Easy Easter Cake Recipe

Slice of traditional Easter cake on plate with pastel layers and creamy frosting.

This easy Easter cake recipe is perfect for your Easter holiday table. With its beautiful pastel layers in classic Easter colors and just the right amount of frosting, this pastel layer cake is one that even first time bakers can master.

Prep Time15

Cook Time25

Additional Time30

Total Time1 10

Servings:

Calories: 496kcal

Author: Karin and Ken

Ingredients

Cake Ingredients

1 ½ cups unsalted butter softened
2 cups sugar
6 large eggs
1 ½ tablespoon vanilla extract
4 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ tablespoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
2 cups whole milk
food color gel pink, green, yellow, and blue
sprinkles of your choice

Frosting Ingredients

½ cup salted butter softened
4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-3 tablespoon milk

Optional

1 brick (8 oz) cream cheese softened

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Prepare four 9-inch round cake pans by spraying them with cooking spray. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
Add eggs and vanilla. Beat again.
Add flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat again.
Slowly pour in milk while continuously beating. Beat until batter is smooth.
Divide batter equally into 4 bowls.
Add one color of each food coloring gel to each bowl. The amount you use will depend on the type of food coloring gel you are using.
Transfer each color of batter to a prepared cake pan.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow cakes to cool for 15 minutes prior to flipping them onto parchment paper. Allow the cakes to cool completely.

To prepare frosting, beat butter and powdered sugar together. Consistency will be crumbly.
Add vanilla and 2 tablespoons of milk. Beat again. Add more milk, as needed, to reach the desired consistency.
Assemble cake by alternating layers of cake and frosting.
Finish the cake off by adding a layer of frosting and sprinkles to the top.

Notes

Use room temperature ingredients. Room temperature eggs and butter make mixing them into the batter or frosting much easier and with better results.

Using a stand mixer? Be sure to use the paddle attachment and beat on low-medium speed to ensure that all ingredients are evenly incorporated and not over mixed.

The cakes must be fully cool before frosting and assembling the cake. Otherwise, the frosting will melt away and the cake layers won't stay together.

Don't over mix after combining the wet and dry ingredients together. Use low speed and mix only to combine everything.

Grease the cake pans thoroughly before adding batter to avoid sticking.

Use separate bowls and spoons or whisks when mixing each color of batter to prevent colors from blending together.

Filling the pans. Only fill them up three-quarters of the way and make sure the batter in each pan is as even as possible to get even layers that are stackable.

Don’t add too much frosting to your cake. Consider the cake-to-frosting ratio. Some cake layers are thicker or thinner than others and require a different amount of frosting so don't add too much.

Nutrition