Tie Dye Cake (Easter Cake)

This Tie Dye Cake is seriously easy to make! White cake mix is tinted to create a pretty tie-dye cake – top it with frosting and sprinkles for a perfect Easter cake! Or, change up the colors to match any holiday or event – it’s an excellent cake for parties, potlucks, holidays, or just because.

What’s a Tie Dye Cake?

This Easter cake recipe uses a really fun technique for making a tie dye cake. Different colored batters are swirled together, so when you take out a slice, you get a pretty piece of colorful cake!

Once you know how to make this easy cake recipe, there are so many directions you can go with it. I make it on repeat throughout the year for different events and just change up the colors and sprinkles.

Ingredients Needed

• White Cake Mix: Use any brand cake mix. White cake is important so the colors pop.
• Egg Whites: You have 2 options on the box directions – using egg whites keeps the cake extra white so the colors pop.
• Sour Cream: Adds some extra flavor to the cake – makes it not taste like it’s from a box.
• Vanilla: Be sure to buy pure extract – and adding it makes it less like box cake!
• Food Coloring: Use any colors, but for this cake you’ll want blue, pink, and yellow food coloring. You can use gel colors or regular grocery store kind.

How to Make a Tie Dye Cake

1. Mix the cake mix, water, egg whites, oil, sour cream, and vanilla at low speed until combined. Scrape down the bowl and beat the batter for two minutes longer.
2. Spread two cups of the batter in a prepared 9×13” pan.
3. Divide the remaining batter equally among three bowls. Tint each bowl one color and stir well to combine.
4. Place spoonfuls of the tinted batters on top of the batter in the pan.
5. Use a knife to swirl the batters back and forth to create a tie dye effect.
6. Bake the cake for 30 to 35 minutes at 350°F and then allow the cake to cool before frosting it.

Buttercream Frosting Ingredients

• Butter: My recipe starts with softened unsalted butter but you can substitute salted (omit salt)
• Powdered Sugar: There is no substitute for this.
• Salt: If you’re not using salted butter the salt helps cut the sweetness.
• Pure vanilla extract: For flavor
• Heavy cream or milk: How much you need depends on the fat content. More fat (i.e. Heavy cream) you’ll need more than if you use less fat (milk).

How to Make Buttercream Frosting

1. Add the butter to the bowl of an electric mixer.
2. Whip the butter with an electric mixer until it’s light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar salt.
3. Beat at low speed until the mixture is well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
4. Add the vanilla and cream and beat the frosting for one minute. If you are using food coloring, add it at this point and mix well to combine.
5. Frost the Easter cake and decorate the top with sprinkles!

Tip From Dorothy

Expert Tips

• I use egg whites to make the cake really white. Yolks discolor the batter, so the colors don’t stand out as much. So, for the best pastel cake, stick with the whites.
• When you swirl the tinted batters, don’t swirl too much. You want to do it enough to create a lovely tie-dye pattern but not too much because the colors will just mix together. I run the knife in a circle and move it down the pan as I’m swirling.
• You can leave the buttercream frosting white or tint it a color you like. For this recipe, gel food coloring or liquid food coloring works great for the cake and frosting.
• Feel free to substitute a can of icing instead of making it homemade but the homemade one is so good – your guests will never know the cake is from a box.
• Have fun with this tie dye cake and change the colors for any holiday!

Pastel Tie Dye Cake Recipe

5 from 4 votes

Learn how to make a tie dye Easter Cake! This easy cake recipe starts with a cake mix but no one will know it.

Recipe Video

Prep Time 25 minutes minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour

Yield 12 servings

Serving Size 1 serving

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

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Ingredients

 

Cake Ingredients:

• ▢ 1 box white cake mix
• ▢ ¼ cup (59ml) water
• ▢ 4 large egg whites
• ▢ ½ cup (118 ml) vegetable oil
• ▢ 1 cup (245g) sour cream
• ▢ 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ▢ Blue, pink, and yellow food coloring (either gel or liquid)

Frosting ingredients:

• ▢ ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, softened
• ▢ 2 cups (226g) powdered sugar
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ▢ 2-4 tablespoons heavy cream or you can use milk
• ▢ Food coloring optional
• ▢ Sprinkles

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Instructions

Cake Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 9×13 baking dish.
• In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat cake mix, water, egg whites, oil, sour cream, and vanilla extract. Mix on low speed for 30 seconds or until combined. Scrape the edges of the bowl. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes more, scraping the edges occasionally.
• Pour 2 cups of the batter into the prepared pan.
• Divide the remaining batter between 3 medium bowls (about ½ cup each). Add a few drops of blue, pink, and yellow food coloring (one color per bowl) to the batter, stirring well after each drop, until the batter reaches the desired color.
• Place spoonfuls of each colored batter in random places on top of the white batter. Run a butter knife back and forth through the batter to swirl the added color.
• Bake cake for 30-35 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

Frosting directions:

• With an electric mixer, whip the butter for 1-2 minutes until it is lighter in color and a bit fluffy.
• Add the powdered sugar and salt. Beat on low to medium speed for about 1 minute until well combined, occasionally scraping the sides of the bowl.
• Add the vanilla and 2 tablespoons of cream and beat for one minute. (If adding food coloring to the frosting, incorporate that now.) Slowly add more cream, if necessary, to get the desired consistency. Whip for 1 more minute or until light and fluffy.
• Frost and decorate the cake with Easter sprinkles.

Recipe Notes

 

• I use egg whites to make the cake really white. Yolks discolor the batter, so the colors don’t stand out as much. So, for the best pastel cake, stick with the whites.
• When you swirl the tinted batters, don’t swirl too much. You want to do it enough to create a lovely tie-dye pattern but not too much because the colors will just mix together. I run the knife in a circle and move it down the pan as I’m swirling.
• You can leave the buttercream frosting white or tint it a color you like. For this recipe, gel food coloring or liquid food coloring works great for the cake and frosting.
• Feel free to substitute a can of icing instead of making it homemade but the homemade one is so good – your guests will never know the cake is from a box.
• Have fun with this tie dye cake and change the colors for any holiday!

 

Recipe Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 440kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 34mg | Sodium: 432mg | Potassium: 73mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 39g | Vitamin A: 393IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 119mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutritional information not guaranteed to be accurate

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Author Dorothy Kern

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Make an easy Easter Cake with cake mix and food coloring – this fun Pastel Easter tie dye cake recipe is so fun and delicious too.