Galaxy swirl cake batter – 3 1/2 cups cake flour – 1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp baking powder – 1/2 tsp salt – 6 large egg whites room temp – 1 1/2 cups buttermilk room temp – 1 cup vegetable oil – 1 1/2 cups sugar – 2 tsp vanilla extract – Betty Crocker Bold: dark blue food color – Betty Crocker Classic: blue and green food colors – Betty Crocker Neon: neon purple food color

Frosting, fondant and décor supplies – 1 recipe American buttercream link – 24 ounces black ready-made fondant I recommend Decorator Preferred – Fondant smoother such as Easy-Glide Smoother by Wilton – Americolor Bright White gel food color – Fine-tipped artists brush round size 0 or 1 – Large stiff bristle brush round size 4 or larger – Black paper chalkboard picks if using

– Make the cakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease three 7-inch cake pans (or two 9-inch cake pans) and line the bottoms with parchment circles. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. Whisk together egg whites, buttermilk, oil, sugar and vanilla in a separate bowl; set aside. – Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients in three additions; beat until smooth on medium-low speed after each addition.

– Divide batter between three bowls. Tint one bowl with neon purple food color and mix until a vivid color is achieved. In a second bowl add equal additions of classic blue and green gel food color; mix until a vivid turquoise color is achieved.  In a third bowl tint the batter with bold dark blue food color; mix until well combined. Place large spoonsful of each color batter in the pans, alternating them often so that the colors are well varied. Use a skewer to 

swirl and marble the batter. Bake the cakes 350 for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick tester inserted in the centers come out clean. Let cool slightly in pan, then turn out to cool completely. Level each cake with a serrated knife or cake leveler. – Frost the cake: Fill two cake layers each with 1/2 cup frosting. Stack the cakes, ending with the plain layer on top. Frost the entire cake with a thin layer of frosting (crumb coat) and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Cover the cake with another 

of frosting making it as even as possible (find my tips here in this video) and chill the cake again until the frosting is solid, about 30 minutes. Fondant work: Before rolling out fondant, knead it until it is a workable consistency. If fondant is sticky, knead in a little confectioners’ sugar. Roll the fondant out into a large circle with a large rolling pin to about 1/8-inch thickness (you can also roll to 1/4 inch, thicker fondant is less likely to tear, but will create 

rounded edges on your cake). To keep fondant from sticking, lift and move as you roll. Add more confectioners’ sugar if needed. Gently lift fondant over a rolling pin; position on cake. Shape fondant to sides of cake with Easy-Glide Smoother. I recommend using the Smoother because the pressure of your hands may leave impressions on the fondant. Beginning in the middle of the cake top, move the Smoother outward and down the sides to smooth and shape fondant to the cake and remove 

it’s within 1 1/2 inches of the cake’s edge. Use a piece of paper with a straight edge to score a line through the center of the circle. Using the fine-tipped paint brush and undiluted bright white gel food color, paint a perforated line in the scored circle. Paint a perforated line on the straight edge line, and then paint an arrow at one end and two arrow marks anywhere inside the circle. At the other end of the straight edge line, paint a circle (earth). Paint zodiac symbols around the 

top edge of the cake, outside the perforated circle. Have a small cup of water and paper towels to clean your paint brush when needed. If you make a mistake, use a little of the water on a paper towel to ‘erase’ the white food color (I ended up removing an entire constellation on the side of the cake and re-painting it!). Paint constellations corresponding to the symbols on top of the cake on the sides of the cake. I painted dots for ‘stars’ 

and then connected them. Take your time and paint the connecting lines as thin as possible. They’ll look best this way. Now, the messy bit: Dip the hog-bristle brush into undiluted white gel food color and pull the bristles back with your fingers. Flick the paint onto the cake holding the brush about 4-inches from the cake’s surface, repeating the process until the cake is speckled all over with white ‘stars’. – Allow the cake to air dry for 45 minutes before serving. If using the chalkboard picks,

use white food color to paint zodiac names on them, and place the pics on top of the cake and on their corresponding symbols. – Cover lightly in plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to 3 days.