High Altitude Mini Champagne Cake
A soft and light champagne cake, frosted with silky champagne buttercream, made in a mini 4-inch size that's just enough for 2-4 people.
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Electric Mixer (Stand or Hand-Held)
- 4-inch Round Cake Pans (x2) (or you can use 6 inch pans, but the cake layers will be much thinner)
Ingredients
Cake
- ¾ cup cake flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- 6 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp (scant) baking powder
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 6 tbsp champagne
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 large egg
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
Buttercream
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp meringue powder, optional
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1-2 tbsp champagne
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and grease two 4-inch round cake pans with non-stick baking spray.
- In a bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
- Add the champagne, oil, egg and vanilla, and whisk until smooth and well combined. (Tip: first pour the champagne into a liquid measuring cup and let the foam and bubbles settle down, then measure the amount needed for the cake.
- 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. If needed, slice a small portion of the domed tops off the cakes before stacking and frosting.
Buttercream
- With an electric mixer (stand or hand held), beat the butter for one minute.
- With the mixer on low, gradually add the powdered sugar, the meringue powder and vanilla.
- Increase the speed to medium, and whip for 4-5 minutes, scraping the bowl several times, until very light and fluffy. Add 1-2 tablespoons of champagne as needed for a smooth consistency.
- Stack, fill and frost the cooled cakes with the buttercream. Decorate the cake with sparkling sugar and gold sprinkles.
Notes
- This champagne cake is very soft, moist, light and fluffy, and will stay fresh tasting for days and days, if stored in an airtight container or cake carrier at room temperature.
- If you want to make this cake without champagne, try substituting another fizzy, clear bubbly liquid, such as Sprite, Ginger Ale, or a non-alcoholic sparkling beverage.
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