This beautiful pink cherry cake will remind you of spring cherry blossoms. It has a soft pink color inside and out and a mild almond, cherry-vanilla taste.
Maraschino Cherries
Maraschino cherries give this cake its pretty pink color. If you are concerned about red food coloring (Red 40) in the cherries, use maraschino cherries dyed with natural plant coloring, such as Mezzetta Maraschino Cherries. They are also free of high fructose corn syrup.
Preparing the Pans for the Pink Cherry Cake
Use three 6-inch cake pans for this recipe. (Or, you can use two 8-inch pans for a two-layer cake.) Grease the pans with shortening or olive oil and a pastry brush. Be sure to coat the bottom of each pan well. Then, dust the pans with flour.
TIP: Cake will sometimes stick to the bottom of the pan and tear when you try to remove it. You can help ensure that your cakes come out in one piece by following an extra step. Cut out 3 parchment paper circles (a little smaller than the pans) and place them into the bottom of each pan. Then, pour the batter into the pans.
Mixing the Batter
The batter is easy to mix, and you do not need a mixer. However, sifting is necessary to prevent lumps and overstirring. Follow these steps.
Frosting the Pink Cherry Cake
This cake is easy to frost by using various piping tips. It is best to use a coupler to make changing the tips easier. Click here to see how to use a coupler (if you arenโt familiar with them).
Tips
You can use a variety of tips to decorate this cake. Some ideas include star tips in different sizes. Open star tips and folded ones will give you different looks. Russian tips will make flowers with intricate patterns. Scatter the stars and flowers around the cake instead of placing them in clumps so there is a lot of visual interest. Then, fill in any holes with frosting piped with small tips. You can buy a kit with starter tips to make it easy.
Serving the Pink Cherry Cake
This small but tall cake will go far because of its three layers. It has a lot of frosting from the piped flowers, so a small piece will be filling. You can get about 18 thin slices from this cake.
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Beautiful Pink Cherry Cake
Equipment
- (3) 6-inch round pans (can use (2) 8-inch rounds)
- parchment paper
- 4-5 piping tips (tips should be different sizes and shapes)
- large piping bag
- piping bag coupler
Ingredients
Cake
- olive oil or shortening
- all-purpose flour
- ยฝ cup whole buttermilk (shaken and at room temperature)
- ยฝ cup maraschino cherry juice
- โ cup vegetable oil
- โ cup sour cream (room temperature)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- (1) 15.25-ounce box white cake mix
Cherry Buttercream
- 1 ยฝ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- ยผ teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons maraschino cherry juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 6 ยพ cups powdered sugar, sifted
- whole milk or cream to thin frosting (optional)
- 8-10 maraschino cherries, chopped
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat the inside of each pan with olive oil or shortening. Dust with flour. Cut (3) 5 3/4 inch rounds out of parchment paper and place in the bottom of each pan.
- Add the shaken buttermilk, maraschino cherry juice, vegetable oil, sour cream, vanilla, and almond extract to a mixing bowl. Whisk until blended.
- Sift the cake mix and stir into the liquid ingredients until just moistened. Do not overmix. Divide evenly between the three pans.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean or with crumbs. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 5-10 minutes. Then, turn the pans upside down and remove each cake onto the rack. Pull off the parchment paper. Cool.
Cherry Buttercream
- Beat the butter and salt until smooth and creamy. Then, add the cherry juice, vanilla, and almond extracts. Beat until mixed.
- Sift the powdered sugar into the butter mixture. Beat until well mixed. Add milk or cream a teaspoonful at a time and mix if the buttercream is too thick. It should be soft enough to spread with ease on the cake.
- Add one layer to a cake plate and coat the top with frosting. Chop the cherries and place half on the buttercream, spreading evenly. Repeat with the second layer. Then, add the third layer and coat the top and the sides of all the layers with a thin layer of buttercream.
- Add a coupler to a piping bag. Cut the end of the bag to allow the coupler to fit in it with the nose sticking out. Add a tip and secure it with the coupler ring. Add frosting to the bag. Pipe frosting shapes in various places on the cake. Unscrew the coupler ring and remove the tip, adding another one in its place. Pipe shapes in random places. Repeat with the other tips until the cake is fully decorated.