This Cotton Candy Cake Recipe is one that your kids will definitely love. Cotton Candy Cake is perfect for birthday parties. It is colorful, fun and also delicious.
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This Cotton Candy Cake is so easy to make and starts with boxed cake mix. This recipe is so versatile, you can change up the colors or even make cotton candy cup cakes. For more easy box cake mix recipes check out this link!
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What We Love About This Cotton Candy Cake Recipe
- Easy Ingredients: For this cake recipe you will need box cake mix, making this recipe a lot simpler and less work than homemade. It creates a great crumb coat that pairs perfectly with the icing.
- Family Friendly: If your kids are obsessed with cotton candy, they will love this cake!
- Cotton Candy Birthday Cake: This cotton candy cake makes for the perfect birthday cake or even for baby showers or as a gender reveal cake.
Ingredient Notes for Cotton Candy Birthday Cake
- Cotton Candy Soda: If you cannot find a store that sells cotton candy soda, you can also substitute for cream soda and use cotton candy flavor extract.
- Cake Mix: You will need a box of white cake mix.
- Food Dye: Food dye is optional, but if you want a colored cake you can add light blue or pink food dye.
- Butter: You will be unsalted butter, be sure that is is softened at room temperature.
- Powdered Sugar: Powdered sugar will help to create the smooth and sweet frosting consistency.
- Milk: You will a little bit of milk to loosen up the frosting to get it to the right consistency.
Equipment Needed
- 9″x11″ Casserole Dish
- Mixing Bowls
- Measuring Cups & Spoons
- Whisk or Electric Mixer
- Saucepan
How to Make This Cotton Candy Cake Recipe
These are the basic steps for making Cotton Candy Cake. Please refer to the recipe card below for more detailed instructions.
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STEP 1: MAKE THE CAKE
First preheat oven to 350 F degrees and grease the cake pan. In a mixing bowl beat together the white cake mix and soda for about 2 minutes on low speed.. Bake for 25-30 minutes.
STEP 2: COTTON CANDY SODA REDUCTION
While the cake is baking, make the soda reduction by simmering soda in saucepan over medium heat until about 2 oz of soda remains.
STEP 3: MAKE THE COTTON CANDY BUTTERCREAM
In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and powder sugar, mix for 2 minutes. Then add reduced cotton candy soda and vanilla extract to the mixture. You can adjust the frosting as needed.
STEP 4: DECORATE CAKE
Allow cake to cool completely before frosting. Spread frosting over the top of the cake using short strokes and garnish with sprinkles.
Prep and Storage Tips
HOW TO MAKE THIS RECIPE AHEAD OF TIME
To make this recipe ahead of time, make the cake and frosting but hold off on frosting the cake until about an hour or two before you plan to serve it.
HOW TO STORE THIS RECIPE
To store this recipe, cover with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator or you can leave it at room temperature on the counter.
Frequently Asked Questions
Cotton candy flavor is normally a sweet vanilla sugar flavor and sometimes has a slight blue raspberry or strawberry flavor. But you can honestly make grape, lemon, lime, watermelon or any flavor you enjoy.
You can substitute cream soda for cotton candy soda if you can’t find cotton candy flavored soda.
Yes, this recipe can be doubled, you can divide batter among 2 dishes, you could even do this if you wanted to make a layer cake.
To make the cotton candy flavor in this cottoncandy cake recipe, you will make a reduction of cotton candy soda or you use use cotton candy extract.
Expert Tips for Making This Recipe
- Use Strawberry Cake Mix: For a slight flavor modification, you can also use strawberry cake mix which will also give a pink color to the cake.
- Make Cotton Candy Cupcakes: You can also make cotton candy cupcakes by lining a muffin tin and divide batter evenly among slots.
- Tie-Dye Cake: To make a tie-dye cake, divide the cake batter in 2-3 bowls and make one pink, blue, and purple; then when you pour cake batters into pan, alternate colors as you are doing so.
- Easy Cake Removal: To easily remove cake from casserole dish, line with parchment paper.
What to Serve with this Cake
- Fresh Strawberries
- Fresh Raspberries
- Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream
- Whipped Cream
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Cotton Candy Cake
Ingredients
Cake Ingredients:
- 355 mL Cotton Candy Soda, can use cream soda, if needed
- 1-15 oz Box White Cake Mix
- Light Blue Food Dye, optional
Frosting Ingredients:
- 1 cup Cotton Candy Soda, or use 1 teaspoon Cotton Candy flavor extract
- ½ cup Butter, softened
- 4 cups Powdered Icing Sugar
- 1-2 Tablespoons Milk
- Light Blue Food Dye, optional
- Pastel Sprinkles, as desired
Instructions
Cake Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Grease a 9″ x 11″ casserole dish and set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat together the white cake mix and cotton candy soda for 2 minutes. Adjust the color with light blue food dye, if desired. (If using, make the cake batter a deeper blue than you want the finished cake to be as it will lighten with baking.)
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting.
- Meanwhile, place 1 cup of cotton candy soda in a saucepan and heat until boiling over medium-high heat. Reduce to medium-low and simmer until reduce to 1/4 (2 oz of soda should remain). Allow to cool completely.
Frosting Instructions
- In a large bowl, beat together the butter and powdered icing sugar for 2 minutes, then add the reduced cotton candy soda. Beat to incorporate, then add the milk as needed to achieve a spreadable texture. Adjust the color with blue food dye, if desired.
- Use an offset spatula to spread the frosting on the cooled cake.
- To achieve the fun texture shown in the pictures, use short strokes to spread the frosting, then go back over the frosted cake and rough it up a bit.
- Garnish the cake with sprinkles, as desired.
Expert Tips
- Use Strawberry Cake Mix: For a slight flavor modification, you can also use strawberry cake mix which will also give a pink color to the cake.
- Make Cotton Candy Cup Cakes: You can also make cotton candy cupcakes by lining a muffin tin and divide batter evenly among slots.
- Tie-Dye Cake: To make a tie-dye cake, divide the cake batter in 2-3 bowls and make one pink, blue, and purple; then when you pour cake batters into pan, alternate colors as you are doing so.
- Easy Cake Removal: To easily remove cake from casserole dish, line with parchment paper.
Estimated Nutritional Information
The nutritional information provided are estimates. To learn more about how I calculate this information go to www.itisakeeper.com/about-its-a-keeper/privacy-disclosure-policies/
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