Description
This Easy Pastel Easter Cake is a delightful and colorful dessert perfect for celebrating spring and the Easter holiday. Featuring a moist, tender crumb with a beautiful pastel swirl effect, this cake is layered with rich buttercream frosting and decorated with festive Easter sprinkles or candy eggs. It’s a fun, visually stunning treat that’s simple enough for bakers of all skill levels to enjoy making.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup whole milk
Food Coloring and Decoration
- Pastel food coloring: pink, yellow, blue, green
- 3 cups buttercream frosting
- Easter sprinkles or candy eggs for decoration
Instructions
- Prepare Pans and Oven: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour three 8-inch round cake pans, then line the bottoms with parchment paper to ensure easy removal.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt until evenly combined.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, to incorporate air for a tender crumb.
- Add Eggs and Vanilla: Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition to fully combine. Then stir in the vanilla extract.
- Combine Batter: Gradually add the dry ingredients alternated with the milk to the wet ingredients, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined to avoid overmixing which can toughen the cake.
- Color the Batter: Divide the batter evenly into four separate bowls. Tint each portion with a different pastel food coloring: pink, yellow, blue, and green.
- Create the Swirl Effect: Drop spoonfuls of each colored batter alternately into the prepared pans to create a marbled pastel look. Use a knife to gently swirl the colors together without fully blending.
- Bake the Cakes: Bake for 25 to 28 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean indicating doneness.
- Cool the Cakes: Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for 10 minutes before transferring them to wire racks to cool completely.
- Decorate: Once completely cooled, frost the layers with buttercream frosting and decorate with pastel sprinkles or candy eggs to enhance the Easter theme.
Notes
- For extra flavor, substitute half the vanilla extract with almond extract.
- The cake can be baked a day ahead, stored covered at room temperature before frosting to save time on the day of serving.
- To simplify the process, a white cake mix can be used as a base instead of making the batter from scratch.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 450
- Sugar: 38 g
- Sodium: 180 mg
- Fat: 20 g
- Saturated Fat: 12 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 62 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 5 g
- Cholesterol: 90 mg
