Life’s A Beach Cake Recipe

This Life’s A Beach Cake Recipe is an easy and fun recipe, which uses a store-bought angel food cake and vanilla frosting. It’s the perfect no-bake dessert, ready in about 30 minutes.

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Life’s A Beach Cake Ingredients

Simple, store-bought items for a creative and festive cake.

1 purchased angel food cake
10 large marshmallows
2 containers vanilla frosting
Blue food coloring
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
For Decorating:
3 paper umbrellas
Jellied octopus candy
Chocolate seashell candy

How To Make a Life’s A Beach Cake

A step-by-step guide to this easy and adorable no-bake cake.

Prep the Cake: Place the angel food cake, wide-side down, on a serving platter. Fill the hole in the center of the cake with the large marshmallows. This will create a stable, flat surface for frosting.
Frost the Cake: Use an offset spatula to spread about 1 1/2 containers of the vanilla frosting evenly over the top and sides of the cake, covering it completely.
Create the Ocean Waves: In a small bowl, add a few drops of blue food coloring to the remaining 1/2 container of frosting. Stir, adding one drop at a time, until you reach your desired shade of blue.
Pipe the Waves: Transfer this blue frosting to a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe a thick line of blue frosting all around the base of the cake on the platter.
Design the Waves: Take a wooden skewer or the tip of a knife and, starting at the base of the cake, drag it through the blue frosting in a swirling, upward semi-circular motion to create a wave-like design. Repeat this all the way around the cake.
Decorate the Beach Scene: Arrange the three paper umbrellas on top of the cake. Place the jellied octopus candy and chocolate seashells decoratively on the “beach” (the white frosted top).
Add the Sand: Finally, sprinkle the sweetened flaked coconut around the base of the cake on the platter (on the “waves”) to create the look of sand.

Recipe Tips

How to get a “sand” texture? The coconut at the base is key. For an even more realistic “sand,” you can pulse 1/2 cup of Nilla Wafers or graham crackers in a food processor until they are fine crumbs, then mix them with the coconut before sprinkling.
How to get the best “waves”? When you drag the skewer (Step 5), do it while the blue frosting is still fresh and soft. Don’t press too hard, just gently drag the tip through the blue frosting to pull it up onto the white sides of the cake.
How to make the frosting easier to spread? If your canned frosting is very stiff, you can microwave the white frosting for just 5-10 seconds to soften it slightly, making it much easier to spread smoothly over the delicate cake.
Where do I find the decorations? The candy (octopus, seashells) and paper umbrellas are often found online, in specialty baking stores, or in the party aisle of craft stores. You can also use any “beach” themed candy, like gummy fish, sharks, or rock candy “coral.”

What To Serve With a Life’s A Beach Cake

This cake is the centerpiece of a summer party, pool party, or beach-themed event. Pair it with:

A tropical fruit punch
Piña Coladas or margaritas for the adults
A side of fresh pineapple and mango slices

How To Store a Life’s A Beach Cake

Refrigerate: This cake is best stored in the refrigerator due to the frosting. Keep it in a tall cake carrier to protect the umbrellas and decorations. It’s best served the day it’s made but will last for 2-3 days.
Serve: Let it sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes before serving.

Life’s A Beach Cake Nutrition Facts

Nutrition information is highly variable and depends entirely on the specific bakery cakes, frostings, and candies used. This is a celebratory treat meant for sharing.

Nutrition information is estimated and may vary based on ingredients and cooking methods used.

FAQs

Do I have to use an angel food cake?

An angel food cake or a tube cake is essential for this design. The hole in the middle is what you fill with marshmallows (Step 1) to create a flat, stable top surface for your “beach” scene.

Can I use homemade frosting?

Of course! A classic American buttercream or a cream cheese frosting would work perfectly. You’ll need about 3-4 cups total.

What if I don’t have a piping bag?

No problem. Just put the blue frosting in a Ziploc bag, press it into one corner, and snip off the tip. It won’t have the “star” shape, but you can still pipe the line and create the waves.