Pink Champagne Cake

INGREDIENTS

For the cake

• 6 Tablespoons (85 g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
• 2 cups (400 g) granulated sugar
• ⅔ cup (160 ml) neutral cooking oil (canola, vegetable, or avocado)
• ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 ¾ cups (345 g) all-purpose flour
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon table salt
• ½ cup (118 ml) buttermilk
• ½ cup (118 ml) pink champagne
• 6 large egg whites room temperature preferred
• Pink food coloring (optional, see note)

For the pink champagne frosting

• 2 ¼ cups (532 ml) pink champagne
• 1 ½ cups (339 g) salted butter softened
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 6 cups (750 g) powdered sugar

Recommended Equipment

• 3 8" round cake pans
• Parchment paper rounds
• Mixing bowls
• Electric mixer
• Americolor “soft pink” food coloring
• Cake leveler
• Piping bags (optional)
• Ateco 846 tip (optional)

DIRECTIONS

For the cake layers

1. Preheat your oven to 350F (175C) and lightly grease and flour 3 8-inch round cake pans (tap out excess flour) and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl (or the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment), use an electric mixer to beat butter until creamy.
3. Add sugar, oil, and vanilla extract and stir well until creamy and well combined.
4. In a separate, medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
5. Alternate adding flour and buttermilk: With mixer on low-speed, stir in a portion (about ½ cup/70g) of the flour mixture until just barely combined. Follow with half of the buttermilk. Repeat with another portion of flour and the remaining half of the buttermilk.
6. Alternate adding flour and pink champagne: With mixer still on low-speed, stir in another portion of flour until just combined. Stir in half the pink champagne, followed by another portion of flour, the remaining pink champagne, and then the remaining flour.
7. Food coloring: If you are using food coloring, add this here and gently stir in to combine. Set aside.
8. Whip the egg whites. Add the egg whites to a large, clean, dry, grease-free mixing bowl. Use an electric mixer (with clean, dry, grease-free beaters) to beat the egg whites on low speed until foamy, then gradually increase speed to high and continue to beat until you reach stiff peaks (opaque white, thick, voluminous, and hold their peak when the beater is lifted).
9. Fold egg whites into batter. Add the egg whites to the cake batter and use a spatula (NOT your electric mixer!) to gently fold the egg whites into batter until completely combined and well-distributed through the batter (batter should be uniform).
10. Bake. Divide evenly into prepared cake pans (about 470 grams per pan) and transfer to center rack of 350F (175C) preheated oven and bake for 25-28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
11. Cool. Allow cakes to cool in their pans for 10-15 minutes before carefully running a knife along the edge to loosen from the pan and then carefully inverting onto a cooling rack to cool completely. Allow cakes to cool completely before frosting (prepare your pink champagne reduction, below, while they cool).

Pink champagne reduction

1. In a small skillet or saucepan, heat pink champagne over medium heat until it is simmering and reduced to 6 Tablespoons (this typically takes around 10 minutes, I just pour into a measuring cup to ensure it’s reduced properly (just above the ⅓ cup line/88ml), then pour it back to continue cooking if it’s not reduced enough).
2. Transfer reduced champagne to a heatproof bowl and allow to cool completely before proceeding (you can place the reduction in the refrigerator to cool faster).

Prepare the frosting

1. Place butter in a large bowl and use an electric mixer to beat until smooth and creamy.
2. Gradually add powdered sugar (about a cup/125g) at a time to the butter, stirring well after each addition. Be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure all ingredients are well mixed.
3. Stir in vanilla extract.
4. Gradually, only a Tablespoon at a time, stir in the cooled, reduced champagne, stir until smooth and completely combined.

Assemble

1. Once cakes are cooled completely, level the tops if necessary.
2. Transfer first cake layer to a serving platter and spread an even layer of frosting over the cake. Repeat with remaining layers and apply an even layer of frosting around the cake. If desired, use extra frosting for decorative swirls on top (I used a small closed-star tip). Add sprinkles, if desired, and enjoy!