Pink Champagne Cake

Adapted from Anne Byrn's American Cake cookbook.

Cake

• 2 cups cake flour

• 2 tsp baking powder

• ¼ tsp salt

• 4 egg whites, room temperature

• ⅔ cup pink champagne, room temperature

• 1½ tsp vanilla extract

• 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon vegetable oil

• 1⅓ cups granulated sugar

• ⅔ cup butter

• 1 drop red food coloring (or pink)

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the bottoms of 2 8in circular cake pans with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.

2. In a medium sized bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

3. In a large mixing bowl mix the egg whites, champagne, vanilla and oil until well combined.

4. In another large mixing bowl cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. This could take about 3 to 5 minutes.

5. Alternately add the flour mixture and the egg mixture to the butter mixture, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Beat well after each addition.

6. Stir in one drop of red food coloring for a light pink hue.

7. Pour the batter into the prepared pans, dividing the batter equally between the two.

8. Bake for 25-28 minutes, until the cakes start to pull away from the sides. Place pans on a wire rack to cool. After 10 minutes run a knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the cakes. Turn the cakes out of the pans to cool completely.

Frosting

• 1¾ sticks of butter

• 4 cups powdered sugar

• 3 tablespoons pink champagne

• ½ tsp vanilla

• 1 drop red food coloring (or pink)

1. In a large mixing bowl cream the butter on medium speed until light and fluffy.

2. Add 3 cups of powdered sugar and all of the pink champagne and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Add the last cup of powdered sugar as needed to make the frosting thick yet spreadable.

Assembly

1. Place one of the cake layers on the desired serving platter and spread ¾ cup frosting to the edges of that layer. Place the next layer on top and frost the top and sides with the remaining frosting.

2. Decorate with white chocolate chips, fresh mint, paper flowers, or whatever achieves your desired look.

3. Serve and enjoy!

I made this cake for my friends 21st birthday. I turned 21 in Spain where it was already legal to drink, so the purchase of this bottle of champagne a week after I got back, was the first time I was carded. Needless to say it was thrilling holding up the line and having a cashier ask for my ID.

With the help of some friends I threw a surprise party that was a big success and the cake absolutely stole show. I decorated it with tissue paper flowers, mint, and white chocolate chips. It was as delicious as it was beautiful. I wasn't sure what to expect out of a champagne cake. It had an incredibly light texture and was very sweet, but you could still taste the champagne. This is an excellent dessert for entertaining and just sounds like and elegant thing to make. I hope you find it as tasty as I did. Happy Baking!