Perfectly Pink Birthday Cake

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Perfectly Pink Birthday Cake

It’s been over 2 weeks, but here’s the post on my birthday cake :) This year I knew I wanted: a. pink, because it’s my favorite color; b. funfetti, because it’s fun (duh); and c. raspberry, because it’s my favorite fruit and I’m trying to empty my freezer. I also wanted to take it over the top with a pile of (23) pink sprinkle mini donuts.

And that’s how this cake came to be.

Perfectly Pink Birthday Cake

Let’s start with the base. I don’t really have a go-to yellow/vanilla cake recipe yet, so I turned to the queen of beautiful layer cakes, Sweetapolita. But since I was making a lot of things I wanted a simple, no fuss recipe, without egg separating and that kind of stuff. I turned to my other cake source, Sky High, and found a simple cake on the strawberry shortcake recipe (the one on the cover). I had actually made the whole cake for my grandma, but didn’t remember much about the cake layers (just that the rosewater was a bit overpowering).

So I went with that recipe. I baked it on one pan instead of 3, cause I made the cake 8 inch and I only have one 8 inch pan (we were kinda dieting so I didn’t want half a cake left over). As you can see the outside got toasty and the crumb was a little dry, so I don’t recommend baking it on one pan. Also I had added 1/2 cup of sprinkles and I thought it was a bit too much, so I reduced the sprinkles on the recipe below.

Perfectly Pink Birthday Cake

For the filling, I knew I wanted to make a raspberry curd and then fold in some whipped cream, to make some sort of raspberry diplomat. I thought it worked great on the cake. Some people didn’t like it, because my raspberries were on the tart side so you have to be a bit of an unconditional raspberry lover (or possibly add more sugar).

Then for the frosting I tried something I had been eyeing for a while: flour frosting! Also known as boiled or old-fashioned frosting, it’s a less buttery alternative that I was eager to try. You basically make some sort of sweet bechamel, then whip it until it cools, and add the butter. I liked the fact that it’s easier than Swiss meringue buttercream, at least for me, and you don’t keep adding up to the infinite stash of frozen egg yolks. But I also thought it was a little bit heavier/butterier (is that even a word? I don’t think so).

Perfectly Pink Birthday Cake

Anyway, I really liked this cake. It wasn’t as decadent as maybe a triple chocolate fudge cake, but it was very me.

Perfectly Pink Birthday Cake

Cake recipe by Sky High, filling recipe by Sabor Pastel, frosting recipe by Baked Explorations
Yield: one 8 inch cake

For the cake:

100 g / 3.5 oz butter, softened
1 1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (I had ran out of vanilla so I used butter extract on everything)
3 eggs
2 1/4 cups flour
3 3/4 tsp baking powder
1/3 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup pink sprinkles (jimmies)

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease the bottom and sides of three 8 inch round pans.
2. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Add the vanilla and the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
4. Sift together the flour, salt and baking powder. Add to the batter in 3 additions, alternating with the buttermilk in 2 additions. Mix in the sprinkles.
5. Divide the cake batter among the pans and bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

For the filling:

1 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 – 3/4 cup sugar (add more or less depending on the tartness of your berries)
250 g / 8 oz raspberries
3 egg yolks
1 tbsp butter, cold
2/3 cup heavy cream

1. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar and cornstarch. Add the pureed raspberries.
2. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens.
3. Remove from the heat and mix in the butter.
4. Let the curd cool down, either by refrigerating it (make sure to cover it with a film on contact) or by mixing it in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment.
5. Whip the cream to soft peaks, then fold into the curd.

For the frosting: 

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 cup milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
225 g / 8 oz butter, cool but not cold
1 tsp vanilla extract (I omitted)

1. In a medium saucepan, whisk the sugar and flour together. Add the milk and cream and cook over medium heat, whisking occasionally, until the mixture comes to a boil and has thickened, 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Transfer the mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on high speed until cool, at least 7 minutes.
3. Reduce the speed to low and add the butter one tablespoon at a time; mix until thoroughly incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy.
4. Add the vanilla and continue mixing until combined.

Vanilla-Sprinkle Mini Donuts

Recipe by Mini Donuts
Yield: 36 mini donuts

For the donuts:

1 1/3 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup milk
3 tbsp oil
2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease a mini donut pan using baking spray.
2. In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. Whisk together the egg, sugar, milk, oil, and vanilla extract, mixing until thoroughly combined.
4. Gently stir in the flour mixture, stirring until there are no lumps.
5. Transfer the batter to a piping bag, and fill each donut indentation on the pan 3/4 full. Bake for 7-9 minutes, until the donuts spring back when pressed.

For the icing: 

1 tbsp milk (I actually needed more)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
pink food coloring
pink sprinkles

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the milk and vanilla extract. Add powdered sugar, whisking until smooth. Add food coloring and mix.
2. Dip the top of each cooled donut into the icing and transfer to a wire rack. Immediately garnish the tops with the sprinkles and let set.


22 thoughts on “Perfectly Pink Birthday Cake

  1. This is so delicious looking its ridiculous! I think this is going to be what I make for my upcoming birthday. Thanks for sharing! I’m glad I found you on the blog hop, am now tagging along and can’t wait to read more. Hope you’ll stop by to say hi sometime. :) wanderlust-wishlist.blogspot.com

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