Today we are excited to share a uniquely light and flavorful recipe with you for Pink Champagne Cake.
This elegant dessert, with its moist champagne infused layers & delicious buttercream is perfect for weddings, engagement parties, anniversaries, Valentine’s Day, New Year’s Eve, or any occasion that calls for something special.
Why Pink Champagne Cake? A Quick History!
Southern bakers have been flavoring their cakes with sweet beverages for decades (cocoa cola cake, 7 up cake, etc.)…but Pink Champagne cake takes that practice to a whole new level of delicious sophistication.
It is believed that Pink Champagne Cake first originated on the west coast in the ’50s and ’60s, and was a hugely popular to choice for bridal showers, weddings, and bachelorette parties.
There’s just something a bit glamorous about a dessert flavored with Pink Champagne, don’t you think? The Los Angeles Times printed a Pink Champagne Cake decades ago and to this day it remains one of it’s most requested.
If you like Pink Champagne, you are going to fall in love with this recipe. While the pink champagne isn’t overpowering, the flavor is unmistakable.
We love to fill it with our Pink Champagne Buttercream Frosting, but traditionally pink champagne cakes have often been paired with bavarian cream or coconut fillings.
We hope that you enjoy this fantastic recipe. Make sure to check out our other Pink Champagne Cake (doctored cake mix version) linked below, as well as our Strawberries and Champagne Cake!
More champagne cake recipes!
If you are looking for an easy doctored cake mix version of Pink Champagne Cake, we love this DELICIOUS recipe!: Pink Champagne Cake (doctored cake mix) Recipe.
Also, don’t miss our Champagne and Strawberries cake recipe!
This amazing recipe consists of Champagne & Strawberry cake layers, a whipped strawberry cream cheese filling, and Champagne & Strawberry Buttercream Frosting!
Find the recipe here: Champagne and Strawberries Cake
More Cake Tutorials and Recipes
Don’t miss our other favorite tried and true cake recipes in our Cake Recipes Section! If you are interested in learning more about cake decorating, we have lots of fun cake tutorials to share in our Free Tutorials section, including a Free Cake Videos section!
If you would like to have full access to the hundreds of cake decorating video tutorials that we’ve made over the years, we would love to have you as a member of My Cake School!
We have tons of cake tutorials for all skill levels. You can find all of the details here!: Joining information for MyCakeSchool.com.
Thanks so much for stopping by! We hope that you enjoy this champagne cake as much as we have!
Pink Champagne Cake {Scratch Recipe}
This flavorful Pink Champagne Cake will make any occasion feel more special!
Ingredients
For the Pink Champagne Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, grease and flour 3 (8 inch) pans
- 3 cups (342 g) cake flour
- 1 Tablespoon (15 g) baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon (2g) salt
- 6 egg whites (194g)
- 1 cup (242g) pink champagne, I used Andre Blush Champagne
- 2 teaspoons (8 g) vanilla
- 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil (18 g)
- 2 cups (400 g) sugar
- 1 cup (2 sticks) (226 g) unsalted butter, softened slightly
- Small amount of pink food color, I used AmeriColor Deep Pink but any pink would be fine. I added the color with a toothpick, just a small amount will give you blush pink
For the Pink Champagne Buttercream
- 4 sticks (452g) unsalted butter, softened
- 12 cups (1380g) powdered sugar (depending on the desired consistency, more sugar = more crusting) If you prefer a frosting that crusts less, see the note at the bottom of the recipe.
- 4 teaspoons ( 16g) vanilla
- 1 teaspoon (6g) salt
- 1/2 cup (122g) pink champagne
- Pink Coloring Gel of Choice (We used a touch of Americolor Deep Pink)
Instructions
For the Cake
- In a medium size bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside
- In another bowl combine the egg whites, champagne, vanilla and vegetable oil. Whisk until blended and set aside.
- In the bowl of your mixer, cream the butter and sugar 3 to 5 minutes. When it is light and fluffy add approximately 1/3 of the dry ingredients and mix until blended. Then add 1/2 of the liquid ingredients mixing until blended. Continue alternating dry and wet ingredients. Begin and end with dry ingredients (3 additions of dry and 2 wet). Add the pink color at any time during the mixing of the dry and wet ingredients. *Makes 7 1/2 cups of batter.
- Pour into prepared pans and bake 25 to 30 minutes. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted the center comes out clean. Cool in baking pans 10 min. then turn out.
For the Pink Champagne Buttercream
- Cream the softened butter until smooth and lightened in color
- Blend in the salt and vanilla
- Gradually add the powdered sugar with the champagne until the powdered sugar is incorporated. Beat at medium speed 3 to 4 minutes. The texture will become very smooth. If you are tinting the entire batch of buttercream light pink, you can add a very small amount of coloring gel while it is mixing.
- This recipe makes approximately 8 cups of frosting.
Notes
A Note about the Buttercream...
*For a softer buttercream with a much lighter crust, cut the amount of powdered sugar from 12 to 9 or 10 cups and cut the amount of champagne form 1/2 cup to 1/4 cup + 1 Tablespoon. Also, cut the salt to 1/2 teaspoon. This lighter consistency works well for cupcakes or cakes that don't require the Viva method of smoothing.
Hi. I have not been able to find Andre Blush Champagne. What would be another good choice?
Thank you,
Tammi
Hi Tammi, You can use any brand of champagne. You can use prosecco or various sparkling wines. Hope you will enjoy the recipe.
Thank you!
Tammi
Hi is it okay if I use rose brut?
Hi Courtney, Yes, I think that will be fine. Hope you enjoy the cake!
Can I bake my cake rounds ahead of time and freeze them? Is this recipe ok to hold up in the freezer for a few days before finishing?
Thanks!
Hello! Yes, we prefer to freeze our cake layers as we feel it makes them even more moist.
Bake the cake layers, then while they are still warm, wrap them individually in plastic wrap and foil & freeze. We always have cake boards on hand and so we flip our layers onto foil-wrapped cake boards for extra support and wrap them up to freeze.
The general rule is layers cab be frozen for 2 to 3 months- they’ll taste as fresh as the day they were made. If in a hurry, freezing for just a few hours is fine also. To thaw, remove from freezer and keep wrapped until condensation begins to form on the foil. Then unwrap and continue to thaw. Enjoy the recipe!
My mom used to freeze her batter in the pans without cooking first. When company came she would just pop a frozen batter pan in the oven. Always the most delicious cake you ever had. Light and fluffy.
Hi Barbara, That is so interesting, I’ll have to give that a try.
Did this for a wedding & So disappointed. Is was very dry
Hi Rachel, I am so sorry your cake was dry, it should have been light, fluffy and moist. Did you use cake flour and measure the flour using a food scale? If you do not have a scale, measure the flour by spooning it into a measuring cup for dry ingredients. Slightly overfill the cup and level off the top with the back of a knife. Also, over baking can make cake layers dry.
Hi – the cake didn’t raise well, is baking powder what you intended to put in the recipe rather than soda?
Hi Karen, Baking powder is the correct ingredient. I am sorry your cake did not rise as high as it should have. Did you add 1 Tablespoon (not teaspoon) of baking powder? Another possible cause could be that your baking powder is out of date or near the expiration date.
I was wondering if I could make this in a cake pan? I don’t have the layer cake pans & because I’d probably never use them, a single layer cake pan would work best for me. This has been a long time family favorite but only could get it at a bakery. Thank you so much!
Hi Sandra, Yes, this can be make in a sheet cake pan. This recipe makes 8 cups of batter. Using a 9×12 inch sheet cake pan you can use 7 cups of batter or enough to fill your pan 2/3’s full. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes. Keep an eye on it and check for doneness at 30 minutes. It will be done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached. I hope you will enjoy the cake.
Hi Patsy, This recipe calls for 3 cups cake flour. This is a substitution you can use. Measure out 3 cups of all purpose flour. Remove 6 Tablespoons of the flour and replace with 6 Tablespoons cornstarch (cornflour in the UK). Whisk to blend and proceed with the recipe. I hope you will enjoy the recipe.
Hi Courtney, I am not familiar with rose bruit, if it is a sparkling wine. If so, it may be fine to use.
I don’t like butter cream can you post a whipped cream topping for the cake ??
Sounds yummy! If I half the frosting recipe will it be enough for the cake? It just seems like a lot and I don’t want leftover frosting.
Thank you.
Hi Megan, There are 8 cups of frosting, Melissa did a lot of decorative piping on the cake so she needed the extra frosting. You should be fine to cut the recipe in half. I think you will have enough to fill, frost and have a simple piped border.
Hi Joann, Below are links to Sweetened Whipped Cream and Whipped Cream Cheese Frostings that you might like.
https://www.mycakeschool.com/recipes/sweetened-whipped-cream/
https://www.mycakeschool.com/recipes/whipped-cream-cheese-frosting-recipe/
I want to resize this recipe and want to know how to do it. also want to know how much it serves with original recipe?
If I want to do cupcakes instead of cake, is the baking time the same?
Hi Katie, Bake the cupcakes at 350 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes. Keep an eye on them. They are done when a toothpick comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached.
Hello what size pans should we use? Got the entire recipe ready to go but have no clue what size cake tins to buy, please help!
Hi Blair, we used three 8 inch cake pans.
I made the doctored box mix version last week, got rave reviews from family, and had to use up the extra champagne so made the scratch version today. The test cupcake proved that this recipe is just as delicious as the boxed version. I was concerned about the scratch cake coming out a bit heavy, but it didn’t! In both cases I skipped the buttercream icing and made a whipped cream/mascarpone/rose water frosting instead. This is definitely my new favorite cake recipe!
Hi Kelly, Thank you so much for taking time to review the scratch version of this recipe. I am thrilled you enjoyed it! The frosting you used sounds divine.
Am I supposed to let champagne sit until it goes flat without bubbles before I start baking?
Hi Jan, You do not need to wait. You can use the champagne right away. I hope you will enjoy the recipe.
Do I need a stand mixer for this recipe? Hoping to make for my mom’s birthday!
Hi Mahliah, You don’t need a stand mixer but I think you would need a hand held mixer for good results. You may need to mix just a bit longer with a hand mixer. I hope you will enjoy the recipe.
I would Love to use this recipe for our First Communion celebration. Do I need To worry about the alcohol content😬⁉️
Hi Linda, A study from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Nutrient Data lab confirmed that food baked or simmered in alcohol for 15 minutes still retains 40 percent of the alcohol. After an hour of cooking, 25 percent of the alcohol remains, and even after two and a half hours there’s still 5 percent of it. You could consider using a sparkling rosa or blush non-alcoholic drink for the recipe.
Just came out of the oven. I used 2 9-inch pans thinking that they would be nice size layers given the recipe calls for three 8 inch pans. There wasn’t much batter for the bigger pans. And the layers are about an inch tall. I’m wondering if the egg whites should have been beaten before using? Wish I would have doubled the batch.
I made this for my dairy/soy/corn free daughter so I substituted an organic shortening for the butter. Nice that it used champagne for the liquid so I didn’t have to use an alternative to milk which sometimes tastes funky.
Did the same thing with the buttercream. Used about one cup of shortening to about 4 cups of powdered sugar (cornstarch free!) When whipped for a long time it tastes pretty darn good and a very faint flavor of champagne.
Thought I would let people who are vegan or have allergies that the recipe worked great with substitutions.
Does the butter for the cake have to be softened before mixing with the sugar?
Hi Robyn, I’m sorry that was not noted on the recipe. Yes, the butter should be slightly softened. I hope you will enjoy the recipe