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The perfect way to celebrate any occasion, this Pink Champagne Cake Recipe is moist and delicious. Champagne infused cake is frosted with a champagne buttercream, so simple and easy to make from scratch!
Pink Champagne Cake
Whether you’re celebrating the end of the year, the beginning of a new year or just the arrival of the weekend, I can think of no better way to enjoy it than with a slice of Pink Champagne Cake. Bubbles or no bubbles, this cake is a celebration all by itself.
I love to make this layer cake recipe for my own birthday (when I’m not making this Milk Bar Birthday Cake) because it’s pink, sweet and so very girly. Plus, I just love the flavor of Pink Champagne so it’s fitting that it works perfectly in a buttery cake batter. It makes the perfect 21st birthday cake for your favorite girl, too, along with some DIY Confetti Party Poppers!
How To Make Champagne Cake
- To start my Champagne Cake recipe, I whisked together some flour, baking powder and salt.
- Then beat butter and sugar in my stand mixer until fluffy.
- Mix in some eggs, vanilla and pink champagne before adding my dry ingredients. The aroma of the batter is absolutely heavenly. Try not to eat it all with a spoon. Divide the batter among two 8 inch cake pans and bake.
- While the cake bakes, you can work on the buttercream frosting which is essentially just butter, vanilla, champagne and powdered sugar. You can leave it all white or make one big fluffy pink cake.
What is Pink Champagne Cake
Buttery and sweet with a hint of champagne flavor, Pink Champagne Cake is exactly that. A vanilla layer cake infused with pink champagne, which is really rosé champagne, then blanketed with a champagne buttercream frosting.
It’s really a celebratory cake perfect for holidays like New Year’s Eve and Valentine’s Day but it so perfectly fitting for a girly birthday cake.
How To Decorate Pink Champagne Cake
To decorate your layer cake, you can simply frost it with a smooth finish or decorate with swirls and sprinkles. I like to keep things pretty simple but sometimes I’ll just go wild and coat the entire surface with glittery sprinkles to give it some sparkle.
How To Make In Advance
If you want to make the cake in advance you can bake the cake layers up to 48 hours in advance. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and store at room temperature until ready to assemble.
You can also freeze the tightly wrapped cake layers for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature before assembling your cake.
The frosting can be made up to 24 hours in advance and stored at room temperature.
You can also make the entire cake up to 24 hours in advance and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Allow the cake to come to room temperature before serving, approximately 1 hour out of the refrigerator usually will do it.
Pink Champagne Cake Recipe
Equipment
- 1 round cake pan
- 1 mixer
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 2 cups cake flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 egg whites, room temperature
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 cup Pink champagne
- 2 tablespoon sour cream
- Magenta color gel
For the frosting:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 6-8 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1/2 cup pink champagne
- Magenta color gel, if desired
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Grease and flour two 8 inch cake pans. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add the egg whites, one at a time, fully incorporating after each addition. Add the egg and vanilla, mix to combine.
- Alternate adding the flour mixture and champagne, starting and ending with the flour. Stir in the sour cream until well combined.
- Add 1-2 drops of Magenta color gel until the desired color is achieved.
- Divide the batter evenly between the two cake pans and smooth the tops with a spatula.
- Bake for approximately 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes, then turn the cakes out onto the rack to cool completely.
- To make the buttercream, add the butter to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until fluffy.
- Add vanilla and 1 cup confectioners’ sugar beating on medium speed until well combined.
- Slowly add 1 cup more confectioners’ sugar to the frosting and beat until smooth.
- Turn the mixer to low and stir in the champagne.
- Begin adding remaining sugar to the frosting one cup at a time at medium speed, beating well until the desired consistency is achieved.
- Add 1-2 drops color gel if you’d like pink frosting.
- Transfer to an airtight container and store at room temperature for 2 hours or overnight.
- To frost the cake, place one cake layer on a cake stand or serving plate.
- Top with approximately 2/3 cup of frosting. Spread evenly to coat the top and sides of the cake. Place the remaining cake layer on top and apply a thin coat of frosting all over the cake. Chill for 20mins.
- Top the cake with another 2/3 cup frosting. Smooth the top and sides of the cake with the frosting.
- Decorate with rosettes and sprinkles, if desired.
- Serve immediately or chill overnight.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
More Easy Layer Cake Recipes
If you love this Pink Champagne Cake recipe, you should also try this Kentucky Bourbon Butter Cake! It’s so good and perfect for the holidays, too!
And if you’re not really feeling the whole birthday cake vibe but STILL want to get a little taste of this amazing Pink Champagne Birthday Cake….you can totally make these Pink Champagne Cupcakes! Same great recipe in a perfectly portioned size.
OR you may also love THESE Strawberry Champagne Cupcakes with Champagne Buttercream.…a total blast from the blog’s past!
If you’re pining for something a little more simple, I LOVE this easy Pound Cake recipe. It’s totally buttery and ahhhmazing.
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I made this cake and frosting and followed the recipe exactly. It is excellent! The cake is very good but the icing is amazing. Just a hint of champagne taste. I froze the cake prior to icing it. It held together perfectly. This is a keeper.
Thank you so much! I’m so happy you enjoyed it and thank you for commenting.
I want to make this for a friends birthday. She is gluten free. I can only find a 1:1 “baking flour”. Would this be similar to cake flour?
yes, the 1:1 baking flour will work perfectly.
Are the egg whites beaten before adding to batter!
They are not.
I want to make the cake gluten free. I saw that your friend used 1:1 gluten free flour. However, it is not ‘cake flour”. Did you friend’s cake rise? Is there a gluten free cake four?
Her cake did rise when using gluten free flour but if you can find a gluten free cake flour that would be a better option.
Tasted great, however My cake didn’t rise much at all. We didn’t have cake flower, but used a Red Mill high end all purpose flower. Any ideas if that was the reason and if so is it missing yeast or some other ingredient that is included in cake flour??
It definitely could have been the flour you used because cake flour is lighter and bakes up less dense.
Hi! This looks so fun and I can’t wait to make it. Just wondering if the champagne should be room temperature or cold?
Thanks!
It is best if the champagne is room temperature. Enjoy!
Can this be made into cupcakes instead? How long would they bake for if so? Making it for my sister’s birthday and cupcakes are how she would like them.
Hi! I do have a Pink Champagne Cupcake recipe, here’s the link: https://thesuburbansoapbox.com/pink-champagne-cupcakes-cream-cheese-frosting/
Hi Kellie,
Beautiful cake! I was wondering if this cake has been tested with a GLUTEN FREE flour such as a 1 to 1 flour and if so, how did it perform?
Hi Heather! I did not personally test it but my friend made it with a 1 to 1 flour and she said it worked perfectly. I hope that helps!
What kind of pink champagne do you suggest?
I like to use something I’d actually drink myself but if you’re looking for a budget pink “champagne” Barefoot Bubbly is a solid choice for this cake.