Cotton Candy Cake – A light and fluffy cotton candy cake that will make you think you’re at the summer market.

New cookie flavor

A few months ago, my little brother tried to develop new types of cookies for me. One of his suggestions was a cotton candy cake. It sounded interesting, but to be honest, I wasn’t too keen on it. I put the flavor idea on hold and continued working on some other new cookies. Meanwhile, some of you asked for a cotton candy cake.

At that moment I thought, “Okay, I have to try this!”.

And what better time to try a cotton candy flavored cake than a kid’s birthday party? To be honest, I had to talk Avery into letting me bake this cake for her birthday.

Originally she wanted a pink, blue and purple red velvet cake. I liked the idea of ​​having all their favorite colors on the cake, but a red velvet cake inside just didn’t feel right. Instead of making your own cotton candy, buy some from the store and fluff the cotton candy cloud with a fork for a more homemade look. Luckily, kids love cotton candy and Avery is no exception. Convincing her to change the flavor of the cake turned out to be a piece of cake. We also decided to forgo purple and instead go with blue and pink to match the cotton candy.

Cotton candy cake

For this recipe, I started with the vanilla cake that I use for my Funfetti Cake. In my first batch I used Jelly Belly Cotton Candy Syrup. The cake was a little dense and the flavor was barely noticeable after the cake was baked, so I decided to try again with the Lorann cotton candy flavor. The second round was a complete success. Avery gobbled up the leftover cookie! I used pink and blue food gel to color the dough. Make sure to gently stir the food gel into the dough. You don’t want to overmix the dough or it won’t rise as well.

Birthday cake or gender reveal cake?

So the question is: birthday cake or gender reveal cake? I loved it as Avery’s birthday cake, but it’s also the perfect gender reveal cake, don’t you think?

The old cotton candy cake

And instead of deleting this post with all the old pictures, I had to keep at least one so you can see the original cake and my sweet little Aves!

Tip

A note about the cotton candy itself: Do not add it to the cake until you are ready to display the cake. Cotton candy does not last long in the freezer, refrigerator or at room temperature.

Ingredients

For the cake:

1. 1 whole egg, at room temperature (I use extra big).

2. 3 egg whites (also extra large), room temperature

3. 1 cup (240 g) buttermilk, room temperature

4. One-third (13 g) of Lorann cotton candy

5. 3 cups plus 2 tablespoons (366.6 g) cake flour

6. 350 grams (1 3/4 cups) of granulated sugar

7. 16 grams (1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon) of baking powder

8. 3/4 teaspoon (4.2 g) of salt

9. One cup (226 g) unsalted butter at room temperature

10. Pink and blue nutritional jelly (optional)

For the glaze:

1. 2 cups (452 ​​g) unsalted butter, slightly chilled

2. 6 cups (750 g) granulated sugar, measured and sifted

3. 3 tablespoons (43.3 g) of whipping cream

4. 2 teaspoons (8g) Lorann cotton candy

5.      Pinch of salt

6. Food Gel in Pink and Blue (optional) Optional: Cosmic Rush Twinkle Sprinkle Medley

7. *This buttercream recipe is enough to fill and cover your cake. If you want to add more tubes, you will need to make another half batch.

Instructions

For the cake

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare four 6-inch round cake pans or three 8-inch round cake pans by spraying each pan with nonstick spray, lining the bottom of the pan with parchment paper, and spraying the parchment paper well with the nonstick spray. Set aside.

2. Combine the whole egg, egg white and Lorann flavor in a medium bowl. Set aside.

3. Combine cake flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix for around 30 seconds at a low speed.

Other

4. With mixer on low speed, add butter and buttermilk. Continue mixing on low until well combined, then increase the speed to medium and mix for 1-2 minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy.

5. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the egg mixture in two batches. Beat on medium speed for about 20 seconds after each addition, until all ingredients are well combined.

6. Divide the dough in half. Color half of the dough pink and the other half blue. Stir lightly by hand to avoid overmixing the dough.

7. Divide batter between four 6-inch pans or three prepared 8-inch cake pans and measure equal portions into each pan using a kitchen scale. (Use about 11 to 12 ounces of batter in each of the four 6-inch pans or 15 to 16 ounces of batter in each of the three 8-inch pans). I put a ball of dough in each shape, slightly overlapping the colors to create a tie-dye look.

8. Bake for 20-23 minutes (my cookies took 20 minutes) or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

9. Let the cakes cool in the tins for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack until completely cool.

For the glaze

1. Beat the butter on medium speed in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

2. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the granulated sugar, followed by the cream, the Lorann flavor and the salt.

3. Continue to beat the frosting on medium speed for another 5 minutes.

4. Divide the glaze in half and color each portion with blue or pink food jelly.

5. Stir by hand to push out any air bubbles.

Edit

1. After leveling each cake layer with a cake leveler or serrated knife, place the first cake layer face up (crumb side up) on a cake board or cake plate. For the 6-inch cake, pour about 1/2 cup of frosting into the cake pan. About a cup of frosting should be added for the 8-inch version.

Spread the mixture as evenly as possible over the cake tin.

2. Repeat this step until you place the last cake pan upside down.

3. Add a thin layer of frosting around the entire cake to hold the crumbs in place. Freeze for 10 minutes.

4. After the crumb coat has set, continue to glaze and decorate the cake.

5. If you are using cotton candy to decorate, do not add it until you present the cake. Cotton candy cannot be stored in the freezer or refrigerator.

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