance
When making tiered cakes, you have to pay extra attention to the structure of the cake. Therefore, you should always use a sturdy cake board for each tier. You should also support the bottom tier with dowel rods or bubble tea straws cut to the height of the cake. Finally, you should ensure each tier is leveled before stacking them.
Vintage Elegant Cake
Difficulty Level: 4,5/5 (High-Intermediate)
Create an elegant and vintage atmosphere with this elegant vintage cake and its intricate buttercream piping.
A little guidance
You’ll have to put in a lot of work though. To get a head start, you can follow this buttercream flowers tutorial.
Elegant Cake Ideas For Women Perfect For Advanced Bakers
These 6 elegant cake designs will be perfectly suited to experienced cake decorators.
Elegant Standing Cake
Difficulty Level: 5/5 (High-Intermediate)
Make a statement with this Elegant Standing Cake, that combines white and gold to create a showstopping centerpice.
Elegant Square Cake
Difficulty Level: 5/5
if you’re looking for a cake that is chic yet festive, this square black cake is the perfect cake for you.
Butterfly Cake
Difficulty level: 5/5
You could also flutter into elegance with this Elegant Butterfly Cake, where delicate butterflies grace the tiers, adding a touch of enchantment to a sophisticated cake design.
Regal Cake
Difficulty Level: 5/5
Or you could indulge in royal elegance with this vintage-style regal cake.
Elegant Floating Cake
Difficulty Level: 5/5
Maybe you want to add a touch of sophistication to your celebration with this Elegant Floating Cake, where delicate tiers appear to defy gravity.
Black Textured Cake
Difficulty Level: 5/5
Finally, as I mentioned all along this post, texture is the way to go for elegant cakes. This black textured cake is a perfect demonstration. Don’t hesitate to personnalize it by changing the color.
Did you enjoy these elegant cake inspirations? Sharing is caring!
Please let me know in the comments and/or tag me on Instagram @theperfectcakeidea. I’d love to see your creations. And don’t forget to pin this post so you can come back to it.
Pin this post and come back to it later.
