A fun sprinkle medley makes all the difference to this amazing Christmas Cake. The Maui Christmas sprinkle collection is baked on the meringues and decorating the six layer cake.
Preheat the oven to 175F. Line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper or a silicone mat. DO NOT pipe on to an unlined cookie sheet!! THEY WILL STICK!
Use a stand mixer with the whisk attachment to whip the egg whites on medium speed until foamy.
Gradually add in the superfine sugar 1 tablespoon at a time. Continue whipping on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form adding in the extract just before finishing.
Sift together the powdered sugar and salt into a large bowl. Fold the powdered sugar into the egg whites.
Use a large open baking tip in a pastry bag and pipe put the "kiss" shapes. (Think Hershey's Kisses)
Add a few Maui Christmas sprinkles to the pipped kisses. for decoration.
Bake for 4 hours. Rotate the cookie sheets at the 2 hour mark.
Turn the oven off and leave the baked meringues inside overnight to completely dry. You can leave them in the oven until you're ready to use them.
Bake the Cakes
Preheat the oven to 325F. Prepare 6 6-inch cake pans with min-stick spray or shortening and flower. Set aside.
Whisk together the buttermilk, sour cream, extract, egg whites, and vegetable oil. Sift in the cake mix (do NOT just dump it in). Mix until just combined.
Fill one cake pan with just the white cake mix. Gradually mix blue food coloring into each cake layer for an ombre effect focusing on lighter to darker.
Bake the cake layers for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on a rack.
Wrap the cake layers in plastic and place in the freezer overnight for best frosting experience.
Make the Buttercream
Fit your stand mixer with the paddle attachment and mix the butter until light and fluffy - 4 minutes.
Sift the powdered sugar and salt and gradually add it to the butter.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed and mix in the heavy cream, almond extract and pink food coloring. Pink will get darker over time, so less is more.
Cover and set aside until ready to use.
Make the Ganache
Add the candy melts and heavy cream to a microwave bowl and heat for 45 seconds. Stir with a spatula until smooth adding the food coloring until desired color is achieved.
Transfer to a piping bag or sandwich baggie.
Decorate the Cake
Remove the frozen cakes from the freezer. Add a dollop of butter to a cardboard cake round and place the darkest cake on first. Top with 1/4 cup of buttercream and repeat the layering of the cakes and buttercream. Crumb coat the cake and then refrigerate for 15 minutes.
Add second coat of buttercream around cake and smooth out with a cake scraper.
Add sprinkles around the base of the cake.
Snip off the tip of the piping bag with the ganache and add the drip around the cake and on top of the cake.
Use a wet finger to carefully the sprinkles to the drips. Top the cake with the Meringue Kisses as you desire, adding more sprinkles to the top of the cake.