Pink Champagne Cake

4.88 from 104 votes

A moist, fluffy pink champagne cake made with real champagne in the batter, filled with raspberry filling, and frosted with easy buttercream with a touch of molasses. Makes three 8" layers.

Prep Time15

Cook Time40

Total Time55

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: servings

Calories: 693kcal

Author: Liz Marek

Equipment

Three 8″×2″ Cake Pans
Electric Stand Mixer
Digital Kitchen Scale
Offset Spatula
Bench scraper
Piping Bag
fine mesh strainer optional, for seedless filling

Ingredients

Pink Champagne Cake

19 ounces cake flour
15 ounces granulated sugar
1 ½ Tablespoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
9 ounces unsalted butter room temperature
6 ounces buttermilk room temperature
3 ounces vegetable oil
9 ounces brut champagne room temperature, freshly opened
6 ounces egg whites room temperature
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
2¼ teaspoons sparkling wine flavoring optional
2 to 3 drops pink gel food color optional

Easy Buttercream

8 ounces pasteurized egg whites
32 ounces powdered sugar
32 ounces unsalted butter softened
½ teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon molasses
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Raspberry Filling

12 ounces raspberries fresh or frozen
5 ounces granulated sugar
1 small lemon zested
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 ounce water
2 Tablespoons Clear Jel or cornstarch

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Before You Begin

Make the raspberry filling first so it can chill completely. Preheat the oven to 335º F. Prepare three 8"x2" cake pans with cake goop or pan spray. Bring the champagne, buttermilk, egg whites, and butter to room temperature.
Use a scale to weigh your ingredients (including liquids) unless otherwise instructed (Tablespoons, teaspoons, pinch etc). Metric measurements are available in the recipe card.

Raspberry Filling

Add the raspberries and sugar to a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir and heat until bubbling.
Optional: strain the hot mixture through a fine mesh strainer to remove the seeds, then return it to the saucepan and bring back to a bubble.
Whisk the water and Clear Jel or cornstarch together until smooth. Do not add the thickener directly to the hot fruit.
Pour the slurry into the hot fruit while stirring constantly. Cook for 1 minute, stirring, until clear and glossy.
Stir in the lemon juice and zest and cook for 1 more minute.
Transfer to a heatproof container, press plastic wrap onto the surface, cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until fully chilled.

Pink Champagne Cake

Combine the cake flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix for 10 seconds.
Combine the buttermilk and oil and set aside. In a separate container, whisk the egg whites, champagne, vanilla, sparkling wine flavoring, and pink food color together and set aside.
Add the softened butter to the dry ingredients and mix on low until the mixture resembles coarse sand, about 30 seconds.
Add the buttermilk and oil mixture and mix on low until the dry ingredients are moistened. Increase to medium speed and mix for 2 full minutes.
Scrape the bowl. Reduce the speed to low and add the egg white mixture in three additions, mixing for 15 seconds after each.
Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake at 335º F for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Immediately tap each pan firmly on the counter once to release the steam.
Cool the layers in the freezer, unwrapped, for 30 minutes before decorating, or wrap in plastic wrap and freeze until needed.

Easy Buttercream

Place the pasteurized egg whites and powdered sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip on high for 5 minutes.
With the mixer running, add the softened butter in chunks until it is all incorporated. Add the salt, molasses, and vanilla.
Continue whipping until the buttercream is no longer curdled and is light and fluffy, 15 to 20 minutes depending on the mixer.
Optional: switch to the paddle attachment and mix on low for 10 to 15 minutes to remove air bubbles.

Assembly

Place the first chilled layer on a cake board. Pipe a buttercream dam around the edge and spread half of the raspberry filling inside, no more than ¼" thick. Repeat with the second layer, then top with the third layer.
Apply a thin crumb coat and chill for 15 minutes.
Apply the final coat of buttercream and smooth with an offset spatula and bench scraper. Chill until firm.
Tint the remaining buttercream pink. Mark even spaces around the top of the cake with a 3" space key, then pipe garlands and swags between the marks and a shell border around the base.

Notes

Ingredient notes: Use a brut champagne. If using a sweeter champagne such as demi-sec, reduce the sugar by 1 Tablespoon. Pink champagne, sparkling rosé, or André Blush also work. Use freshly opened champagne; the carbonation adds lift. Pasteurized egg whites work in both the cake and the buttercream.

Pan options: This recipe makes three 8"x2" layers. Use the Cake Batter and Frosting Calculator on this page for other pan sizes.

Make-ahead and storage: Wrap cooled layers tightly in plastic wrap and freeze until needed. The buttercream can be made a day ahead; bring to room temperature and re-whip before using. The raspberry filling keeps in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Substitutions: For an alcohol-free cake, replace the champagne with sparkling juice and use sparkling wine flavoring. For champagne-flavored buttercream, add sparkling wine flavoring to the buttercream. No buttermilk? Use a buttermilk substitute.

Critical do-nots: Don't shorten the 2-minute mix after adding the buttermilk and oil, or the cake may collapse. Don't skip tapping the pans after baking. Don't use cold ingredients, or the batter may curdle. Don't fill the cake with warm raspberry filling.

Nutrition