High Altitude Pink Champagne Cake

With Valentine’s Day just a few weeks away, it’s the perfect time to share this pretty high altitude pink champagne cake. This cake is soft, moist and light, flavored with pink champagne and vanilla. It’s a beautiful blush color, decorated with sparkling sugar and swirls of buttercream topped with sugar pearls. This lovely special occasion cake is perfect to celebrate with!

Looking for more high altitude cake recipes? Don’t miss this chocolate cherry cake with Lambeth piping, lavender lemon cake, and chocolate truffle cake.

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What is Pink Champagne Cake?

Pink champagne cake is a vanilla cake that is made with pink champagne, which replaces the usual milk or buttermilk in a vanilla cake recipe. The fizzyness of the pink champagne lightens the cake batter, making an incredibly soft, tender, light and fluffy cake with a delicate champagne flavor.

You can pair a pink champagne cake with any complementary flavor of filling or buttercream. Strawberry buttercream or raspberry buttercream would both be fantastic. But a pink champagne buttercream adds even more champagne flavor to this special occasion cake.

See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.

Ingredients

• Cake Flour. Cake flour, rather than all-purpose flour, makes a very soft, tender crumb that’s just irresistible.
• Granulated Sugar. Adds sweetness and moisture.
• Baking Powder. Leavens the cake, making it rise.
• Coarse Kosher Salt. Balances the sweetness.
• Pink Champagne. Adds moisture, flavor and sweetness. The bubbles contribute to the light and airy texture of the cake.
• Vegetable Oil. Adds moisture and keeps the cake soft and fluffy.
• Eggs. Structure and richness.
• Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
• Pink Food Coloring. Even though the champagne is pink, it’s not a strong enough color to tint your cake and buttercream without the help of some food coloring. I recommend using a “soft pink” gel food coloring for the most natural looking color. Be cautious with using red or electric/bright pink gel colors, as those can turn your cake way too bright and unnatural looking.

Instructions

This cake is so easy to make! Just sift the dry ingredients together, whisk in the liquid ingredients, and the cake batter is ready to bake.

• Preheat the oven to 350, and grease three 8-inch cake pans with non-stick spray. Line the bottoms of the pans with a circle of parchment paper, and spray the paper as well; the paper ensures the soft cakes won’t stick to the pans.
• In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
• Add the pink champagne, oil, eggs, vanilla and soft pink gel food coloring, and whisk for about 30-40 seconds until smooth and well combined.
• Divide the batter between the pans. Bake on the center oven rack until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean, about 22-25 minutes.
• Set the pans on a wire cooling rack, cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel, and cool completely before frosting.

Pink Champagne Buttercream

Make a champagne reduction.

• To get the most pink champagne flavor into your buttercream without adding excessive liquid, you’ll need to make a champagne reduction. This simply means that you’ll be boiling the pink champagne down to let the water evaporate, leaving behind a concentrated champagne syrup.
• To make a champagne reduction, pour the champagne into a saucepan and set over medium heat. Simmer until the champagne is reduced to about 1/3 cup. Cool completely to room temperature before adding to your buttercream.

Make the buttercream.

• In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter for one minute.
• With the mixer on low, gradually add the powdered sugar, the meringue powder, salt and vanilla; the mixture will be clumpy. Add the cooled pink champagne reduction and the soft pink gel food coloring.
• Increase the speed to medium, and whip for 4-5 minutes, scraping the bowl several times, until very light and fluffy.
• Stack, fill and frost the cooled cakes with the buttercream.
• Before the buttercream crusts over, scatter with the sparkling sugar, tossing it at the sides so it sticks.
• Scrape the remaining buttercream into a piping bag fitted with tip 1M. Pipe swirls on top of the cake, and decorate with sugar pearls.

Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common questions with cake making, so that you can be successful in your own baking! I also suggest reading these comprehensive posts on making Perfect American Buttercream, How to Stack, Fill, Crumb Coat and Frost Layer Cakes and How to Use Piping Bags.

Frequently Asked Questions

What kind of pink champagne should I use?

• I made today’s cake and buttercream with Martini & Rossi pink champagne, which made the most delicious cake. A sweet champagne, rather than dry, adds the best flavor.

Can champagne cake get me tipsy?

• No. The alcohol in the champagne in both the cake and the buttercream is completely cooked off, leaving behind just the flavor.

What does pink champagne cake taste like?

• It tastes like champagne, but if you’re not familiar with the flavor, you’ll notice sweet vanilla flavor notes with a pleasant tangyness from the champagne.

If I don’t want to use pink champagne, what can I substitute instead?

• If you want to make this cake without pink champagne, try substituting another sweet, fizzy, bubbly liquid, such as Sprite, Ginger Ale, or a non-alcoholic sparkling beverage.

What can I use instead of cake flour?

• If you’re not able to find cake flour in your local grocery store, you can purchase it online. I usually use Swans Down cake flour for my white cakes and vanilla cakes, but Softasilk works just as well, too.
• In a pinch, you can make a cake flour substitute with all-purpose flour and corn starch. Measure 1 cup of flour into a bowl, then remove 2 tablespoons. Add 2 tablespoons of corn starch to the flour and whisk together until well combined.

Can I bake the cake in 9-inch pans instead of 8-inch pans?

• I always bake cakes in my 8 inch pans, because it makes thicker cake layers for a taller cake. You can certainly bake the batter in 9-inch pans instead, and your finished cake will be slightly shorter.

Can this recipe be doubled, or cut in half?

• Yes, it can be doubled, if you’re making several cakes or a tiered cake. If you cut the recipe in half, you’ll have enough batter for a 3 layer 6-inch cake.

What other flavors of fillings or buttercream would complement this cake?

• If you want to fill or frost your cake with something other than the champagne buttercream, fruit flavors would complement the champagne cake the best. Keep in mind that other flavors might overpower the flavor of the champagne in the cake, though. Strawberry, raspberry, and even lemon would all be wonderful.

How long will this cake stay fresh, and how should it be stored? Can I bake the cake in advance?

• This cake is so soft and moist, it will stay fresh tasting for days after baking. Leftover cake should be stored in an airtight container or cake carrier at room temperature for up to 5 days.
• You can also bake the cake in advance and freeze it, if you like. To freeze the individual cake layers, wrap each in plastic wrap, and freeze for 3-6 months, until you’re ready to frost your cake. You can also freeze the fully assembled and frosted cake in a bakery box for several weeks in advance, then thaw out overnight before serving.

Do I need to make adjustments for baking this cake at a lower altitude?

• I test and bake all of my cakes at Denver’s high altitude of 5,000 feet. If you’re at a lower altitude or sea level, you may need to make a few minor adjustments, but then again, you may not. You can refer to this article by King Arthur Baking for specific guidelines on adjusting recipes for various altitudes. If you try the recipe at a different altitude, I’d appreciate your comments with what, if any, changes you made!

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