This Under the Sea Cake is a moist, buttery chocolate chip pound cake with a rich buttercream frosting decorated with a nautical theme. I made this for my father-in-law’s 70th birthday party and it was a huge hit! His passion is scuba diving so I tried to make the top of the cake mimic the sea floor and the sides had white dots representing air bubbles. Even though I made this for a birthday, it could easily work for an “Under the Sea” themed baby shower or anyone that loves the sea!
I am a bit picky when it comes to pound cake and have spent years trying to figure out the best recipe. Some were too dry or too dense while others did not hold up well when layered with fruit and toppings. I finally put this recipe together and fell in love with the results! The addition of chocolate chips puts it over the top!
Under the Sea Chocolate Chip Pound Cake Process
Even though we provide detailed instructions in the recipe below, the following is a general overview of the process along with some tips.
Prepare Pans
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease three 8 inch cake pans generously with melted shortening or nonstick spray (the kind with flour).
Mix Cake Ingredients
Using a handheld or stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary. It is important to beat the butter and sugar fully until it lightens in color. The sugar aerates the butter creating bubbles that are then used in the leavening process.
Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. By adding the eggs slowly, it helps liquids and fats disperse evenly creating a smooth suspension. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and chocolate chips. Add half to the butter mixture, beating gently on low until just incorporated. Then, add sour cream, vanilla, and the remaining half of flour mixture. Mix just until combined. Take care to not over-mix. The batter will be thick.
Bake Cake
Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans and bake for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center has a few moist crumbs. Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting onto wire rack or serving dish. Cool completely before frosting and decorating. I actually prefer to bake the cake layers ahead of time and freeze them prior to decorating. I find it increases the flavor of the pound cake and helps when frosting/decorating because the cake layers are firmer. When ready to use, thaw (still wrapped) on the counter. It is important to keep the cake wrapped while thawing so the condensation forms on the outside wrapping and not the cake.
Under the Sea Chocolate Chip Pound Cake Decorating Process
Below is the general process I created to decorate this cake.
Make Frosting
Beat butter until creamy – approximately 2-3 minutes. Add confectioners’ sugar, heavy cream, vanilla, and salt. Beat on low for 1 minute, then increase speed and beat until all ingredients are fully incorporated. Scrape down the bowl and beat again. If your frosting is too thick, add a tiny bit of cream/milk until you reach desired consistency. If your frosting is too thin, add a tiny bit of confectioners’ sugar until you reach desired consistency. Decide what colors you will be using and separate frosting into bowls. Color the frosting with a light hand – you can always add more food coloring if it’s not dark enough. I used these colors for this cake.
Decorate Cake
Melt white chocolate wafers and create sea life molds (you can use food coloring to create different colors, if desired). Frost in between cake layers and then crumb coat the top and sides with white. To create the ombre sides, add three different colors of frosting and then smooth with scraper. The same can be done for the top or you can use one color. Next, choose several different piping tips and add varying sizes of sea plant life to the top. Add cake toppers (birthday age and bubbles) along with the chocolate sea life molds previously created. (I washed and dried the bubbles thoroughly before placing on cake. Also, I used smears of frosting to keep them in place.) Then, add white dots on sides along with cake borders.
Why is it important to not over-mix pound cake?
It is critical with pound cake (and most other cakes) to not over-mix the eggs and dry ingredients in the batter. When batter is over-mixed, too much air is incorporated into the batter resulting in a dry cake. Additionally, over-mixing causes gluten development which can lead to a tough and rubbery texture. When incorporating the eggs and dry ingredients, always mix just until combined.
Where Can I find Under the Sea Themed Party Supplies?
Our sister store, Sand & Surf Design Co., has an adorable ‘Under the Sea’ personalized party collection that includes items such plates, cups, napkins, confetti, party bags, balloons, stickers, labels, cookies, and much more! These items match the cake perfectly and are completely customizable. For instance, the images shown on the link below contain names and the word, “Baby Shower.” All of this text can be changed to fit your specific function.
How should I store Under the Sea Chocolate Chip Pound Cake?
Store covered cake at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to a week. (Pound cake tends to get tough in the refrigerator so I prefer storing at room temperature. If you need to put it in the refrigerator, make sure you bring it to room temperature before serving.) Cake may be frozen, preferably undecorated, in plastic wrap and aluminum foil for up to 3 months. I actually prefer to bake the cake layers ahead of time and freeze them prior to decorating. I find it increases the flavor of the pound cake and helps when frosting/decorating because the cake layers are firmer. When ready to use, thaw (still wrapped) on the counter. It is important to keep the cake wrapped while thawing so the condensation forms on the outside wrapping and not the cake.
Tips
- Measure correctly – I highly recommend using a kitchen scale when baking. Because baking measurements need to be exact, using a scale helps to measure as precisely as possible. It quite honestly was a complete game changer for me when I first started using one! I would be lost without it now.
- Room temperature is important! When certain ingredients (eggs, cream cheese, butter, etc.) are listed as room temperature, there are scientific reasons behind this. At room temperature, these ingredients blend together better and result in a smoother batter. Ultimately, you will end up with a better final product!
- Over-mixing – Take care to not over-mix the cake batter once the eggs and dry ingredients have been added. When batter is mixed too much, it results in the gluten being activated. If this occurs, the cake may be dense and chewy.
- Freezing cake layers – I actually prefer to bake the cake layers ahead of time and freeze them prior to decorating. I find it increases the flavor of the pound cake and helps when frosting/decorating because the cake layers are firmer. When ready to use, thaw (still wrapped) on the counter. It is important to keep the cake wrapped while thawing so the condensation forms on the outside wrapping and not the cake.
- Keeping cake fresh – To keep cake that has been cut fresh, stick a piece of wax paper on the exposed section prior to covering and storing.
My Preferred Tools
You may already have many of these items in your kitchen. I recommend the following for this recipe:
- Kitchen Scale – precisely measure ingredients
- Stand Mixer – to mix batter
- 8 inch Cake Pans – to bake cake
- Cooling Racks – to cool cake and dishwasher friendly!!
- Cake Turntable and Spatulas – excellent for decorating cakes
- Wilton Decorating Kit – piping tips, bags, couplers, and more for decorating cakes
- Master Decorating Kit – ultimate cake decorating tip set
- Cake Scraper Set – use these to scrape icing and create fun, easy designs on your cakes
- Cake Boards – sturdy, cardboard cake boards used to pick up your cake
- Food Coloring – to color the frosting
- Cake Topper – birthday age cake topper
- Bubble Cake Topper – large bubble cake topper (I chose ‘Clear White Pink’ version)
- Under the Sea Chocolate Molds – molds to make chocolate fish and seaweed (I chose ‘Seaweed Styles’)
- White Chocolate – to use in molds
- Under the Sea Personalized Party Supplies – fully customizable napkins, plates, balloons, etc. that match this cake!
If you liked this recipe, try our
Under the Sea Chocolate Chip Pound Cake
This Under the Sea Cake is a moist, buttery chocolate chip pound cake with a rich buttercream frosting decorated with a nautical theme.
Ingredients
- CAKE:
- 1 ½ cups (3 sticks) salted butter, softened
- 2 ½ cups (495 g) granulated sugar
- 3 eggs, room temp
- 3 cups (360 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 ½ cups (341 g) full-fat sour cream, room temp
- 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
- FROSTING:
- 2 cups salted butter, softened
- 8 cups (908 g) confectioners' sugar
- 3-4 Tbsp heavy cream or whole milk
- 2 Tbsp vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- DECOR:
- Cake Topper
- Bubbles
- Under the Sea Molds
- White Chocolate for molds
Directions
- Step 1 PREP: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease three 8 inch cake pans generously with shortening or nonstick spray (the kind with flour).
- Step 2 CAKE: Using a handheld or stand mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl as necessary. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and chocolate chips. Add half to butter mixture, beating gently on low until just incorporated. Then, add sour cream, vanilla, and the remaining half of flour mixture. Mix just until combined. Take care to not over-mix. Batter will be thick.
- Step 3 BAKE: Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center has a few moist crumbs. Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting onto wire rack or serving dish. Cool completely before frosting and decorating.
- Step 4 OTHER SIZES: I love baking this cake in other pans as well. Keep temperature the same at 350 degrees. Then, for three 9-inch pans, bake 23-25 minutes. For two 9-inch pans, bake 33-35 minutes. For two 6-inch pans, bake 31-33 minutes.
- Step 5 FROSTING: Beat butter until creamy – approximately 2-3 minutes. Add confectioners’ sugar, heavy cream, vanilla, and salt. Beat on low for 1 minute, then increase speed and beat until all ingredients are fully incorporated. Scrape down the bowl and beat again. If your frosting is too thick, add a tiny bit of cream/milk until you reach desired consistency. If your frosting is too thin, add a tiny bit of confectioners’ sugar until you reach desired consistency. Decide what colors you will be using and separate frosting into bowls. Color the frosting with a light hand – you can always add more food coloring if it’s not dark enough. I used these colors for this cake.
- Step 6 DECOR: Melt white chocolate wafers and create sea life molds (you can use food coloring to create different colors, if desired). Frost in between cake layers and then crumb coat the top and sides with white. To create the ombre sides, add three different colors of frosting and then smooth with scraper. The same can be done for the top or you can use one color. Next, choose several different piping tips and add varying sizes of sea plant life to the top. Add cake toppers (birthday age and bubbles) along with the chocolate sea life molds previously created. Then, add white dots on sides along with cake borders.
- Step 7 STORAGE: Store covered cake at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to a week. (Pound cake tends to get tough in the refrigerator so I prefer storing at room temperature. If you need to put it in the refrigerator, make sure you bring it to room temperature before serving.) Cake may be frozen, preferably undecorated, in plastic wrap and aluminum foil for up to 3 months. I actually prefer to bake the cake layers ahead of time and freeze them prior to decorating. I find it increases the flavor of the pound cake and helps when frosting/decorating because the cake layers are firmer. When ready to use, thaw (still wrapped) on the counter. It is important to keep the cake wrapped while thawing so the condensation forms on the outside wrapping and not the cake.
- Step 8 PARTY SUPPLIES: Our sister store, Sand & Surf Design Co., has an adorable ‘Under the Sea’ personalized party collection that includes items such plates, cups, napkins, confetti, party bags, balloons, stickers, labels, cookies, and much more! These items match the cake perfectly and are completely customizable.
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