The Best Cotton Candy Cake for Sweet Celebrations
A cheerful, pastel-hued cotton candy cake made with fluffy vanilla layers, a hint of nostalgic carnival flavor, and a swirl of cotton-candy-flavored buttercream. Perfect for birthdays, baby showers, or whenever you want to bring a little sparkle to the table.
Equipment
- 2 (8-inch) round cake pans
- Stand or hand mixer
- Mixing bowls
- Spatula and offset spatula
- Wire cooling rack
- Parchment paper
- Cake stand or plate for assembling
Ingredients
Cake Layers:
- 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
- 5 large egg whites
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ tsp cotton candy flavoring
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 drops pink gel food coloring
- 2 drops blue gel food coloring
Buttercream Frosting:
- 1 ½ cups unsalted butter softened
- 4 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar sifted
- 3 –4 tbsp heavy cream
- 1 tsp cotton candy flavoring
- Pinch of salt
- Pink & blue gel food coloring
Optional Add-Ins:
- Rainbow sprinkles for batter or topping
- Edible glitter
- Spun sugar for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and line pans with parchment.
- Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in one bowl.
- In another bowl, beat butter and sugar until fluffy.
- Add egg whites one at a time, then mix in flavorings.
- Alternate adding flour mix and milk until smooth.
- Divide batter into two bowls; tint one pink and the other blue.
- Pour into pans and bake 25–28 minutes. Cool completely.
- For frosting, beat butter, sugar, cream, flavoring, and salt until fluffy.
- Tint half the frosting pink and the other half blue.
- Stack, frost, and swirl colors together for a pastel finish.
- Decorate with sprinkles or spun sugar just before serving.
Notes
Contains dairy, eggs, and gluten. For best results, use gel food coloring and add spun sugar decorations just before serving to keep their shape.