This pretty Pink Cake recipe (or pink velvet if you prefer!) is super moist, slathered with cream cheese frosting, and its lovely pink hue is completely natural from strawberries! It’s perfect for birthday parties, baby showers, or anytime you need a homemade dessert in a beautiful shade of blush.
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The prettiest cake you’ve ever seen!
While pink cake mix would have been the fastest route to make a pink cake, I wanted to make this recipe from scratch without any food coloring or dye.
I adore this pink’s happy color, and I made it completely with natural ingredients! In my Homemade Strawberry Cake recipe, I used pureed strawberries to give the batter flavor and a slight tint, but for more concentrated color akin to a true pink velvet cake, I decided to use freeze-dried strawberries.
- Because freeze-dried strawberries have zero liquid content, you can add them to the batter without watering it down.
- When pulverized finely, they give the pink cake the prettiest tint without having to add any food dyes.
- To bring it all together—literally!—I used homemade cream cheese frosting between the layers and on top.
My Tips for Making a Perfect Pink Cake
- Make Sure the Strawberries Are Finely Ground. This allows them to be distributed evenly throughout the batter, giving your cake a deeper, more even color.
- Don’t Use Whole Eggs. I know it’s tempting to see a recipe that calls for 6 egg whites and wonder if you can just use 3 whole eggs. I don’t recommend it here! Egg yolks add color to the batter, but egg whites allow the pink to come through undiluted.
- Level the Layers If Needed. If your cake layers are a little domed in the middle after baking, you can use a cake leveler to even them out or, if you don’t have one, use a serrated knife to shave off the domed center. It doesn’t have to be perfectly level; once you frost the layers, small imperfections won’t matter.
Variations
- Try Another Frosting. You can swap in vanilla buttercream or strawberry frosting for this pink cake. I think a lemon frosting would be lovely too!
- Add a Filling. Strawberry or raspberry jam, or even fresh berries between the layers, would be fabulous.
- Make It a 2-Layer Cake. You can easily divide the batter between two pans instead of three. Just note that they’ll take longer to bake since they’ll be thicker.
More Party-Worthy Cake Recipes
- My Lemon Cake recipe is a family favorite. It’s like sunshine in cake form!
- This Gluten Free Carrot Cake is made with almond flour, giving it a rich, moist crumb that everyone will love!
- For a more everyday kind of cake recipe, Ben and I love this Banana Cake. It’s the perfect sweet treat for a weeknight!
Pink Cake
Prep: 30 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Total: 2 hours
Servings: 12 -14 servings (1 three-layer cake)
This pretty pink cake recipe gets its naturally rosy hue from freeze-dried strawberries! With a cream cheese frosting, it's like pink velvet cake!
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Ingredients
For the Cake:
- Cooking spray
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 (1.2-ounce) bag freeze-dried strawberries, crushed into crumbs*
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 6 large egg whites at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups milk at room temperature
- Fresh strawberries for garnish
For the Frosting:
- 16 ounces cream cheese at room temperature, I recommend using full fat
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature, cubed
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 cups powdered sugar
For Decorating:
- Fresh strawberries or raspberries
- Sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease three round 8-inch cake pans with nonstick spray and/or line with parchment rounds. (If you don’t have 3 pans, bake the first 2 layers, let the pans cool completely, then regrease the pan and bake the third layer.)
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, strawberries, baking powder, and salt.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add the egg whites in 3 separate additions, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.
- Reduce the mixer speed to low and add one-third of the flour mixture. As soon as the flour disappears, mix in half of the milk, then the next third of the flour, then the milk, then the remaining flour. With each addition, stop as soon as the ingredients are incorporated.
- Divide the batter between the prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer the cakes from the pans to a wire rack to cool completely.
- While the cakes cool, make the frosting: With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat together the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla and salt. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the powdered sugar, mixing until smooth and fluffy.
- With a serrated knife, trim the domed top off of each cake layer to create a flat surface (eat the crumbs or mix them into ice cream, mmmmm).
- Frost the cake: Place the first layer on a cake stand. Tuck strips of parchment paper or wax paper underneath the edges to keep the plate tidy. Cover the top of the first layer with frosting. Place a second cake layer on top of the first and cover it with frosting. Place the third on top and cover with frosting.
- Make a crumb coat: Spread a very thin layer of frosting all over the whole cake and let it set a minute or two (you’ll still see cake peeking through). Refrigerate for 10 minutes. This will make the rest of the process much easier, trust me.
- Wipe your knife clean, then frost the entire cake’s top and edges with the remaining frosting so it’s completely covered. Decorate as desired.
Notes
- *The best way to crush your strawberries is in a spice grinder, but a mortar and pestle, mini food processor or mashing them in a zip-top bag will also work.
- *If you want a totally, bake-sale-winning smooth texture, sift the strawberries after mashing. (I don’t mind the specks of some larger pieces in the cake and leave as is)
- *You can also use freeze-dried raspberries, the color might be slightly different
- You will have extra frosting left from the cake. You can either frost it more thickly (be warned that it is fairly sweet), or save the frosting for another use (dipping with pretzels anyone?)
- TO STORE: This cake will last in the refrigerator for 5 days. Cover it in plastic wrap or transfer slices to an airtight container.
- TO FREEZE: Fully frosted or unfrosted cake can be frozen for up to 2 months—let thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature prior to serving.
- TO MAKE AHEAD: The cake layers can be baked 1 day in advance—cool completely, then wrap airtight and store at room temperature. Frosting can be prepared 1 day in advance—place in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
Serving: 1(of 12)Calories: 745kcalCarbohydrates: 115gProtein: 8gFat: 29gSaturated Fat: 17gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 80mgPotassium: 294mgFiber: 1gSugar: 89gVitamin A: 1025IUVitamin C: 35mgCalcium: 123mgIron: 2mg
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Tried this cake for my daughter’s birthday, and it was a hit with the kids. The pink color from the strawberries was super cute and looked great with the fresh berries on top. I will say the cake itself was slightly denser than I expected, but still moist and tasty. The cream cheese frosting was so good, not too sugary and super smooth. I appreciated that the flavor wasn’t artificial, just lightly fruity and fresh.
This makes me so happy to hear, Sharon! THANK YOU!
This cake is a labor of love, but the results were totally worth it. At first, I was worried the strawberry flavor wouldn’t come through, but it actually did in a really mellow way. It’s not overly sweet either, which I liked. It looked so pretty once decorated. I enjoyed making this cake. Thank you for sharing!
So glad you enjoyed it, Meryll! Thank you!
Okay so I made this cake today and it’s legit really good. It’s not super strawberry-y, but it’s there. The texture was soft and fluffy, and the frosting? It was so good. I did struggle a bit with getting the layers even, but once it was all frosted, no one noticed lol. I was proud of how it turned out. Thanks
So glad you enjoyed it, Kristina! Thank you!