Mermaid Cake
Hello sweet tooths,
Many of you have asked us for the recipes and materials used to make the famous mermaid cake by Mrs Martinez Cooks and myself. ;o)
You don't know Mrs Martinez Cooks? Here is her website: www.mrsmartinezcooks.ch. Also, her Instagram account is just amazing! Recipes every day! In short, go check out her account.
You'll also find all our videos of this cake on her Instagram account.
Here is the recipe.
For a 15 cm diameter and 10 cm high tin, you will need:
Vanilla ganache:
- 370g full cream
- 8 gelatine leaves
- 200g white chocolate
- 400g full cream
- 3 tsp vanilla flavouring
Sponge cake:
- 6 eggs
- 150g sugar
- 150g flour
- 1 tsp vanilla flavouring
Strawberry compote:
- 400g strawberries
- 50g sugar
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 tsp cornstarch
Decorations:
- Silicone mould "Marine World"
- Pastel fondant kit
- Chocolate pearls
- Mini pink meringues
- Mermaid sugar decorations
- Gold glitter
Before starting the cake, it is important to know that such cakes cannot be made in one day.
We recommend starting 3-4 days in advance to begin the decorations so they can dry.
A fresh sponge is harder to cut and more crumbly than one prepared 1-2 days in advance.
The whipped ganache also needs a day to cool properly before it can be whipped.
The compote must also be used cold, otherwise the sponge will absorb too much and risk collapsing.
So make sure you allow enough time to make this type of cake.
Fondant Decorations
If you want to make your own cake decorations, it is advisable to make them a few days in advance so they can dry.
Here, I used the Wilton "Marine World" silicone mould and I will show you how to quickly and easily make fondant decorations with this mould.
For this, you need pastel-coloured fondant, a silicone mould of your choice and "Magic Roll-Out" powder.
To begin, dust the mould with "Magic Roll-Out" powder. Use the duster for this. This powder is actually potato starch, which prevents the fondant from sticking in the mould.
Turn over and tap the mould to remove the excess powder. You can see in photo N°1 that a thin layer remains. That's perfect!
Form a ball with the fondant, place it in the shape of your choice and press with your finger to fill the cavity.
As you can see in the photos, the star is very easy to unmould thanks to our "Magic-Roll-Out" powder!
Be creative, for example try a marble effect by mixing two fondants of different colours.
For more difficult shapes like corals, it is recommended to press firmly enough into the mould and remove the excess with a spatula. I definitely do not use a knife so as not to damage the mould.
Place your decorations on a board and let them dry for at least 1 day (at room temperature and protected from dust).
These fondant decorations can actually be stored without any problem for up to 6 months in a box at room temperature. Whatever you do, don't put them in the fridge – fondant hates moisture!
Vanilla Ganache
I want to mention that this ganache is a recipe from the great pastry chef Philippe Conticini! I love this recipe! Originally it is a recipe for filling macarons but I find it works well for this type of cake or for vanilla cupcakes.
Warning! This ganache has a high cream content and is not compatible with fondant. Therefore, decorate the cake with the fondant decorations no more than 1-2 hours before serving and not before.
Now, soften 8 gelatine leaves in very cold water. The water must really be cold otherwise the gelatine may dissolve.
Then in a saucepan, pour 370g of full cream and add 3 tsp of vanilla flavouring.
Bring the vanilla cream to a boil. Once it boils, remove the saucepan from the heat, squeeze the gelatine leaves, add them to the cream and let them melt (30 seconds will be enough).
Once the gelatine leaves have fully melted, pour the vanilla cream over 200g of white chocolate and let the mixture melt for 10-15 seconds. Then whisk the ganache well.
Add 400g of very cold full cream and whisk again.
Once the ganache is well mixed, cover with cling film directly on the surface and refrigerate overnight.
Sponge Cake
We'll start by preheating the oven to 150°C fan heat.
Now, crack 6 eggs and separate the whites from the yolks (I noted 6 eggs in the recipe but depending on where you buy your eggs you may need to weigh them).
We need approximately 180g of egg whites and 120g of egg yolks. If you use farm eggs, you'll probably need 5 eggs... On the other hand if you use budget eggs, you might need 7... Count accordingly! ;-)
Then, add 150g of sugar to the egg whites and whisk at high speed with the mixer's whisk attachment. Don't worry if it takes a while to whip up.
A tip: If your eggs are at room temperature, your meringue will whip up much faster! But if your eggs come straight from the fridge, it can take 10 minutes to whip up.
The meringue must be very very stiff! This is important because if you don't whip it enough, everything will collapse when you add the egg yolks. Your meringue must form a nice peak (the small point in photo N°3 below). This is the sign that the meringue is stiff enough.
Now, add 1 tsp of vanilla flavouring and the egg yolks. You're starting to know me, I love this vanilla flavouring! ;-)
Whisk at minimum speed! This is super important! If you whisk too fast, everything will collapse. So gently, gently!
Sift 150g of flour all at once into the sponge batter. This step is important to avoid lumps. Use a sifter for this.
Once the flour is sifted, all that remains is to fold in the batter.
If you have a Kitchenaid or similar stand mixer, use the K beater (the flat beater, see photo N°2 below). Otherwise you can simply fold with a spatula.
Warning! With the Kitchenaid, you must mix very gently at minimum speed.
And that's it! Your sponge is almost ready! Just one or two folds with the spatula to make sure there's no hidden flour.
Your sponge batter is ready.
To prevent the sponge from sticking to the tin and to keep it looking beautiful, use the release spray. It is my "essential" for baking in stainless steel or even silicone tins. It avoids the chore of "buttering and flouring". It's super simple! Just shake the can, spray the tin and that's it!
Make sure not to wipe what you have sprayed. Spray and pour in the sponge batter.
Once the tin is sprayed (make sure not to forget a side, be generous!), pour your sponge batter into the tin.
Here, I used a 15 cm tin that is 10 cm high.
Let's bake! Place your sponge in a preheated oven at 150°C fan heat for 45-55 minutes.
You could also use: a 17 cm diameter tin that is 10 cm high, the baking time remains the same. With the 17 cm tin your sponge will rise to about 7 cm. Whereas with the 15 cm tin it will rise to 10 cm high.
To check if the sponge is done, insert a knife into it. It should come out clean.
Tip: Be careful never to open the oven before 45 minutes. Your sponge would collapse immediately!
2nd tip: When the sponge is done, it pulls away slightly from the edges and you can see a small gap between the tin and the sponge.
Once the sponge is baked, unmould it immediately by turning the tin upside down onto a cooling rack.
Thanks to our release spray you'll have no trouble at all! Proof in the photo! ;-)
There you go! The sponge is ready! Let it cool before cutting it to fill it.
You can freeze it very easily. Simply wrap it (once cooled) in cling film.
On the day you want to use it, defrost it at least 2h in advance. Keep the cling film on while the sponge defrosts. Otherwise it risks losing all its moisture.
Strawberry Compote
Pour 400g of strawberries, 50g of sugar, 2 tbsp of water and 1 tsp of cornstarch into a saucepan.
Mix lightly and heat over medium heat.
Once the mixture boils, let it cook for 20 minutes over medium heat. Stir fairly often so that nothing sticks to the bottom of the saucepan.
The strawberries will melt and form a lovely compote. It is important to cook the compote for 20 minutes so that it is not too runny.
Then pour the compote into a bowl and put it in the fridge to cool.
Filling the Cake
Start by cutting your sponge into 3 or 4 layers using a cake leveller.
The leveller will allow you to cut your sponge as straight as possible. It's super simple to use! Just think of it as a saw and make back-and-forth movements while moving your leveller.
I cut my sponge from the bottom, cutting slices of approximately 2-3 cm.
For the top which is not perfectly flat (due to the marks from the cooling rack), I removed it and ate it :o). You can also use the sponge offcuts to make cakepops.
So I cut my sponge 3 times at the same measurement on the leveller. This gives us 3 even discs, one of which has the crust. This piece will be the top of our cake.
So place the crust right at the top of your cake. This way you will avoid little crumbs getting into the ganache. :o)
Take your ganache out of the fridge and place it in a bowl. It is perfectly normal if it has set solid. :o)
Whip it at medium speed. Definitely not too fast! It could split and would be less airy.
The ganache will whip up and become nice and smooth. When you get a peak (see photo N°3) your ganache is ready.
Then put a small portion of the ganache into a large piping bag. 1/3 will be more than enough.
Here I used an 8 mm round nozzle.
For this type of cake, you need a round cake board and a turntable.
On the cake board, put a small dab of ganache so the sponge doesn't move.
If necessary, place a damp cloth between the cake board and the turntable to prevent it from sliding during smoothing.
Then pipe a dam around the top edge of the sponge to create a barrier for the compote.
Add 2 good spoonfuls of strawberry compote to the middle of the cake.
Spread the compote using an offset spatula.
There should be compote all over the middle of the cake. Be generous!
Add a sponge layer for your first tier, then repeat the process.
Remember that the crust must go right on the top of your cake. And place the sponge layers as straight as possible in relation to your base.
To ice our sponge as easily and quickly as possible, I recommend this magic nozzle!
It allows you to apply a thin layer of ganache all around the cake. It saves you a lot of trouble.
Start at the bottom. Always go all the way around the cake. Then place the nozzle in the middle and go around the cake again.
Continue on the top of the cake, then the middle. :o)
Try not to leave any gaps between the layers.
And here is the result. All that's left is to smooth it.
First, I smooth with the offset spatula so the ganache adheres well to the cake.
Always stay parallel to the cake. If your cake is becoming rounded, it means you are not parallel.
Then I take my scraper. This one, you either love it or you hate it! :o) Personally I love it.
Same thing, always stay parallel to your cake to get a nice straight finish.
You need to find the right balance between scraping enough but not too much either. It's a skill that takes practice.
Watch our video tips for a perfect smooth finish!
Shall we continue? :o)
For this cake, I wanted to create a pink gradient.
To get this gradient, colour the rest of the ganache with gel colouring and apply it with the offset spatula to the bottom part of the cake, then go over it with the scraper and you will get a lovely gradient.
The cake is now finished and ready to be decorated :o) Here, creativity knows no limits!
For the decoration I used chocolate pearls, gold glitter, mini meringues, mermaid sugar decorations and of course the fondant decorations I made myself.
And to make your party unforgettable, we also have lots of decorations related to the mermaid theme ;0)
Here is the result! I hope you enjoyed this tutorial!
I wish you a lovely Sunday.
Karin
P.S.: You will find all the materials used at the end of the recipe.
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Comments
Question de Olga
By: Olga S. On 2025-06-06Bonjour,
Est ce que on peut remplacer la composée de fraises par du curd à l'orange
Merci d'avance de votre réponse !
Replied by: Laura On 2025-06-09
Replied by: Olga S. On 2025-06-09
Question de Sophie
By: Sophie J. On 2024-08-28Bonjour,
J'aimerais reprendre la recette de ce gâteau (génoise, compotée, ganache) mais avec une décoration différente. Est-il possible de faire la ganache au chocolat noir plutôt qu'au chocolat blanc? Si oui, à part supprimer la vanille, est-ce qu'il faudrait adapter la recette de ganache? Merci d'avance pour votre réponse!
Replied by: Karin On 2024-08-29
Question de Severine
By: Severine R. On 2024-03-12Bonjour,
Merci pour le partage de recette.
J’ai lu qu’il était possible de congeler le gâteau pour l’utilisation d’un spray velours. Combien de temps à l’avance faudrait-il le sortir du congélateur?
Est-il également possible de suivre la recette initiale, y compris le dégradé et le congeler ?
Merci d’avance :)
Replied by: Karin On 2024-03-13
Question de Florence
By: Florence H. On 2024-02-03Un grand succès pour ce magnifique dessert! Merci pour la recette !
Replied by: Karin On 2024-02-05
Question de Julie
By: Julie H. On 2024-01-09Bonjour,
Pour ce gâteau je vais utiliser mon moule de 20 cm est-ce que le temps de cuisson change vu que je fais 1,5 × de plus pour les ingrédients.
Merci
Replied by: Karin On 2024-01-09
Question de Lucie
By: Lucie D. On 2023-11-20Bonjour,
Merci pour cette super recette que j'ai testé cette semaine :-)
les fraises n'étant pas de saison, je pensais prendre des framboises congélées, que me conseillez-vous pour que ce ne soit pas trop liquide.
merci d'avance et belle journée
Lucie
Replied by: Karin On 2023-11-20
Question de Nathalie
By: Nathalie L. On 2023-05-01Est-ce qu'on peut imaginer remplacer la ganache par de la crème au beurre à la metingue suisse? Merci
Replied by: Karin On 2023-05-01
Question de Ermina
By: Ermina M. On 2023-01-08Bonjour,
J’ai une question, j’ai préparé ma génoise à l’avance et je l’ai congelée, si je la décongèle pour garnir mon gâteau est-ce qu’après je peux à nouveau le mettre au congélateur afin d’y mettre un spray velours ?!
Merci pour toutes vos recettes et votre site! J’adore !
Ermina
Replied by: Laura On 2023-01-09
Replied by: Ermina M. On 2023-01-09
Question de Elodie
By: Elodie S. On 2022-05-01Bonjour,
J'aimerais faire ce gâteau, mais une de mes amies est végétarienne. Puis-je remplacer la gélatine par de l'agar-agar ? Et si oui, est-ce que je dois modifier quelque chose ?
Merci d'avance et merci pour toutes ces recettes que vous partagez.
Replied by: Karin On 2022-05-02
Question de Maryline
By: Maryline D. On 2022-03-21Bonjour
Pourriez-vous me dire la hauteur totale du gâteau fini svp ?
Je voudrais commander des boîtes et ça me donnerait une idée de quelle dimension acheter. Merci beaucoup
Replied by: Karin On 2022-03-21
Question de Sabine
By: Sabine D. On 2022-02-25Bonjour,
Ce gâteau à l'air délicieux.
Une question si notre four n'a pas la chaleur tournante, a quelle température et combien de temps cuire la génoise ?
Merci d'avance pour votre réponse. Belle journée
Replied by: Laura On 2022-02-25
Question de Sabrina
By: Sabrina S. On 2022-02-19Bonjour, si je monte mon gâteau la veille de le manger, puis-je faire la génoise l'avant-veille et la laisser au frigo 1 nuit bien emballée? Mon gâteau se conservera-t-il moins longtemps?
Merci d'avance. Je suis une fan absolue de votre site.
Replied by: Karin On 2022-02-21
Réponse à Oui
By: Karin On 2021-11-08vous pouvez mettre votre gâteau au congélateur puis mettre un spray velours. Protéger bien votre gâteau avec une boîte pour le mettre au congélateur :)
Bonne pâtisserie et belle journée.
Question de A
By: A K. On 2021-11-08Bonjour !
Est-ce possible de congeler ce gâteau ? Surtout la ganache montée ?
Car j’aimerais prendre cette base de gâteau mais pour ma finition j’aimerais mettre un spray velours
Merci
Question de Stefania
By: Stefania D. On 2021-10-23Bonjour,
Je suis tenter ? c'est vraiment magnifique. Ce gâteau est pour combien de personne ? Si on désire faire une génoise plus grande j'imagine faut doubler la duré du temps de cuisson oui ? J'ai un moule 22 et de 20 je dois doubler oi tripler la dose et la température ?
Merci beaucoup pour réponse
Replied by: Laura On 2021-10-25
Question de Séverine
By: Séverine B. On 2021-04-15Hallo Karin
wie muss ich die Ganache einfärben? In verschiedenen Anleitungen habe ich gelesen, dass man die Lebensmittelfarbe in den Rahm geben kann und darin die Schokolade auflöst. In eurem Rezept steht aber nichts davon. Wenn ich es richtig verstanden habe, habt ihr zuerst die Gesamtmenge der Ganache zubereitet und diese erst am Schluss gefärbt.
Ich habe verschiedene Arten von Lebensmittelfarbe, flüssig und Paste. Auf keiner steht, dass sie für Schokolade geeignet ist :(
Replied by: Veronique N. On 2021-04-15
Question de Lucie
By: Lucie M. On 2021-03-09Vraiment perturbante cette recette car les images ne sont pas du tout fidèles à la recette . Je n’ai pas bien compris où se plaçait la compotée et la ganache . On verra le résultat demain au montage. Sinon la recette est bien expliquée
Replied by: Karin On 2021-03-10
Replied by: Lucie M. On 2021-03-11
Replied by: Karin On 2021-03-12