The Ultimate St. Patrick’s Day Dessert: Lucky Charm Cake!

This cake is seriously what my childhood St. Patrick’s Day dreams were made of. Ombre green vanilla cake. Rich vanilla frosting. Covered with ganache drip and garnished with lucky charms marshmallows. I mean…come on! Every kid needs this St. Patrick’s Day dessert – even if they’re just kids at heart!

Cake Ingredients: 

2 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened (2 sticks)
1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup full-fat vanilla yogurt (greek or regular is fine)
1/2 cup buttermilk

Vanilla Buttercream Ingredients: 

(Note: I use a lot of frosting – see the photos below! You can cut down as needed!)

2 cups butter, softened (4 sticks)
6-8 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon heavy cream, if needed
  
White Ganache Drip Ingredients: 

1/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup white chocolate or white candy melts

Cake Directions: 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and line the bottoms of three 6″ cake pans with parchment paper.

Whisk together the dry ingredients, flour through salt.

In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Mix in the sugar until combined. Add in the eggs, vanilla, yogurt and buttermilk and mix on low until all ingredients are incorporated. Then add the flour mixture, mixing on low until just combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

If you want a green ombre cake: Distribute the cake batter evenly into three large mixing bowls. I used a 1/2 cup measure to ensure my cake layers would be exactly even. Add green food dye in varying degrees to each bowl. Remember that the dye will lighten slightly when the cake bakes. 

Spoon the batter into the prepared cake pans. Bake 20-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs. Allow to cool about 10 minutes in the cake pans, and then invert the cakes onto a cooling rack with the “top” of the cake down. This will help flatten the cakes. Once the cakes come to room temperature, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze at least 1 hour before frosting.

Buttercream Directions: 

Whip the butter until light and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar and mix on low speed until incorporated. Add vanilla extract. Increase the speed to high, and mix about 2-3 minutes.

Ganache Directions: 

Put your frosted cake into the freezer for at least 10 minutes. Melt the chocolate or candy melts in a small bowl with the heavy cream. Drizzle the ganache down the sides of the cake, and spread across the top! You can use a spoon for this step, but I prefer to use a squeeze bottle. Garnish with lucky charms marshmallows.