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A tender, sweet champagne layer cake with champagne buttercream frosting – elegant and festive for any celebration!
When you move overseas as an expatriate, you mentally prepare for the reality that you won’t see much of your extended family for awhile. However, one somewhat unexpected bonus is that when loved ones are able to visit you, it becomes extra special!
First and foremost, it means a lot for someone to make the effort to travel abroad. And, equally, hosting guests in a different country gives you the opportunity to share sights and experiences that are once-in-a-lifetime for many of us. (Admittedly this is especially easy living in Europe, as we are lucky to do.) It’s incredibly fun and meaningful to see the Louvre with a friend or loved one, or drive someone to visit a German Christmas market, then return straight to the comforts of home! I can say honestly that I treasure every single visitor we’ve had during our first two years in Belgium.
Our most recent round of guests had something extra special to celebrate – just a few days before coming to Brussels, they got engaged in Paris! At the base of the Eiffel Tower, no less! Our nephew and his fiancee are both incredibly lovely people. We could not be more excited for them, and it was so sweet to get to congratulate them in person – and ooh and aah over the ring – so soon after he popped the question.
Well, you see where this is going – this occasion clearly called for a cake! Not just any cake – something celebratory and elegant and perfectly suited to an engagement toast. And for that, there’s simply nothing like champagne.
This is my take on combining and adapting a few other recipes, namely this cake and this frosting. If you have a spare moment and enjoy ogling layer cakes, I highly recommend both sites for your browsing pleasure – #cakegoals.
The end result was every bit as good as I hoped. Tender, moist cake layers, and a sweet, simple buttercream frosting. You will absolutely taste the champagne in both the cake and the frosting, so if you don’t like its flavor, well, this probably is not the dessert for you!
But really, seriously, look me in the eye and tell me you’ve tried a decent bottle and still don’t like champagne. Who are you? You are mysterious to me. 😉
The frosting is sweet but not tooth-achingly so. I like to make buttercream with, well, all butter, because I know many people who find frosting with a high percentage of shortening to be overly sweet and almost gritty. Like a grocery store cake, but not in a good way. 🙂 To each his own!
Oooh, how I wish I had this slice sitting in front of me right now. This cake disappeared fast and is now looong gone, just like the last of our summer visitors. Fortunately, I just heard from a friend that she’ll be visiting in September, so we have more adventures to look forward to.
And, thanks to having this recipe down, I know just the thing to make for future engagement parties, New Years festivities, or really any other champagne-worthy occasion. Like, I don’t know, Wednesday. Does Wednesday count!?
Cheers!
Champagne Layer Cake with Champagne Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 3 cups (360 grams) all-purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (8 ounces, 227 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 cups (396 grams) granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups champagne, prosecco, or sparkling wine
For the Frosting:
- 1 1/2 cups (12 ounces, 341 grams) butter, at room temperature
- 6 cups (681 grams) powdered sugar
- 6 tablespoons champagne
Instructions
- To make the cake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 C). Grease and flour three 8” cake pans; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter for 1-2 minutes. Add sugar and beat on medium-high speed for 2-3 minutes more, until the mixture is pale and fluffy.
- Reduce speed to medium-low and add eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla. Beat until thoroughly combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl if needed.
- With the mixer running on low speed, add a bit of the flour mixture, followed by half the champagne. Add a bit more flour, then the rest of the champagne, and finally the last of the flour. Blend just until evenly combined.
- Divide batter evenly among prepared cake pans, and smooth the tops with a spatula. Bake for 22-28 minutes, until the tops are just lightly golden and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out with moist crumbs. Cool in the cake pans for about 15 minutes, then turn the cakes out to cool directly on wire racks until they are room temperature.
- To make the frosting, beat the butter for 1-2 minutes, until it is smooth. Add 3 cups of powdered sugar, followed by the champagne, followed by the remaining powdered sugar, mixing well after each addition. Add more champagne or powdered sugar, if needed, to adjust the consistency, then frost and garnish the cake as desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Cake adapted from Liv for Cake; frosting adapted from Life, Love, and Sugar
I think I want this cake for my wedding! I’m gonna give it a go this week for a taste testing…. might try it as cupcakes. Thanks for the idea!
In the buttercream, do you use salted or unsalted butter?
I use unsalted, but it will be fine with salted, too, if that’s what you usually keep on hand!
Champagne in my cake? Yes, please!
Your photographs really showcase the beauty of this cake! Simply lovely! I’m not much of a baker, but this actually looks pretty easy to make.
Thank you so much, Carol! It is pretty straightforward – if you get the itch to try baking a cake, I highly recommend this one!
What a wonderful experience to live abroad. The hubby and I were both expatriates in Kenya prior to moving to Boston. We didn’t have very many guests though since it was so far away and most people have this (probably mostly inaccurate) image of Africa in their head. Besides communication back to the states, for us one of the big challenges was inaccessibility to specific foods and creature comforts.
Anyhow, this is such a lovely cake with an equally lovely celebration behind it.
Hi Lynn! I definitely understand. I’m sure we have far more visitors here in Europe than we would in other parts of the world. It’s ironic because of course, having traveled a bit more than average myself, I actually prefer going places that are more off the beaten path. And Kenya is one of my very favorite places I’ve ever been! (Though it’s a different matter visiting and living, of course.) Thank you for visiting and for your kind words!
Such a lovely cake! And I’m sure anything with champagne in it will be wonderful!
This cake is gorgeous and perfectly made. I love that you used all butter in your buttercream, too. Makes it smooth and tasty. Congratulations to your nephew on his engagement. That is so exciting!
Thank you so much! Butter lovers unite, haha!
Absolutely beautiful!! You did an amazing job!! I need to get better at making cakes! I thoroughly enjoyed reading your post and congrats to your brother and new sister-in-law to be!
Thanks so much, Amanda! Making and decorating cakes is something I still really want to work on myself, but it’s awfully fun practicing!
Gorgeous! Lucky your visitors who can enjoy your amazing creations! Congratulations to your nephew and his fiance on their engagement. They got a beautiful champagne layer cake to celebrate!