This cake was the result of me craving Fruity Pebbles, and trying to figure out a more technical, gourmet way to consume them. There is just something about Fruity Pebbles, probably the artificial citric acid taste and the crunchy texture, that I just crave from time to time. And no, this is not a sponsored recipe, although if Fruity Pebbles does want to pay me, I would not be against that either. I love the idea of doing a cereal milk, infusing the Fruity Pebbles into the milk instead of cornflakes, so I centered a lot of the recipe around that idea. Unfortunately, because of all of the colors in Fruity Pebbles, steeping that into milk results in the milk turning this unappetizing gray color. When I think of Fruity Pebbles cereal milk, I would assume that it would either be a white colored milk with colorful speckles in it, or maybe a lightly pink colored milk. Sadly, reality decided to make it so that a cereal milk made from them looks like if you liquified Roger the alien from American Dad. To counteract that, we are using the soak in cake batter, which will result in a slightly more appetizing yellow color, and using some pink food coloring to transform some of the grey soak into a delicate pink-tinted Hermine buttercream. And to play on the citric acid artificial fruity flavor, we are using two other ingredients – limes and ruby chocolate. Lemons can work here too, but I used limes because my amazing friend Sylvie gifted me with about 10 of them(thanks Sylvie and Sylvie’s lime tree-owning coworker!), so using the limes in this recipe actually made a lot of sense. The reason why I am calling this a “Dreamsicle” cake is a reference to a creamsicle, which normally uses orange and vanilla cream, but in this case, it is limes and Fruity Pebble cereal milk!

For the components, we have a brown butter-buttermilk “Funfetti” cake, Fruity Pebbles soak, a Fruity Pebbles Hermine buttercream, lime curd, and ruby chocolate-Fruity Pebbles crunchies. There is a bit to unravel here, so bear with me. With the cake, we are calling it “Funfetti” in quotes because instead of using sprinkles, we are using Fruity Pebbles in the cake in two forms. We are making a buttermilk using the Fruity Pebbles soak and some vinegar, and folding in actual Fruity Pebbles through the cake batter in lieu of sprinkles. A Hermine buttercream is made by cooking down flour and sugar with a liquid, and then whipping that with butter into a light, silky buttercream. In this case, the liquid is the Fruity Pebbles soak, which is a fairly integral part of the recipe, and we are using a single dot of pink gel food coloring to mitigate the hideous gray color. The lime curd is made by reducing down lime juice and zest, and then emulsifying that with an egg yolk and butter to form this silky, tangy, spreadable filling for the cake. The thing to be wary of here is whisking the curd vigorously over heat, so that it cooks evenly and does not scramble.

Makes 1 6-inch cake:
For the Fruity Pebbles soak:
2 cups Fruity Pebbles
3 cups milk
a pinch of salt

In a pot, heat up all of your ingredients on low until the milk comes up to a simmer. Pour everything through a sieve to remove any solids. The color may be an unpleasant grey, but this will be mitigated later on with the other components. Allow the soak to cool before attempting to use.

For the brown butter and buttermilk cake:
1 cup Fruity Pebbles soak
3 tbsp cider vinegar
6oz brown butter
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
a pinch of salt
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 cup Fruity Pebbles

In a bowl, mix together the Fruity Pebbles soak and cider vinegar. Let that sit for 10 minutes to create your buttermilk. Add to your buttermilk the brown butter, canola oil, and vanilla extract. In another bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, salt, and granulated sugar together. To form your batter, fold the flour mixture with the buttermilk mixture first, until everything is fully combined. Then fold into that your Fruity Pebbles. Pour the batter into a parchment-lined half sheet tray, and spread into an even layer. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes. Allow the cake to cool down completely before cutting out 2 6-inch rounds, and creating a third round out of the scraps.

For the Fruity Pebbles Hermine Buttercream:
1 cup Fruity Pebbles soak
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter
a pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 drop pink food coloring

In a pot, whisk together the soak, flour, and sugar on medium heat until it thickens enough to cling to the sides of your whisk. Transfer the mixture into a bowl with butter, salt, vanilla, and the food coloring, and continuously whip everything until a light, fluffy buttercream forms.

For the lime curd:
Juice and zest from 6 limes
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup granulated sugar
a pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 tbsp unsalted butter

In a pot, heat up the lime juice and zest. In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolk, cornstarch, sugar, and salt. Pour half of the lime juice into the egg yolk mixture while whisking. Then pour the egg yolk mixture back into the pot with the lime juice and whisk on low heat for 2-3 minutes – the mixture should start to cling to the sides of your whisk. Take off heat and whisk in the remaining ingredients, and once the butter is melted into the curd mixture, pass through a sieve to remove any lumps. Refrigerate until time for assembly.

For the ruby chocolate powder:
1oz ruby chocolate
1/4 cup tapioca maltodextrin

Melt down the ruby chocolate and mix with the maltodextrin to form a powder. Store in an airtight container until time to use.

For the Fruity Pebbles crunchies:
4oz ruby chocolate
a pinch of salt
1/2 cup Fruity Pebbles

Melt the ruby chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a double boiler. Mix in the salt and the Fruity Pebbles and spread the mixture onto a lined sheet tray. Freeze the mixture for 10 minutes and then break into smaller pieces. Toss the pieces in the ruby chocolate powder, as this will help keep the chocolate from weeping or sticking to any surfaces.

To assemble:
Start by lining a 6-inch ring mold with acetate and place onto a small sheet tray. Place down the scrap layer of cake first, followed by 1/3 of your soak. Then spread on 1/3 of the lime curd, 1/3 of the crunchies, and 1/3 of the buttercream. Repeat this for the second layer. For the third layer, start with the soak, curd, and buttercream first. Then adorn the top with the crunchies. Freeze the cake solid, about 3-4 hours in the freezer, before attempting to unmold.