To make a cake for a “Crab Fest” charity auction, I searched the internet for some crab themed cakes. I designed mine based on several ideas I found..

It’s a three layer Extreme Chocolate Cake and a two layer Vanilla Cake. The decorations are Marshmallow Fondant and the sand is blitzed vanilla cake scraps.

The crumb coat is American Buttercream and the finish frosting is Italian Meringue Buttercream.

Vanilla Layer Cake

INGREDIENTS
VANILLA CAKE

• 1¼ cups (162g) all-purpose flour
• 1¼ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• 6 Tbl (84g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• ¾ c (155g) sugar
• 1 ½ Tbl vegetable oil
• ½ Tbl vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• ½ c + 4 Tbl (150ml) milk
  
  METHOD
  For the Cake:

1. Prepare two 5-inch cake pans with parchment paper circles in the bottom and baking spray or grease the sides. Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C).
2. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium sized bowl and set aside.
3. Add the butter, sugar, oil and vanilla extract to a large mixer bowl and beat together until light in color and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Do not skimp on the creaming time.
4. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until mostly combined after each. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to be sure all ingredients are well incorporated.
5. Add half of the dry ingredients to the batter and mix until mostly combined.
6. Slowly add the milk and mix until well combined. The batter will look curdled, but that’s ok.
7. Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix until well combined and smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to be sure all ingredients are well incorporated. Do not over mix the
   batter.
8. Wrap each pan with wet cake pan strips then divide the batter evenly between the cakes pans (~320g per cake pan.) and bake for ~28 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few
   crumbs. (205°F) If the tops of the cakes brown too much, cover with foil after ~20 minutes.
9. Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool for about 2-3 minutes, then remove to cooling racks to cool completely.