Pink Velvet Cake is fluffy and delicate vanilla cake with a hint of pink color, topped with a smooth vanilla buttercream. The texture of this cake justifies its “velvet” name with its soft and luxurious crumb. Be sure to try my Red Velvet Cake for another delicious cake recipe!
Ingredients & Substitutions
Cake Flour: Cake flour gives cake a fine crumb. It is lower in protein than all-purpose flour, which gives baked goods a delicate, tender crumb.
Food Coloring: I needed 6-7 drops of red food coloring for a soft pink color. You could also use pink food coloring if that is what you have on hand. You can add as much or as little food coloring as you prefer depending the color that you want to achieve.
Confectioners’ Sugar: Yes, the whipped buttercream calls for 7 cups of confectioners’ sugar. However, you could use as little as 3 1/2 cups if you want to use less sugar. Keep in mind that you will likely need to adjust the amount of milk down as well if using less sugar.
Can I Make Pink Velvet Cake Ahead of Time?
Cake
- To make the cake ahead of time, try adding simple syrup to the baked cake to make sure it stays moist and delicious. Once the cake is cooled, level it and add about 1-2 tablespoons of simple syrup per layer.
- Store the cake for 3-5 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator, or in a labeled and dated airtight freezer-safe container for up to 2 months in the freezer.
Buttercream
- The buttercream will last up to 2 weeks stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- To freeze, place the frosting into a labeled and dated airtight, freezer-safe container or bag. If stored properly, it will last up to 3 months. When ready to use, allow to thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then re-whip it if necessary.
Storing & Freezing Cake
- This cake can be stored, covered, at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- To freeze, place the frosted cake in an airtight, freezer-safe container and store for up to 3 months. Allow the cake to thaw in the refrigerator before serving.
Pink Velvet Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- ½ cup (1 stick / 113 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 ½ cups (300 g) granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 3 cups (300 g) cake flour
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 cup (245 g) whole milk, room temperature
- ½ cup (109 g) vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6-7 drops red food coloring
Vanilla Buttercream*
- 1 cup (2 sticks / 227 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- 7 cups (875 g) confectioners' sugar
- 5 tablespoons (75 g) whole milk, or enough to reach desired consistency, room temperature
- 1 pinch kosher salt
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray 2, 8-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter. Cream until pale in color (about 2 minutes).
- Add the sugar to the creamed butter and mix for an additional 1-2 minutes, or until light and fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, making sure each egg is incorporated before adding the next one.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder.
- In another bowl, combine the milk, oil, and vanilla.
- With the mixer on low speed, alternate between adding the flour mixture and the milk mixture to the butter mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Mix until the ingredients are fully incorporated, adding your desired amount of food coloring.
- Remove the bowl from the stand mixer.
- Pour the batter equally between the two cake pans. Bake the cakes for 30-35 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Allow cakes to cool in the pans for 10 minutes before turning them over onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Vanilla Buttercream
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, cream the butter on medium-high speed until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes).
- Add vanilla and almond extract.
- With the mixer on low, slowly add confectioners' sugar, milk, and salt, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Once the ingredients have been incorporated, whip the frosting on medium-high for 3-7 minutes.
- If frosting is too thick to spread, gradually beat in additional milk until it reaches your desired consistency.
- Cover the cooled cakes in a layer of frosting, putting it between the layers and around the outside of the cake. Slice and serve.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Thank you for making my recipe! You took pictures, right? Well go ahead and post them on Instagram! Be sure to mention me @iambaker and use the hashtag #YouAreBaker.
This cake was not nice at all. Even my four years niece begged me not to me that cake for her birthday! Do not attempt.
Someday I will learn to read the comments on recipes before baking! This recipe is definitely incomplete, looks like Swiss cheese and tastes like flour! Please update this recipe.
Hello!
Cups-grams are not right.
1 cup flour is 120g and 1 cup sugar is 225g. I will try it with cups just in case 😉
1 cup flour is 125g and I cup of sugar is 200g. I use traditional oven for all conversions. https://www.traditionaloven.com/conversions_of_measures/flour_volume_weight.html
Hi! I’d love to try this for my girlfriend’s birthday, but I want to make cupcakes. I’m not a baker so could you tell me how long/what temp to do the oven for cupcakes please? Thank you so much!
Don’t we use the egg yolks? Isn’t it neccesary to beat the whites apart?
In the video for the Pink Velvet cake recipe. After the butter and milk you added another liquid but that liquid is not listed in your recipe ingredients. Also during the video the name of every ingredient was at the top of the screen but not for this liquid. I’m assuming it was the liquid sweetener you wrote in your description of this cake. Please share hwhat this additional liquid you added to cake mix in video but did not put in the ingredient list for us.
Thank you
We loved the cake. I made it in a sheet pan and it was delightful. I liked the crum density, it had body and it was beautiful.
Do you think this recipe could be made with an all purpose gluten free flour?
I think it is the egg whites.
I would love to make this cake but after reading the comments I hate to waste all the ingredients in it not turn out good. My main question is when do you add the simple syrup and how much do you add? Please reply as I’m waiting on your reply to bake this cake I watch your videos every day. Thank you
I add the simple syrup after I have leveled the cakes (level if necessary) or after they have cooled for 10 minutes out of the oven.