PINK CHAMPAGNE CAKE
Made this wedding cake for my son’s wedding.
This Pink Champagne Cake is the perfect way to celebrate any occasion or holiday! A champagne infused cake with a classic vanilla buttercream.
- Cake:
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large egg whites room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- ¾ cup pink champagne or sparkling wine
- Fuschia color gel
- Vanilla Buttercream:
- 4 large egg whites
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- 1 ½ cups unsalted butter room temperature, cubed
- 1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract *** ( warm the vanilla essence slightly before adding otherwise I found the buttercream prone to split)
- Fuschia color gel
Cake:
Preheat oven to 180ºC and grease and flour three 6″ cake rounds, line with parchment.
In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until smooth. Add sugar and beat on med-high until pale and fluffy (2-3 mins).
Reduce speed and add egg whites one at a time, fully incorporating after each addition. Add vanilla.
Alternate adding flour mixture and champagne, beginning and ending with flour (3 additions of flour and 2 of champagne). Fully incorporating after each addition.
Add a small amount of Fuschia color gel using a toothpick. Mix to incorporate but try not to overmix.
Spread batter evenly into prepared pans. Smooth the tops with a spatula.
Bake for approx. 25 mins or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean.
Place cakes on wire rack to cool for 10 mins then turn out onto wire rack to cool completely.
Vanilla Buttercream:
Place egg whites and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk until combined.*
Place bowl over a hot water bath on the stove and whisk constantly until the mixture is hot and no longer grainy to the touch (approx. 3 mins).
Place bowl on your stand mixer and whisk on med-high until the meringue is stiff and cooled (the bowl is no longer warm to the touch (approx. 5-10 mins)).
Switch to paddle attachment. Slowly add cubed butter and mix until smooth. Add vanilla and continue to whip until smooth.**
Assembly:
Place one layer of cake on a cake stand or serving plate. Top with approximately 2/3 cup of frosting and spread evenly. Repeat with remaining layers and apply a thin coat of frosting all over the cake. Chill for 20 mins.
Frost and smooth the sides. Chill for 20 mins.
Using a toothpick, add a small amount of Fuschia color gel to the remaining frosting.
Stir with a spatula to incorporate, or place back on the stand mixer to mix in the color.
Gently press cake sparkles or sanding sugar into the sides and top of the cake.***
Decorate with pink rosettes on top and beads along the bottom if desired.
NOTES
Ensure there is NO trace of egg yolks in your whites and that your mixer bowl and whisk is completely grease free or your meringue won’t stiffen.
The buttercream may look like it’s curdled at some point. Keep mixing until it is completely smooth.
It’s easiest to do this if the cake is on a cake board and you can place it on an upside-down glass or bowl so the edges hang over.
More notes by by Dot Marais Hardick:
I made 4 individual batches of the recipe. Once the batches were mixed I poured 2 lots into a bowl, giving it a light stir to combine the two- poured the double batch into a large 28 loose bottom cake tin which I had sprayed, then lined. The baking time I doubled. Once cooked and slightly cooled, I removed the outer ring of the baking tin and placed a cutting board on top of the side facing up to level the cake. Thereafter I divided and cut each cake into 3 rounds for stacking and decorating.
The recipe is definitely a Swiss meringue frosting. It’s an awesome frosting.
Recipe posted by Dot Marais Hardick
Photo: Dot Marais Hardick
