This is the Mimosa cake, right? Looks delish! Since the thread began talking about Pink Champagne, I'm wondering if you actually taste the champagne - or I believe you used Moscato - in the cake itself or if it just tastes sweet? The one time I made a champagne cake, I decided to use a Brut because I thought if I used a sweet champagne, the cake would taste like I just used sugar instead of champagne. Well let me tell ya, Brut was NOT the way to go! Sour, musty undertone. So by using a sweet champagne, can you actually tell that the cake has champagne, or does it just taste sweet?

Johnnycakes, I did the same thing in the past when I tried making Champagne cake. The Brut was awful and sour.

I can definitely taste champagne in this Moscato cake but the cake itself is really just the stage for the Cointreau vanilla bean syrup and the delicious orange curd and IMBC.

It's a nice fluffy white cake that baked up even, but it definitely needs a syrup because without, it doesn't have much flavor.

It's definitely not a sweet cake on it's own but I taste the Moscato in it.

I tasted the Moscato before I used it to be sure it was good and it was...but I could never drink an entire glass, it's too sweet for my liking.

Johnnycakes, this is supposed to be the scratch pink champagne thread. I still need that cake. Now that I have a success with this one, I will adapt it to the pink champagne. Instead of the Moscato d'Asti, I'm going to try Barefoot Pink Moscato and the flavor will be the Frangoli, a strawberry liqueur.

Cakestyles, did you have any orange curd left? Southern Living has an Italian cream cake I've been wanting to try with an orange curd filling. That's in my plans this week.

You could also try a sparkling merlot or pino noir if you want to add the natural red. I much prefer the flavor of those over "pink" champagne because they are not sweet and I prefer bold reds over whites. I really need to make a trip to Bev Mo! This thread is making me want to get drunk and bake this weekend!

I have really enjoyed following this thread. As some of you may know, I also bake from scratch. But I have not touched alcohol in cake batters yet. (only in ganache, so far)
Maybe it's time for me to take that step too? So much to learn.

Anyway, with the original question in mind (pink champagne) I asked my dh who is very knowledgeable and experienced. Here is what he said;

the choice of wine or champagne depends on what flavor you are after. He did not necessarily recommend an overly sweet wine or champagne since you could add more sugar yourself to increase the sweetness. Rather focus on the flavor of the wine itself.

If you are after a soft berry flavor he recommends Alsace Cremant. It has a soft and round feeling in the mouth, he says. This one would go well with strawberry or raspberry fillings. He specifically recommends (and personally loves) Lucien Albrecht Cremant d'Alsace Brut Rose.


If you want citrus notes, then he recommends Persecco or a Spanish Cava.

Now he is not a baker, so these recommendations are based on mouthfeel and flavor when drinking.

Hoping with was helpful!

Okay this is going to sound crazy. I moved here, Thomasville, Georgia (south) 15 years ago. When I moved here as a teacher I was told at new teacher orientation by the superintendant that if any of us drank, not to buy it in town as well as other things. I am no longer teaching because I chose to stay home to raise my children. So, I have volunteered to do Wednesday Surprise for the teachers at my girl's school in October. Being Breast Cancer Awareness month I wanted to do mini cupcakes. Originally I was thinking of strawberry, then I thought of pink champagne. I know they want get drunk, so do I just do it or go back to the orginal idea of strawberry. I can always say they are vanilla cupcakes with some foodcoloring.

MadMillie, that's a great idea about using it for a breast cancer theme. That is one of my charities. Last year I made raspberry cupcakes, but the pink champagne sounds nice for their dinner party. I have a cupcake tower I use for them covered in pink paper and lined with ribbon.

MadMillie, I wouldn't hide the fact that they are champagne cupcakes. I know the amount of alcohol is minimal - and I realize there's alcohol in extracts - but for some people, even a small amount of alcohol can be a problem. I'm not suggesting you don't do champagne cupcakes, but I wouldn't say they're vanilla with food coloring.

Jen, I like your idea of a merlot or pinot, which might give more of the alcohol flavor. That was my concern about using a sweet champagne.....it might just taste like sugar once the cake was baked, so then what's the point in using alcohol? Using a Brut Champagne might work if you add sugar, but it sure didn't work by itself!

My champagne worked just fine. I could definitely taste it, but I didn't want an overwhelming taste. If I did, the reduction would work. In the frosting, using a reduction will allow you to vary the intensity of the taste.

Cakestyles, I just torted my cake and, like yours, the bubbles were on the top.

Adevag, do you know approximate prices on those champagnes?

Susan, I think those are sparkling wines. I don't think they're very expensive.

Adevag, do you mean Prosecco? I actually have a bottle of that around. I use it to make babyback ribs in the oven. I would love to try to use the rest of it.

Thanks, adevag. I've used Mionetto Prosecco for bellinis before. Still, I don't drink (migraines trigger) so this is tough for me.

I am still wading through hundreds of chocolate chip cookies this week for my daughter's carnival. Not so bad unless they are 1/4 lb each. Next, the strawberry version, due to the client on Oct 1, so no time to spare.

I was just looking through one of my books last night and saw a recipe for a Bellini cake. Let me know if you want me to post it and I'll do it later after work.

annie

Annie, I would like it.

Annie, what's a Bellini cake? I'm assuming it's along the same lines as the Mimosa and champagne cakes? I'd be interested in the recipe.

Bellinis are drinks made with prosecco and peach puree.

That sounds good. I love peaches! Well, it being a cake sounds good. I don't drink alcohol -- never acquired the taste for it. Please do post the recipe, Annie.

Yes please!

Yes, please post the recipe

The recipe can be found in DeDe Wilson's The Wedding Cake book.

I have never tried this recipe but the two cakes I've baked from her book turned out well. I would love for someone to give this a try and let me know. I know some of her recipes can be hit or miss.

I might try Ice Wine on this recipe.

I finally finished my gazillion quarter pound chocolate chip cookies. Now this weekend I can concentrate on the pink champagne cake. I'll post my progress as I go.

Pictures?????? Please post pictures! You don't have to put it in the gallery. I also want to see pictures of your humming bird cake since I've never had/heard of it before you.

FromScratch, you have my site. The hummingbird is on there. I'm not sure if I have an inside shot of that cake. Did I give you my recipe with updates? I just checked the site and I do have a shot, but my computer was acting up. It is the texture of a carrot cake and the density and moistness are about the same. It is more sturdy than my carrot cake because I make my carrot cake into a pumpkin carrot cake and even though it is dense, it isn't sturdy.

This is awful, but I never expected the Mimosa cake to be a success the first time. I did make changes as I went, but the result was so good that I didn't need to repeat it. I made the cake as an 8 inch cake. When it cooled, I chopped off a hunk, torted the hunk, filled it and iced it. My two daughters and I tried it and determined it to be a keeper. But now I had a chopped up cake, a small amount of frosting, and a very pricey ingredient list to duplicate this cake just for a picture. So, I barely got a six inch round out of this mangled cake. I used a thin layer of frosting under the curd on two layers and used a regular amount of frosting on the middle layer. Then I barely had enough frosting to crumb coat, much less to cover the cake and do a tiny border, but I was not making that cake again until I had an order.

So I think I will take pictures at an angle and a nice inside shot. Don't look too close as I didn't have enough frosting to run the bench scraper very deep without hitting the cake.

The Mimosa is definitely a celebration flavor. I don't see that as a Tuesday night after dinner cake like the homey hummingbird. But the light, refreshing taste is really nice. You don't feel like you need a nap after eating it like most of my cakes make you feel.

Today I'll post a picture of the cake on my site and I will cut it. I saved it because the client and I haven't been able to meet. But I don't really care now. It is starting to get old.

I don't post my site on CC, but if anyone is interested, pm me and I'll supply the link.

Susan, that orange curd recipe was so nice and thick that I didn't put a thin layer of IMBC under it and today (4 days later) I had a slice after work and it still looks and tastes wonderful.

Actually it tastes even better today and the curd didn't "melt" into the cake layers like I'd expect it would by now.

You're right about this cake being so light...I don't feel guilty that I've had a small slice every day. lol

It's unusual for me to like a recipe this much after just baking it once, but this one is really solid.

Thanks to Snarky for her generosity in sharing it here on CC.

Jeanne, I wasn't going to offer it until I asked if she would like a link to her bakery and that mine was an adaptation, but some people wanted to see it. I made the price pretty high because of the ingredients, but I have customers who will order it as soon as they see it. I had to take into consideration whether that bottle of moscato will be ok flat for the next cake or will the price need to reflect the whole bottle because it won't keep. I don't know if the bubbles account for anything. The bottle was only $7.00. I also had to consider that I upped the Cointreau.

This weekend I'm making the Italian cream cake with the extra curd and the strawberry champagne cake.

I just finished my strawberry pink champagne cake and it was honestly one of the best cakes I have ever made. I am tired tonight, but I'll post my changes to the Mimosa cake (my version) to convert it to the strawberry flavor.

Well, I have only had two champagne cakes in my life and both were mine. Thanks to the base recipe provided by snarkybaker, both have been a more than pleasant experience. In my very young business, I am finding that the more decadent the dessert, the more it sells. Just like with my vegan cakes, I can't offer something that is just ok, and these champagne cakes are not just a novelty, they are so good.

I've changed my mind.

This cake turned out so well that I don't want it posted publicly for anyone outside of CC to see, but I will share it with any CC member. I'll write it up and anyone can pm me. This way, if a member wants to use it in their business, it won't be a published recipe, cached for anyone to copy.

I am sharing it this way because one, I am a business, and two, this was a collaborative effort among us and we should be able to capitalize. I understand that most champagne cakes are not usually favorites, but this one has the makings for a winner, so let's keep it to ourselves.