# What You’ll Need:
→ Vanilla Cake
01 - 3 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
03 - ½ teaspoon salt
04 - 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
05 - 2 cups granulated sugar
06 - 4 large eggs, room temperature
07 - 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
08 - 1 ¼ cups whole milk
→ Buttercream
09 - 2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
10 - 6 cups powdered sugar, sifted
11 - 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
12 - 3–4 tablespoons heavy cream or milk
13 - Teal gel food coloring
→ Geode Decoration
14 - 2 cups rock sugar crystals, clear or white
15 - Teal gel food coloring
16 - Edible gold leaf or gold luster dust
17 - Clear alcohol, such as vodka, for painting
→ Assembly
18 - Simple syrup, optional, for moistening cake layers
# Directions:
01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and line three 8-inch round cake pans. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and whisk thoroughly.
02 - Using an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Incorporate eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in vanilla extract.
03 - Gradually alternate adding the flour mixture and milk into the batter, beginning and finishing with the dry mixture. Mix until just combined.
04 - Divide batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake for 28–32 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center emerges clean. Cool cakes in pans for 10 minutes, then transfer to cooling racks.
05 - Beat butter in a mixing bowl until smooth and creamy. Slowly add powdered sugar while mixing, then add vanilla extract. Adjust consistency with heavy cream or milk. Tint a majority of the buttercream with teal gel food coloring, reserving some plain buttercream for the crumb coat.
06 - Place rock sugar crystals into a bowl and combine with drops of teal gel food coloring. Mix gently until evenly colored and allow to dry on parchment paper if needed.
07 - Level cake layers as needed. Optionally brush each layer with simple syrup. Stack layers using a thin spread of buttercream between each. Apply crumb coat with reserved uncolored buttercream; refrigerate 20 minutes to set.
08 - Cover cake with teal buttercream, smoothing the sides and top using an offset spatula.
09 - With a serrated knife, carve a wedge or slice into the side of the cake to expose the interior. Spread buttercream in the cut-out cavity and press teal-tinted sugar crystals in, using lighter crystals at the center and darker crystals around the edges for dimension.
10 - Paint the edges of the geode section with edible gold leaf or brush with gold luster dust mixed with a small amount of clear alcohol to create a metallic finish.
11 - Add supplementary gold accents as desired and place a graduation topper as a finishing embellishment.
