Description
This Easy Cotton Candy Cake is a delightful, colorful homemade dessert perfect for celebrations. Featuring a marbled pink and blue cake infused with cotton candy flavor, it’s layered with a creamy cotton candy frosting and topped with whimsical cotton candy tufts and sprinkles for a fun and festive treat.
Ingredients
Scale
For the cake:
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
- 4 large egg whites
- 1 tablespoon cotton candy flavoring
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup whole milk
- Pink gel food coloring
- Blue gel food coloring
For the frosting:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 2–3 tablespoons heavy cream or milk
- 1 teaspoon cotton candy flavoring
- Pink food coloring (optional for swirl effect)
- Blue food coloring (optional for swirl effect)
For decorating:
- Cotton candy
- Sprinkles
- Edible glitter (optional)
Instructions
- Prepare the cake pans: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour three 8-inch round cake pans or line them with parchment paper to prevent sticking.
- Mix dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt until combined evenly.
- Beat butter and sugar: In a large bowl, use a mixer to beat the softened unsalted butter and granulated sugar until the mixture becomes light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add egg whites and flavorings: Add the egg whites one at a time to the butter mixture, beating well after each addition. Then mix in the cotton candy flavoring and vanilla extract to infuse the batter with flavor.
- Combine wet and dry mixtures: Alternately add the dry ingredients and whole milk to the butter mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix gently until just combined to avoid overmixing.
- Color the batter: Divide the batter evenly into two separate bowls. Tint one portion pink using gel food coloring and the other portion blue. Spoon dollops of each colored batter randomly into the prepared pans.
- Create marbled effect: Use a toothpick or knife to gently swirl the pink and blue batter together in each cake pan to achieve a marbled design.
- Bake the cake: Place the pans in the preheated oven and bake for 25 to 28 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool the cakes: Remove the cakes from the oven and let them cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then transfer them to wire racks to cool completely.
- Prepare the frosting: Beat the softened butter until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the cotton candy flavoring and add enough heavy cream or milk to reach a smooth, spreadable consistency. For a colorful swirl, divide the frosting and tint portions pink and blue.
- Assemble and decorate: Frost the cooled cake layers, swirling the pink and blue frosting together if desired. Decorate the top with tufts of cotton candy, sprinkles, and edible glitter just before serving to keep the cotton candy from melting.
Notes
- Cotton candy will melt if left out too long—add it right before serving for best texture.
- For a shortcut, you can use a boxed white cake mix and add cotton candy extract to the batter.
