How to make a drippy chocolate cake with glossy ganache drips, deliberately placed candy, and striking chocolate shards. A cake-decorating tutorial by contributor Erin Gardner of Erin Bakes.
Australian cake designers like Katherine Sabbath, Unbirthday Bakery, and Cakes by Cliff helped popularize playful, over-the-top takes on the classic chocolate drip cake. When these dramatic cakes started appearing online, I was hooked: smooth buttercream, shiny ganache, an anything-goes attitude, and loads of candy. It’s a fun, bold style and easy to personalize, but achieving a purposeful, deconstructed look without creating a mess takes some planning.
This guide covers the essentials for a successful drippy chocolate cake: a sturdy base, confident ganache application, and decorative elements that add height, texture, and balance.
1. Start with a reliable cake recipe, a silky buttercream finish, and a ganache that sets firmly. A chilled, well-frosted cake gives you the best surface for creating crisp drips and clean edges.
2. Chill the cake thoroughly before you add ganache, and work confidently. Use a spoon to place a few intentional drips around the top edge first. Then pour more ganache into the center and gently push it toward the edge with a small offset spatula. Lightly tap the cake stand on the table to level the top and encourage a little extra ganache to spill over the sides for a natural look.
3. Choose a cohesive palette of flavors, colors, and textures. For this cake I stuck with chocolate and peanut butter elements—peanut butter cups in several sizes, chocolate pirouette cookies, wafer cookies, chocolate-coated nuts, shimmery yellow sixlets, star candies, and tiny edible gold stars. Sticking to a theme keeps the design from feeling chaotic.
4. Add height with chocolate shards or sails to anchor the display. I poured melted chocolate onto parchment, dusted it with a touch of edible gold luster, swirled it with a knife, then scattered edible gold stars, sprinkles, and sixlets. Once set, the chocolate was broken into large shards and positioned on the cake—several on top and one on the side—to create drama and a focal point.
5. Build the composition by placing the largest pieces first, then filling gaps with medium and small elements. Work with odd numbers and asymmetry to keep the design lively and balanced. You can be restrained or go all out—the deconstructed aesthetic rewards boldness, so don’t be afraid to pile on treats if that’s the look you want.
More drippy cakes to try:
Chocolate Funfetti Cake
Banana Split Cake
Chocolate & Peanut Butter Cake
Mint Cookies & Cream Cake
Honey Butter Cake
Raspberry Blood Orange Cake