This vegan pink champagne cake is incredibly fluffy and moist! It's perfect for celebrations, holidays and the New Year. Or when you just want something extra special!
The champagne cake is elegant and a real showstopper, just like my vegan strawberry cupcakes! I paired it with a quick strawberry jam, vegan Italian meringue buttercream and aquafaba meringue kisses. The latter two are courtesy of my dear friend Christina from Addicted to Dates who is a vegan culinary genius :).
What to expect from this cake
TEXTURE: The elegant cake is wonderfully tender and melts in your mouth! The bubbles in champagne are made of carbon dioxide. And when they're mixed with cake batter, they aerate the cake and make it fluffier than normal!
TASTE: The pink champagne flavor is noticeable but not overbearing. My partner and I rarely drink alcohol but enjoyed this cake! However, if you find champagne revolting, you probably won't enjoy this recipe.
OCCASIONS FOR BAKING: The flavors and pink hues of the champagne cake make it perfect for Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, weddings, Christmas, New Year's Eve or any special occasion!
A percentage of alcohol still remains in cakes after it's been baked, so it's best to not serve this cake to children! I'd recommend my vegan strawberry cake instead.
How difficult is this cake recipe?
The undecorated pink champagne cake is very easy and quick to make. You can also use the cake recipe and Christina's buttercream recipe to make vegan champagne cupcakes which will be of medium difficulty.
The entire ensemble (cake, buttercream, jam and meringue kisses) is an absolute taste explosion and will WOW any guest. But I won't lie, making the whole decorated cake recipe is time-consuming. It's best for those who would like a challenge or are experienced with buttercream cakes. You may even learn some new skills on the way!
Ingredients for the champagne sponge cake
The pink champagne cake is roughly based on my popular vanilla cake recipe from my cookbook and uses simple ingredients including:
Notes about the ingredients
Vegan-friendly pink champagne, pink prosecco or pink-colored dry sparkling wine. You can use rosé wine and Moscato but some brands are already quite sweet so you might need to adjust the amount of sugar accordingly.
These alcoholic drinks are not necessarily vegan as they are sometimes filtered with fish guts, according to Vegan Friendly UK. To find a vegan-friendly bubbly drink, see Barnivore or ask your local liquor shop. Large liquor stores often mention whether a product is vegan on their websites.
Beetroot powder for color (optional). You can probably swap some of this with freeze-dried raspberry or strawberry powder for an extra level of flavor!
Even though this is an eggless cake, we don't need any special egg replacer!
How to make the cake batter
The cake by itself is very simple to make - you don't even have to reduce the champagne!
Simply add all dry ingredients to a large bowl and whisk until there are no big lumps. Add all wet ingredients (including your pink champagne) and mix until combined. You can also use a stand mixer but be wary about over mixing the batter!
Your batter may be a little bubbly which is just from the pink champagne!
Baking the champagne cake
I baked my cakes in 3 x 15 cm (6 inch) cake pans to create a small yet tall cake! The cakes were baked at a lower temperature than normal. This makes flatter and sturdier layers and is really important for stacking/decorating.
However, you can also bake the cake in 2 x 20 cm (8 inch) cake pans or even a 1 x 25 cm (10 inch) cake pan to make a shorter but wider cake. The baking time will vary a little.
If you happen to own cake strips and would like to make a 2 or 3 layer cake, I'd recommend using them for this recipe (the cakes definitely dome)! However, this is completely optional.
How to assemble and decorate this pink champagne cake
My top tips for assembling and decorating:
- Chill (or even freeze) your cake layers before you stack them. It's always easier to handle a cold cake!
- Use a serrated knife to cut the domes off each layer. Each layer doesn't have to be perfectly flat (for the sake of food waste) but the flatter the cakes, the easier they'll be to stack!
- Make sure your champagne buttercream is cold but soft enough to pipe and spread. Give it a few stirs to loosen it up! Christina gives some extra tips in her recipe blog post.
- If you are in a warm climate, crumb coat the cake then chill it before you decorate the rest of the cake.
- If your buttercream starts to ooze out the sides, chill the cake in the fridge or freezer until it firms up.
For a simplier version of this cake
For people who are short on time or don't have much experience with cake decorating, I'd recommend making just 1 layer of the cake.
This can be topped with whipped coconut cream or Christina's Vegan Italian Meringue Buttercream (an unflavored version of the champagne buttercream).
More vegan cakes
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Vegan Pink Champagne Cake
Ingredients
Cake dry ingredients
- 3 cups (375g) all-purpose plain flour, (note 1 for gluten free)
- 1 ¼ cups (250g) granulated sugar, to taste
- 3 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 2-3 teaspoon beetroot powder, to colour (note 2)
- Pinch of salt
Cake wet ingredients
- 1 cup (240g) pink champagne
- ½ cup (120g) dairy-free milk
- ½ cup (125g) neutral flavored oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional
Quick Berry Jam Filling (optional)
- ⅔ cup (85g) fresh or frozen strawberries, or raspberries, chopped
- 2 tablespoon granulated sugar, or any light coloured sweetener to taste
- 1 ½ tablespoon corn starch / corn flour
- Dash of water
Instructions
To make the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 160°C (320°F). Line or grease 3x15 cm (6 inch) cake tins (note 3).
- Add all the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and mix until there are no lumps. Add all the wet ingredients to the bowl and mix until combined.
- Evenly divide the cake batter into the 3 cake tins (each tin should have about 370g of batter).
- Bake the cakes for around 40 minutes OR until a skewer/toothpick can be inserted into each cake and it comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool in the tins for 20 minutes then place them on a wire rack.
- Chill the cakes in an airtight container in the fridge for at least 4 hours. Chilling the cakes makes them less crumbly, easier to slice and assemble.
To make the quick jam
- Add all ingredients to a small saucepan and toss until combined. Bring to a gentle simmer for 10 minutes while stirring and mashing the berries. Add a dash of water for a thinner jam or continue to simmer for a thicker jam.
- When the jam has slightly thickened, set aside to cool. The jam will further thicken while it cools.
To assemble the cake
- Use a serrated knife to cut the domes off the cakes if any.
- To stack the cake, place one cake layer on a serving plate or cake board. Use a piping bag or spatula to spread about ½ cup of the buttercream on the cake. Create a ‘dam’ in the frosting. Dollop and spread the jam in the frosting dam.
- Top with another cake layer and repeat. For the final cake layer, turn the cake upside down so the flat side is on top.
- To crumb coat the cake, use a spatula or cake scraper to spread a thin layer of buttercream around the cake. Chill the cake for at least 30 minutes
- If desired, pipe or spread a thicker layer of frosting on the cake. Use a cake scraper to smooth the surface.
- If you have excess frosting, use a piping bag with a star tip to pipe swirls on top of the cake (or as desired).
Storing and serving the cake
- The cake should be stored in the fridge in an airtight container until needed. Allow the cake to come to room temperature for 1-2 hours before serving. Right before serving, add the meringue kisses to the cake as they start to soften once they touch the cake. Enjoy!
Notes
- To make a vegan gluten free cake, substitute the plain flour for a high quality 1:1 gluten free flour OR 1 ½ cups (150g) almond flour and 1 ½ cups (240g) gluten free all-purpose flour.
- The amount of beetroot powder you will need will depend on the brand (and the age) of your powder. For example, both Christina and I used 3 tsp of beetroot powder but the colour of our cakes were very different. I'd recommend starting with 2 tsp of powder. Mix all the dry and wet ingredients and if you'd still like the cake to be more vibrant, fold in an additional teaspoon of beetroot powder. Remember that the colour will fade after baking (see pictures above for reference)!
- You can also bake the cake in 2 x 20 cm (8 inch) cake tins. The baking time will be around 30 mins.
Nutrition
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Could I use strawberry powder in place of beetroot powder?
I imagine so, but I haven't tested it myself!
Hi Anthea,
Super excited about this recipe, but mine didn't come out light and fluffy at all! I was suspicious of the batter before baking, as it was thick and sticky; more like a wet cookie dough than a batter, but baked anyway hoping it would rise or some other magic trick would occur in the oven. 😅 Alas, no magic. I see the comment about the baking powder, so it may be time for a new can of that, but overall it just didn't seem like enough liquid. Any ideas/suggestions about what to do differently next time? Thanks in advance!
Oh, and I used Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 gluten-free flour.
Hi Stephanie, oh that's so strange and I can see why you were suspicious! I recently used Bob Red Mill's 1:1 flour in another recipe and it made the batter a lot thicker than all-purpose flour so I suspect it's the flour. I think they've changed their formula in the last few years and it doesn't seem to work as well as it used to! I'll remove the link in the blog post. I'm sorry about that.
However, it may work if you add more dairy-free milk so the batter is a similar consistency to above. Or, is there another brand of gf flour that you've used for another vegan cake and that you enjoy? Sorry, I wish I could help more!
Any idea why this would not rise? We are at high altitude and using King Arthur GF flour. And using Ruffini Prosecco rose. Tried with oat milk and now trying with almond milk. Help
Hi Julie, oh no! Did your cake not rise at all or did your cake rise then sink after baking? If it didn't rise at all, it's due to old baking powder or the high altitude. If not, King Arthur has a high-altitude baking guide. If it sunk after baking, it means there it was underbaked or there wasn't enough flour (try using the grams measurement). The type of milk won't matter. Hope that helps!
Hi I am just wondering could I use pink pitaya (dragonfruit) powder instead of beetroot?
Hi Rebecca, yes you can!
What if I want to make 24 cupcakes instead of a cake? Would I use the same amount of ingredient measurements? I'm also planning on using the half Almond Flour/half GF flour method.
Hi Rachael, this recipe will make around 20 cupcakes so for 24 cupcakes, you'll need to multiply the ingredients by 120%. However, this will depend on the size of your muffin pan and how much you fill each cup. I normally use a USA muffin pan. Hope that helps!
Thank you. I also noticed that you have different baking times for the size of pan. Should I bake the cupcakes for less than 40 minutes then?
Yes definitely! Try baking the cupcakes for around 20-25 minutes (again, this will depend on how you fill each cup).
What brands of gf flour are high quality? Should it include xanthan gum?
It really depends on where you live! If you click where it says 'high-quality gluten-free flour', you'll be directed to an example. Some other brands won't work as a 1:1 replacement. It doesn't need to contain xantham gum but there should be a binder in the blend.
I made this cake recently, using the gluten free flour substitution, for a family reunion and received so many compliments, including from another coeliac who said it was the best gf cake she's ever had. I did have a disaster with the icing though where the aquafaba fell flat and went super runny, so I scraped it all off and switched it for a basic buttercream which still worked well!
I plan to make this cake again for my wedding in May!
I know you probably will not see this comment today, but if you could respond today that would be incredible.
I tried this recipe to attempt recreate our wedding cake for our 5th anniversary and it fell flat.
I was making it with 50/50 gluten free flour blend (I make my own with brown rice flour, white rice flour, tapioca starch, potato starch, and xanthan gum) and almond flour as suggested since we have a wheat allergy in the house.
Do you think this is what caused it to fail? I need to try and make it again before tomorrow but I don’t know what caused it to fall so I don’t want to try again until I know what caused the problem.😬😬
Help!! 😂
Hi Elaina, oh no! It may just be that your gluten-free flour blend didn't absorb enough of the wet ingredients in the recipe. Try adding 1/4 - 1/2 cup more of your gluten-free flour and see how you go. That's often worked for me with other people's recipes. I hope that helps and let me know how you go!
This recipe is amazing! Tried it with your strawberry cream cheese frosting and it was so delicious.
I'm so happy that you loved this cake Sarah! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment here :).
Also what are those little sprinkles that you decorate the cake with?
They're puffed millet and puffed amaranth, which I got from a health food tore 🙂
Hi to make it non alcoholic would you sub the champagne for water or another liquid, say a pink non alcoholic drink?
Yes that will work! Although, the amount of sugar I used helps balance out the taste of alcohol so if you use a very sweet liquid, you may want to remove a few tablespoons of sugar.
What kind of pink champagne did you use ? I have been trying to find a vegan pink champagne forever and still haven’t.
I used a pink-coloured bubbly wine that wasn't very sweet. It doesn't need to be actual champagne but just needs to be pink in colour and have some bubbles! There are a few brands that are accidentally vegan but it depends where you're based.
I made this cake for my birthday. It was a great success. Everyone loved it. It was light and fluffy. The instructions are perfect.
Aw thanks so much for your feedback Natalie! I'm still in love with the picture you posted on Instagram! x