Pink Champagne Cake

Today is the last day in our 10-part series of recognising and sharing some of the recipes that have inspired, intrigued and challenged me from blogs I love.  I thought it would be good to finish the series with a bit of a celebration and there’s no better way than with a sparkle.

Pink Champagne Cake

Pink Champagne Cake

I promised that at some stage during our 10-day around the world tour that we would make it to New York and that is where we find ourselves on the last day of the series.

Cover cake in a layer of frosting.

Absolutely shocking photo

We are with Joanne from Eats Well With Others.  Joanne is a 20-something about-to-be-married vegetarian super-achiever.  She has a science degree, is studying medicine, works in a lab playing with petrie dishes and test tubes, runs marathons, and blogs a self-developed recipe almost every day.

Fill your piping bag.  I used a disposable bag.

Fill your piping bag. I used a disposable bag.

I’ve been following her blog for a couple of years and have made quite a few vegetarian meals for my family from her bank of recipes.  When I shared on my blog that Arabella was heading to New York all by herself, Joanne sent me an email offering my daughter her contact details in case she needed them.  I thought that was so kind.  Then, when I at short notice, had to pack my bags and race to Arabella’s rescue, I asked Joanne if we could meet for lunch.

Start by piping roses around the bottom of the cake

Start by piping roses around the bottom of the cake

We met for lunch at a pizzeria very close to where Joanne works and this was where I had my first ever authentic New York pizza – they’re so good!  We chatted for about an hour and it was quite surreal that we knew so much about each other but had never met.  Clearly we both share a lot of ourselves on our blogs!

Meeting Joanne for lunch

Meeting Joanne for lunch

A half-and-half vegetarian pizza

A half-and-half vegetarian pizza

After lunch Joanne had to go back to work and I was on my way to meet Arabella at Tom’s Restaurant, the diner made famous for being featured on Seinfeld.  I thought I’d have to catch a cab but Joanne showed me how to get to Central Park where I could walk through the park and then it would be a short taxi ride to the restaurant.  This turned out to be one of my best days in New York as it was a beautiful day and an absolute treat to walk through and experience the park.

Pipe a second layer of roses on top of first layer

Pipe a second layer of roses on top of first layer

About a year ago Joanne posted a cake that when I saw it, I had to stop scrolling and just pause on the image. The cake was in the palest shade of pink, covered in piped roses and just so pretty.  A main ingredient in the cake is champagne and so immediately I thought this would be perfect for any sort of celebration.

Not too difficult to create

Not too difficult to create

This cake might look difficult but it really isn’t.  It also doesn’t demand a lot of your time; I took my little guy to school then shopped for the ingredients, came home and made the cakes.  When they were cooling I made the frosting.  Frosting the cake doesn’t take long at all and I had the cake well finished long before school pick-up time.  It’s actually very satisfying to put something like this together so quickly.

Perfect with a glass of pink champagne

Perfect with a glass of pink champagne

While a lot of people think I have a lot of experience with a piping bag, I’m actually don’t.  I tend to work more with fondant than I do with frosting.  On Joanne’s blog post there’s a link to a tutorial you can do to help with making these roses.  It says to use a 1M Wilton nozzle.  I went to four shops looking for a 1M and it was a fruitless exercise.  I used my star nozzle and while I think the roses look okay, I don’t think they’re quite right.  Before I make this again I’ll buy a 1M on-line.

A celbratory cake

A celbratory cake

This cake requires a lot of frosting.  You need a little to stick the base of the cake to the board.  Then you need a good pile of frosting between the two layers of cake.  Then the cake needs to be completely covered, not too thickly but so you can’t tell what colour the cake is.  Then you need to have enough leftover to make the roses.  I made one and a half times the quantity listed on Joanne’s blog because there’s nothing worse than running out halfway through a job, particularly when you need to match colours.

One of my roses isn't too good - result of an air pocket in the piping bag!

The roses don’t have to be perfect

Don’t stress about the roses.  Unlike working with fondant, piping is very forgiving.  I piped the bottom row of roses, stood back and didn’t admire my work.  I removed them with my metal spatula and started again.  It took me a while to work out how big to make each rose and what the distance should be between each rose.  The same thing happened with the roses on top of the cake.  I didn’t like how they looked so removed them and started again.

A cake of roses

A cake of roses

Your cake will be left with a lot of ‘dead space’.  This can be filled in with a swirl of piping.  Try to swirl it in the direction of the same direction as the roses.

I hope you will try this.  It’s a cake that’s super-light and moist, the frosting isn’t too sweet, it’s very pretty and from start to finish it can be made in less than a day.

5.0 from 7 reviews
Pink Champagne Cake
Author: 
Recipe type: Cake
Cuisine: American
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 10 - 12
 
A celebratory cake made with the festive drink, champagne.
Ingredients
  • For the cakes:
  • ¾ cup (175g) unsalted butter
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 6 egg whites
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 cups plain flour
  • 1½ tspns baking powder
  • ¾ tsp baking soda
  • ¾ tsp salt
  • 2 cups champagne, room temperature
  • For the frosting:
  • 600gms unsalted butter cut into cubes
  • 3 cups icing sugar
  • ¼ cup champagne
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • pinch of salt
  • dash of pink food colouring
Instructions
  1. For the cakes:
  2. Preheat oven to 175C (350F).
  3. Grease and line 2 8" (20cm) round cake tins.
  4. Cream butter and sugar in a large mixer until light and fluffly.
  5. Gradually add egg whites.
  6. Add vanilla extract.
  7. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. Add alternately to butter mixture with champagne, starting and ending with the dry mix.
  8. Mix only until just combined.
  9. Pour into prepared cake tins. Place in the oven for 35 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched.
  10. Rest for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool.
  11. For the frosting:
  12. Beat butter in a large mixer until as white as possible.
  13. Gradually add icing sugar, beating well between additions.
  14. Add champagne, vanilla and salt.
  15. Carefully add tint remembering it's easy to add more so exercise restraint - you don't want this to be a bilious cake.
  16. Continue to beat for about five minutes until frosting is all the same colour and light and fluffy.
  17. To Assemble:
  18. Smear centre of cake platter/cake board with a little frosting. Place one of the cakes upside down on the board. Gently press down. The smear of frosting will help the cake stick to the board and not slide off during transportation!
  19. Cover top of cake in a ½cm of frosting.
  20. Place remaining cake on top and lightly press down (fairy fingers).
  21. Cover entire cake in a coating of frosting. This doesn't have to be perfect as the roses will cover cake entirely.
  22. Attach 1M Wilton nozzle to piping bag and fill bag with remaining frosting.
  23. Pipe a row of roses around the bottom of the cake. Stand back and admire your work. If you're not happy, remove roses with a metal spatula and start again.
  24. Place a second layer of roses on top of the first row.
  25. Pipe roses around the edge of the top of the cake. There should be room for three roses to share the centre of the cake.
  26. Fill any gaps with a swirl of piped frosting.
  27. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

If you would like to follow Joanne, you can find her at Eats Well With Others or follow her on Instagram.

A celbratory cake

A celbratory cake

And that completes the series.  I’ve had a great time and will now start preparing for Series 2.  If you’d like to see more of the series, here are the links to the posts involved…

The Orgasmic Chef’s Asparagus and Potato Tart

The Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard Melting Moments

The Intolerant Chef’s Bundy and Coke Braised Beef Ribs

Kitchen Riffs Pickled Watermelon Rind

That Skinny Chick Can Bake’s Flourless Double Chocolate Cake

Just One Cookbook’s Crispy Baked Chicken with Tonkatsu Sauce

Fig Jam and Lime Cordial’s Cracker Mania

My Kitchen Stories’ Parmesan Crusted Lamb Cutlets

Not Quite Nigella’s How to Make Bacon

Comments

  1. G’day! What a gorgeous cake Charlie and great way to end a celebration of a great and fun series!
    Cheers! Joanne
    P.S. New Yorkers tend to be the “so kind” sort of people! 🙂 Great you could catch up with Joanne as love her blog too!

  2. Just beautiful, Charlie… great series, lovely recipe, good introductions xox

  3. Wow what a way to end the series – that is one pretty cake.

  4. Your cake looks beautiful – those roses are really gorgeous – I find the idea of doing them intimidating but then I have never actually looked for a pipe in a particular size! I’d like to make them but the idea of all the frosting makes me think I need to wait until I have the need for a huge celebration. Was it pink inside? Neither you nor Joanne showed a photo! And love hearing that Joanne is as lovely in person as she is online – love her blog!

  5. Whoah! Beautiful!

  6. Beautiful cake, Charlie. I can’t pipe for the life of me but then I haven’t had a lot of experience with frostings. I love the pink colour and elegant design of this cake. Is the pink champagne taste very prominent cause I might just drink it with a slice of the cake instead?

  7. Beautiful series ending, your cake is just gorgeous, I would make the cake but leave it unfrosted as I can not frost even if my life depended on it.

  8. Hi Charlie, what a beautiful masterpiece, looks like you have been decorating cakes for years!! great ending!

  9. Joanne is such a lovely person and lucky you for getting to meet her. Talk about a quiet achiever! Her cake is beautiful and so is yours. You’ve done such a wonderful job on your challenge. I’ll bet you’re tired!

  10. Very pretty! That would make a perfect birthday cake for my daughter.

  11. What a gorgeous cake. All I could think was “wedding” or “baby shower.” This is beautiful in its simplicity.

    Also, for Joanne to offer to help Arabella should she need anything while in NYC truly had to calm your mother’s heart. I’ve been in the same situation w/ my grown children and find it such a blessing to know someone is there. I’m not surprised that you and Joanne connected and had a great time together. There’s something about the connections bloggers make…

  12. This is such a lovely cake with all these pink roses I’d love to try this one day.
    Thanks dear for your sweet comforting words, they meant a lot to me.

  13. Man, my piping skills would need a major tune up before trying this cake! It is gorgeous!

  14. Oh, such a pretty cake – just heading over to have a look at Joanne’s blog – thanks for sharing Charlie.

  15. What a great experience to meet Joanne in person Charlie, and especially kind of her to offer to be there for Arabella too. Your cake is stunning! So light and pretty, I love it 🙂 xox

  16. What a gorgeous cake. I’ve really enjoyed this series. Thanks for taking me on a world wide tour!

  17. What a gorgeous cake and I promise that I didn’t copy it but I made one on the first day of spring (different decorations) but with that same 1M nozzle. I love that nozzle-it’s so clever. You did a great job!

  18. I love this cake with its beautiful roses in a wonderful colour. Fabulous series and a great cake with some lovely memories to go with it. GG

  19. Oh Charlie, what a beautiful cake, and you make it sound so easy…super elegant!
    Enjoy your week dear 🙂

  20. I remember admiring this on Joanne’s blog, and am so impressed you’ve recreated it. Your version looks fantastic, and even if you say it wasn’t too hard, it look hard – so you will get seriously impressed looks from anyone you serve it too! How lovely that you could meet up in NYC too.

  21. What a beautiful cake Charlie. You can’t go wrong with pink and champagne. Very clever of you.

  22. I might have to save this one for my mum’s Birthday next year. She loves champagne! How exciting that you got to meet your blogging friend on the other side of the world!

  23. One of my highlights of the summer was getting to meet you!! I’m so glad we made it happen. 🙂 And that you enjoyed this cake!! Yours is just gorgeous.

  24. Charlie – this has been a truly fantastic series! I am so glad you featured Joanne – she is pretty ah-mazing! And speaking of ah-mazing – your piping skills fall into that category! This cake is gorgeous! Wonderful replication!

  25. I’ve loved this series! And this cake — you’ve saved the best for last! Joanne has such a fun blog, and this is a wonderful recipe. Thanks.

  26. This really is a show stopper cake! I tried the rose technique for my daughter’s college graduation party cake. Wish I would have made the champagne cake though! What a lovely person Joanne is and how great you were able to meet up!

  27. Charlie, what a gorgeous cake. #nailedit And I have very much enjoyed this series. Its lovely to see what you love and have been inspired about by other awesome bloggers. Awesome you gals got to meet up too. 🙂

  28. Pamela Hayward says:

    This cake looks lovely and such a pretty colour. I have been wanting to make one like this so you have inspired me

  29. What a gorgeous cake! Now that you’ve described it I can see that it wouldn’t be impossibly difficult, but it looks complex, which makes it stunning! How wonderful that you had the opportunity to visit with Joanne in New York. That was a truly serendipitous meeting given that you really did pull that trip together so quickly! I have really enjoyed your tour of some really excellent blogs. This has been fun!

  30. Such a pretty cake. I reckon you did an awesome job on the piping – without the 1M nozzle!

  31. Stunning cake! It’ll probably take next 10 years to put my courage to make this cake, but I absolutely love the look of this gorgeous cake… maybe in several years I might give it a try… I still need to make basic sponge cake to start. =P How wonderful you got to meet Joanne. I’d love to meet you too one day… 🙂 It’s interesting how much we share about each other through our blog. It’s part of fun, too. I’m always interested in how you and your family are doing when I read your blog, just like I feel about my non cyber friends. 🙂

  32. This cake is beyond beautiful, your flavours and skill with frosting a cake is incredible 😀
    Delicious too!

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

  33. You had at me those roses! Very pretty, indeed! I’m about to faint… 🙂

    Gourmet Getaways

  34. What a beautiful cake to celebrate ” a vie en rose”.
    So nice you could meet Joanne in person, I follow and enjoy her blog very much.

  35. I love that you’ve met Joanne! She’s one of my favourite bloggers. And I think I remember this cake from her blog. Honestly, I think your roses look great!

  36. It’s always fun to get to meet other bloggers in person. What a treat to have been able to meet while you were in NYC! This is a gorgeous cake. I’m always so impressed by cakes – yours in particular. I’m so terrible at them. And these just look stunning!!!

  37. OMG, Charlie. This is just stunning and I must say that I love the idea that the cake actually contains champagne.

  38. Charlie, that cake is stunning – I can’t believe you knocked it out just in one day! And, while you say the piping isn’t tricky, I’m not sure I believe you at all.

  39. I just love the name of this cake. Anything with champagne has my attention, LOL! Your cake looks gorgeous. You always do a beautiful job on your cakes. Beautiful, Hugs, Terra

  40. Charlie,
    that must be one of the most stunning cakes I’ve ever seen.
    I have a request: Would you do a video of how to frost this piece of ART? xxx

  41. This cake is stunning, Charlie! Love the swirls of icing, the decoration is just beautiful. Thanks for sharing this lovely cake recipe!

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