The ultimate pink strawberry cake

Vegan, easy.

Valentines is coming up and what better time to make a ‘pretty in pink’ cake than now?

This cake is moist, light, fluffy and delicious. With a burst of fresh strawberries and a delightful pastel pink cake… it’s not only gorgeous on the eyes, but tastebuds too! 

The beautifully coloured sponge cake layers are coloured with vegan pink food gel. 

I use theRainbow Dust ProGel Pink gel which is Nut Free, GM Free, Gluten Free, Suitable for Vegetarians & Vegans, Kosher and Dairy Free. This isn’t sponsored, but I want to mention it as its ultra-pigmented and amazing in cakes! 

The buttercream is naturally pink, with a homemade strawberry compote which gives a scrumptious burst of berry flavour.

This cake is perfect for Valentines, birthdays, Mothers day or any occasion/celebration where you need a show stopper!

Preparation- 10 minutes

Baking time- 28-30 minutes

Serves- Approximately 10-12

Level- Medium

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Ingredients for the cake

-480ml of dairy-free milk (I use unsweetened almond milk)

-2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar

-420g of self-raising flour 

-470g of golden caster sugar

-1 teaspoon of baking powder

-1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda

-120g of coconut oil (melted)

-Pink food colouring

Ingredients for the strawberry compote

-100g of strawberries (washed and chopped)

-1 teaspoon of golden caster sugar

-3 tablespoons of water

Ingredients for the buttercream

-210g of dairy-free butter

-600g of icing sugar

-1/2 teaspoon of dairy-free milk (I use unsweetened almond)

-3 tablespoons of strawberry compote (ingredients above)

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To make the cakes

Step 1- Preheat your oven to 180 degrees c and line three 6 inch cake tins with grease-proof paper.

Step 2- In a bowl, combine the dairy-free milk with the apple cider vinegar and whisk until fully combined.

Set aside for 10 minutes to curdle. This creates a vegan ‘buttermilk’.

Step 3- In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, sugar, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda.

Mix well to combine.

Step 4- Add the melted coconut oil into the ‘buttermilk’ and whisk to combine.

Step 5- Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix.

Step 6- Add in a drop of pink food colouring and gently mix.

Step 7- Pour equal amounts of batter into the lined cake tins.

Make sure to tap the tins on the worktop to remove any air bubbles.

Step 8- Pop the cakes into the centre of the preheated oven and bake for around 28-30 minutes.

You will know they are done when you put a knife or skewer in and it comes out clean and they are springy to the touch.

Step 9- Place the cakes on a cooling rack and allow to cool fully. 

Once cool, pop them into a sealed container to keep them fresh before frosting.

To make the strawberry compote

Step 1- Slice the strawberries and place into a medium-sized saucepan along with the sugar and water.

Step 2- Place the saucepan onto the hob and heat on medium until the strawberries soften.

Make sure to keep the mixture moving to prevent any burning.

Step 3- Once the strawberries are soft, mash them with a fork to break them up, and allow the mixture to cook and thicken.

This will take around 5-10 minutes.

Step 4- Once thick and jam-like, take off the heat and allow to cool fully before using.

To make the buttercream

Step 1- In a bowl/stand mixer, cream the butter on high then add in the icing sugar.

I use a stand mixer fitted with a balloon whisk attachment. 

Step 2- Add in the strawberry compote and whizz up until combined.

Add a splash of dairy-free milk if too thick.

Step 3- Stack and fill the cake with the buttercream then crumb coat the whole cake with the buttercream and pop into the fridge to set. 

This will take around 1 hour.

To decorate, I added leftover buttercream into a piping bag fitted with an open star tip nozzle (Wilton 2D) and piped some swirls around the top of the cake, added on some fresh strawberries and a few vegan sprinkles.

Serve fresh or store in a sealed container in the fridge, the buttercream will firm up at room temperature. 

Best eaten within a few days!

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