When a three-year-old requests a pink birthday cake, the answer is rarely a simple box mix. For one parent, the request came with a caveat: "Not brown, Yacob likes brown." The solution was a raspberry swirl cake made in under two hours, with natural pink color from fresh raspberry puree.
The cake was inspired by a marbled pink and white cake seen in a Starbucks pastry case weeks earlier, though the parent notes they did not try it and cannot compare the taste. The final version uses a spoonful of raspberry puree in the glaze to turn it "ferociously pink," and was baked in a doughnut-shaped pan for a look the parent describes as a giant pink emoji of a doughnut. The cake was brought to camp as cupcakes and then served at a family dinner, where it drew attention from other diners.
The recipe calls for one cup of granulated sugar, half a cup of unsalted butter, two large eggs, one and a half cups of all-purpose flour divided, half a cup of sour cream or full-fat plain yogurt, and one gently heaped cup of fresh raspberries. The batter is divided: half is mixed with mashed raspberries, the other half with sour cream. The two batters are dolloped alternately into the pan and marbled with a few figure-8s. Baking takes 50 to 55 minutes in a loaf pan. The glaze combines powdered sugar, raspberry puree, and milk.
The parent notes the cake can be made as a single loaf or doubled in a traditional tube or bundt pan. It keeps for four to five days in the refrigerator. The cake was made in under two hours, and the parent suggests it would work for brunch or lunch as well as a birthday.
Editorial Notes