Strawberry Champagne Ruffle Cake for a Virtual Baby Shower

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Strawberry Champagne Ruffle Cake

Without a doubt, one of the most rewarding things about food blogging is all the amazing friends I’ve made along the way. Even though we’ve never met in person, I am so thankful to have made such wonderful friends, and I hope we’ll all have the chance to meet someday. I hate that we’re spread all over the country because I know we would all have a fabulous time together. There are some things that simply have to be celebrated with friends, no matter the distance between them.That’s why I decided to host a virtual baby shower for Annie. I am so grateful to have a friend like her, and I just couldn’t let her pregnancy go by without celebrating it in a special way. I was lucky enough to have 11 talented bloggers join me in throwing this shower for her. After seeing all their wonderful recipes, I’m wishing even more that we could have done this in person!

Annie, I’m so excited for the newest addition to your family and can’t wait to see your sweet baby girl!

Strawberry Champagne Ruffle Cake

Ashely from Delish made mock champagne punch. It’s made with ginger ale, pineapple juice and white grape juice and sounds perfect for a baby shower. I can picture everyone sitting around and sipping these while chatting and enjoying all this delicious food.

Shawnda from Confections of a Foodie Bride made pink/blue corn blinis with crab and avocado crema. Are these gorgeous or what? It might be a good thing this wasn’t a real party because I’m pretty sure I could have eaten several of these!

Pink Corn Blinis with Crab & Avocado Crema

Nikki from Pennies on a Platter made baby hummus sandwiches. I love hummus, and I especially love how Nikki added feta and veggies to these. They’re the perfect little finger food.

Baby Hummus Sandwiches

Elly from Elly Says Opa made stuffed mushrooms. In my opinion, you can’t go wrong with pancetta, goat cheese and cream cheese. Stuffed mushrooms are always a crowd pleaser, and I’m sure these would have disappeared in no time!

goat cheese & pancetta stuffed mushrooms

Amy from Sing for Your Supper made these adorable chicken salad bites. These fruity, crunchy, two-bite treats are perfect for mingling, and I love how she added a pop of color to each one. I bet the chicken salad tastes fantastic in those phyllo cups, too!

Amy's Chicken Salad Bites

Josie from Pink Parsley made pimento cheese fritters with red pepper jelly. Being from the south, I know that pimento cheese is a staple at any type of shower, and I love Josie’s spin on this classic dish. I’m sure these are especially delicious dipped in the sweet and spicy red pepper jelly.

pimento cheese fritters

Michelle from Brown Eyed Baker made caramelized onion, mushroom and gruyere tartlets. Mmm, three of my favorite ingredients in a handy puff pastry tartlet. Yes, please! These are an elegant and simple appetizer that would be perfect for any shower or party.

This shower has quite the dessert lineup, too. Tara from Smells Like Home made chocolate malt sandwich cookies. These cookies are bursting with chocolate malt goodness and are sure to cure the chocolate cravings of any mom-to-be (or anyone, for that matter).

Chocolate-Malt Sandwich Cookies

Shanon from The Curvy Carrot made bite-size pink velvet cake truffles with candy coating and the cutest royal icing rosettes. These are a sweet, adorable way to welcome Annie’s baby girl.

Shanon's Pink Velvet Cake Truffles

Lauren from Lauren’s Kitchen made a decadent brownie cheesecake trifle. With rich brownies, cheesecake spread, fresh strawberries, whipped cream and chopped Oreos, you know these are delicious!

Brownie Cheesecake Trifle

Kelsey from Apple a Day made butterscotch blondies with chocolate ganache. She knows Annie loves butterscotch and chocolate and combined the two beautifully in this super rich dessert.

Kelsey's Butterscotch Blondies

For my contribution to the shower, I wanted to make something frilly and delicate, perfect for a little girl. This strawberry cake is one of my favorites. Instead of using strawberry flavored Jello, soda or other artificial things, this cake uses strawberries. A strawberry cake made from real strawberries. What a concept, right? Not only does it get its wonderful flavor from strawberries, it also gets a beautiful pink color from them.

Instead of filling this cake with cream cheese icing, which is what I would normally do, I decided to go with champagne buttercream. I don’t know why, but I just couldn’t get the strawberry and champagne combination out of my head. Since I know very little about being pregnant, I actually had to email Annie to find out if it was okay for me to use champagne in the frosting. I got her okay and went with it. I love the bright, festive flavor the champagne buttercream adds to this cake. I didn’t want to completely drown the cake in champagne buttercream, though, and decided to frost it with vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream. It was perfect.

Strawberry Champagne Ruffle Cake

  • YIELD: 1 (2 layer) 8-inch cake
Ingredients
  • For the cake:

  • 24 ounces frozen strawberries, thawed

  • ¼ cup milk, at room temperature

  • 6 large egg whites, room temperature

  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

  • 2¼ cups cake flour, sifted

  • 1¾ cups sugar

  • 4 teaspoons baking powder

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • 12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1½ sticks), softened

  • For the filling:

  • 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon champagne, prosecco or other sparkling wine

  • 2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened

  • 2½ cups confectioners’ sugar

NOTES:

I made a recipe and a half of the cake in order to get three 6-inch cakes, with some batter leftover. The amount of buttercream you need will depend on whether you’re just filling or filling and frosting the cake. I filled mine with the champagne buttercream and frosted with my favorite swiss meringue buttercream. I got the idea for the ruffle cake from My Sweet and Saucy, and her video tutorial shows you how to make the ruffled design.

Directions
  • 1

    Start by making the strawberry purée. Pour thawed strawberries into a fine mesh strainer set over a large bowl to remove any liquid. Save liquid for a later use or discard. Purée strawberries in a blender or food processor and set aside ¾ cup for the cake. The remaining ½ cup can be used to fill the cake, top ice cream, make daiquiris or almost anything else you can think of.

  • 2

    To make the cake, heat oven to 350º. Butter and flour two 8-inch pans and line each with a parchment round. In a small bowl, whisk together ¾ cup of strawberry purée, milk, egg whites and vanilla. Set aside.

    In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt on low speed. Add butter and continue mixing until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the purée mixture and beat at medium speed until smooth, scraping down the sides and bottom of bowl as needed. Divide the batter evenly among the pans (a kitchen scale works wonders here) and smooth tops with a rubber spatula.

  • 3

    Bake cakes for about 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool cakes in pans for 10 minutes, then turn onto a wire rack to cool completely.

  • 4

    While the cakes are cooling, prepare the filling. Place 1 cup of champagne in a small saucepan set over medium-high heat. Simmer for about 10 minutes, or until champagne has been reduced to 2 tablespoons. Pour into a small bowl and allow to cool.

  • 5

    In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle or whisk attachment, beat butter and sugar together on low speed, gradually increasing to medium-high. Beat until butter is lightened and the frosting is thick and fluffy. Add the reduced champagne and the remaining 1 tablespoon of champagne and continue beating until incorporated.

  • 6

    Fill and frost the cake as desired.

102 responses to “Strawberry Champagne Ruffle Cake for a Virtual Baby Shower”

  1. Jessica says:

    WOW! This cake is simply stunning! You are a magician when it comes to buttercream! I could never get a cake to look that great!

    • Courtney says:

      Haha, thanks! It really isn’t difficult, and I promise I messed up in quite a few spots. I think this technique is pretty forgiving, thankfully! 😉

      • Cady says:

        Is the icing easy to manage? It doesn’t just slide off?

        • Courtney says:

          The icing is really easy to work with, especially the Swiss meringue buttercream. It pipes wonderfully, though I did have to occasionally set the bag down because my hands were so hot the frosting started to melt. As long as you put a crumb coat on your cake, the ruffles shouldn’t slide off. The crumb coat gives the ruffles something to stick to and holds them on there quite well.

  2. Blog is the New Black says:

    Absolutely GORGEOUS! I am SO impressed. 🙂

  3. […] Like a Champion and the wonderful hostess of this virtual shower made this positively stunning strawberry champagne ruffle cake.  If this is not the perfect cake for a baby girl shower, I don’t know what is.  Pretty, […]

  4. Annie says:

    Courtney, thanks again from the bottom of my heart for coordinating this shower. I have so enjoyed seeing everyone’s contributions, and I feel lucky to have such wonderful friends. Your cake is truly gorgeous and I wish I could try a piece! The topper is also just about the cutest thing ever.

    • Courtney says:

      Aw, thanks so much, Annie! It was a blast putting this together. If I could mail you a piece, you know I would! 🙂

  5. Josie says:

    Gooorgeous!! I saw a ruffle cake on FG/TS around Christmas and thought it was so adorable. I love the pink ruffles – like a little dress! Thanks for hosting us, it was great fun!!

    • Courtney says:

      Thank you, Josie! I had such a fun time, too, and I’m so glad we were all able to do this!

  6. […] baby shower” and what the rest of the group brought to the shower, please visit Courtney at Cook Like a Champion (the hostess with the mostest!) and/or Annie’s […]

  7. Kelsey says:

    Courtney, this cake is stunning! You did a wonderful job hosting this shower. Thank you so much for doing this for Annie and for bringing all of us together. Your cake, your photography, and your decorations are just gorgeous!

  8. Momma Julie says:

    Oh how I love a strawberry cake!! Absolutely beautiful. I wish my internet service wasn’t so slow. I was so impatient waiting for all the pictures to come up. Everyone is so talented and I am so glad you have these friends to share with. Like you, I wish you all could be closer to enjoy all this in person. Love Ya, Mom

    • Courtney says:

      Aw, thanks. And thanks for being such a wonderful mother-in-law; I’m pretty sure you’re the first and only family member to comment on my blog. 🙂

  9. I found you through Annie’s blog – your cake is absolutely stunning!

  10. Shanon says:

    Oh my gosh! That frosting is phenomenal! Talk about an impressive cake-it’s incredible, Courtney! I so want to try this, but I know that my piping will not be as beautiful! Thank you so much for including me in the virtual shower-it means so much to be a part of it, and I have loved getting to know everyone better!

    Shanon 🙂

    • Courtney says:

      Thanks so much, Shanon! It’s a really forgiving technique; I promise!

      I’m so glad you were able to participate and that we’ve gotten to know each other through all this! 🙂

  11. ashley says:

    your cake come out absolutely adorable!!!

    • Courtney says:

      Thanks, Ashley! I can’t wait to make the mock champagne you posted. I bet it would taste so good with a slice of this cake.

  12. elly says:

    Courtney, this cake is GORGEOUS! I cannot imagine a better cake to shower a baby girl. So pretty! Thanks for hosting this shower for Annie and doing a great round-up!

    • Courtney says:

      Thanks so much, Elly! I love your stuffed mushrooms and can’t wait to make them. I’m so happy you were able to participate! 🙂

  13. Tracey says:

    It was such a great idea to throw a virtual baby shower. You really outdid yourself with that cake – what a stunner! I love the pink ruffles, perfect for the baby girl on the way 🙂

    • Courtney says:

      Thanks, Tracey! I originally thought of doing a fondant covered cake, but I couldn’t resist doing the frilly little ruffles. 🙂

  14. Dani says:

    That is one of the prettiest cakes I’ve ever seen, and the bunting on top is just beautiful (as an aside, what a lovely name, Annie!).

    • Courtney says:

      Thank you so much! I had such a great time making the cake and the bunting, and I’m glad I finally got to use my Silhouette.

  15. Natalie says:

    That cake is gorgeous! I’m wondering how delicate it is. Do you think it would stand up as a cupcake? Thanks!

    • Courtney says:

      Thank you! It was my first time using this technique, so I’m not sure how it would work on a cupcake. The ruffles did start to fall a couple times, but this cake was also very tall. I think it could work if you did ruffles around the cupcake and then did another set of them on the top. Please let me know if you try it because I’d love to see how it turns out!

      • Natalie says:

        Sorry, I meant is the cake itself really delicate? It looks like a chiffon cake, maybe? I’m hoping to make heart-shaped strawberry cupcakes dipped in chocolate ganache for Valentine’s Day and I want to make sure I have a good sturdy base for it.

        Thanks! And I’ll definitely try that ruffle technique in the future. The youtube guide makes it look pretty manageable!

  16. briarrose says:

    What an amazing array of goodies…it all looks fabulous. 🙂 The strawberry cake is fabulous…especially with the icing style.

  17. lauren says:

    Courtney, your cake looks AMAZING. I truly wish we had done this for real. 🙂 Thank you so much for including me in this awesome celebration – I had a blast!

    • Courtney says:

      Thank you! I wish we had, too. I could have done serious damage to all the foods at the shower! 🙂 I’m so happy you were able to participate!

  18. What an amazing cake! Now, why couldn’t we have just done this in real life so I could have a taste of that!? 🙂 It’s gorgeous! Great job with coordinating the shower. It was a fun experience!

    • Courtney says:

      Thanks, Nikki! I totally agree. It was so fun online, I can only imagine how fun it would’ve been in person!

  19. Shawnda says:

    Wonderful round-up! And the ruffled frosting on the cake is simply gorgeous. Thanks for hosting!

  20. Meghan says:

    This is such a beautiful cake! I love the piping!

  21. […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Courtney Champion, Courtney Champion and Eric Champion, Shawnda. Shawnda said: Courtney hosted a virtual baby shower for mom-to-be Annie of Annie's Eats – check out our mouth-watering menu! http://bit.ly/dEbrk6 […]

  22. jami says:

    I love the ruffles, especially the ones on top! I’ve made a cake with ruffles around the sides before, but I’m not sure how to accomplish that look on the top of the cake. Can you explain a bit? Thanks!!

    • Courtney says:

      Sure thing. I just pointed the narrow end of the tip toward the outside of the cake. Holding the bag upright, I just went back and over in concentric circles around the top, starting from the outside. Basically, I would make one ruffle, then go back over it a little to start the next one and just repeated that process until I had one circle done and then started another circle. I hope that makes sense.

  23. Janna M says:

    I LOVE LOVE LOVE the idea of the paper banner topper. What an incredible idea! I will be stealing that for all future birthday cakes. This cakes is just completely amazing. Annie is very lucky to have a friend like you. 🙂

  24. I’m sure I’m being totally unoriginal here, but Courtney… that cake is a work of art! You are so incredibly talented and sweet to do something like this for Annie. And lucky to enjoy it all for yourself, ha ha! Thanks for sharing your talents. You have a beautiful blog, and I’m so glad to have found it. Keep up the delicious cooking and baking! 🙂 – Georgia

  25. Wow, Courtney. You have truly outdone yourself! This is SO beautiful- it looks like a little pink party dress! Perfect for little Caroline! 🙂 Thanks again for putting this whole shower together- I had a blast and was so thrilled to participate in it with such wonderful bloggers and friends!

  26. The Food Hound says:

    I just found your blog and you HOOKED me on that strawberry cake!! It almost wouldn’t matter if it tasted good– it looks just THAT good!! But of course, with real strawberries in it, it definitely tastes good 🙂 I think the idea for a virtual baby shower is awesome and so thoughtful. Can’t wait to follow your blog! I’m also loving your tropical party post!!

    • Courtney says:

      Thank you so much! I really appreciate your sweet comment. 🙂 The tropical party was so much fun, and I’m even more ready for warm weather now.

  27. Leslie Green says:

    Beautiful.I made a ruffle cake as well. Sooooo easy isnt it! Yours is crazy tall. Great job.

  28. Dawn says:

    WOW!!! Okay….my daughter is only 3 months and Im going to start practicing this NOW for her one year birthday! I am NO cake decorator but I may be able to pull this off if I practice!!

    • Courtney says:

      Dawn, I promise it’s much easier than it looks. You’re so sweet to make her cake, and I’m sure (when the time comes) that she’ll love it!

  29. Cakewalker says:

    Courtney, Gorgeous job on the ruffle cake! Perfectly thought out to welcome a baby girl… I applaud you for making the real strawberry choice. You are so right – the flavor is natural, amazingly delicious and beautifully pink! Brava!

    • Courtney says:

      Aw, thank you so much! I agree – you can’t go wrong with fresh strawberries, and this cake shows off their flavor wonderfully.

  30. Erik says:

    Just curious – are your frozen strawberries unsweetened or sweetened? I’m guessing that will make a difference. I’m so excited to find this recipe, I’ve been searching for a true ‘made from scratch’ strawberry cake for my daughter’s birthday in 2 weeks. Awesome!

    • Courtney says:

      Erik, I used unsweetened strawberries. I know there are some frozen strawberries that come in a sugary syrup, but I would not recommend using those. I think it’s appalling that a search for strawberry cake brings up so many recipes that don’t even use strawberries. I’m sure your daughter is going to love her cake, and I think it’s so sweet of you to make it! 🙂

  31. Oh my goodness! Your cake is absolutely stunning. Well done on an amazing job! I LOVE your idea of a virtual baby shower…you could expand with so many ideas on that kind of virtual fun!

    • Courtney says:

      Thanks so much! I wanted to do something special and figured I shouldn’t let distance get in the way. I love the blogging community, and this is a perfect example of why. 🙂

  32. PattyM says:

    What a wonderful idea – a virtual baby shower! You guys are awesome, and all of your shower treats look wonderful. The strawberry cake is just stunning! I’m new to the food blogging world, but if I’m able to meet wonderful people and make friends like you guys have all done, then I’m excited to be part of it!

  33. Julie Craig says:

    wow that truly looks amazing and yummy! you did a great job.

  34. This virtual baby shower was such an awesome idea!!! How creative and I love your cake too. It’s beautiful!!

  35. Leslie says:

    Uh oh, uh oh, uh oh, uh oh my god! That looks amazing! I love when friends recommend blogs and then THOSE blogs show OTHER blogs with yumminess like THIS!

  36. Gaby says:

    Hi! You said Annie was OK with the champagne frosting, did she say why? I am going to a baby girl shower soon and would love to make this cake for it, so I’d like to be prepared when they ask why I put champagne on the frosting 🙂

    • Courtney says:

      The champagne is cooked down so much that there’s only a minuscule amount of it in the frosting.

  37. SeanF says:

    This cake is phenomenal! I am currently baking one right now and I can’t wait to see how it turns out. You are a baking genius. My one question is did you incorporate some of the strawberry puree in to the frosting or did you use food coloring?

    • Courtney says:

      I didn’t add any strawberry purée to the frosting, just pink food coloring. I wanted to be able to taste the champagne.

  38. Steph says:

    Wow, this cake is absolutely GORGEOUS and looks just as amazing to eat! My sister’s birthday is coming up and I am so doing this cake thank you so much for posting this! The ruffle pattern doesn’t LOOK hard enough in the youtube video, but I’m sure I can manage to mess it up, hah.

  39. Megan says:

    I was just wondering if you could post or email me the recipe for the vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream frosting that you had mentioned frosting the cake with in this artical? I plan of trying to make this cake later in the week so I wanted to use it as well as the strawberry champagne buttercream frosting.

  40. MamaJ says:

    LOVE!, this cake. Our 1st Grandprincess is due the end of June!! I’m going to make this for my DIL’s shower. Similar question as previous post, the Swiss Meringue vs the Champagne Buttercream? Does one work as well as the other? PS love the name Courtney, that’s my youngest daughters name:)

    • Courtney says:

      The Swiss Meringue definitely works better for piping the ribbons. I think it’s so sweet that you’re going to make this for your DIL’s shower. I’m sure she’ll love it. 🙂

      • MamaJ says:

        Courtney, you had mentioned that you were going to post the Swiss Meringue recipe. Is that somewhere I can see it? I know you’re busy! Appreciate any help!

        • Courtney says:

          I still haven’t gotten around to posting that (shame on me!), but I’ll send you an email with the recipe I use.

          • MamaJ says:

            Just finished decorating the cake! It is SO cute!!! I have been stressing about this being that it’s for my DIL’s baby shower, but it is absolutlely marvelous. Thankfully the ruffles are forgiving;) Can’t wait for her to see it! Thank you!!

          • Courtney says:

            That’s so exciting! I’m sure she will absolutely love it! 🙂

  41. Erik says:

    I finally got to make this for a belated birthday for my daughter. First, this was my first time ever making a cake completely from scratch. Second, it turned out wonderfully and everyone loved it. I added one extra step and added some of the strawberry puree to my buttercream – I knew it probably wouldn’t go well, but I tried it anyway. Basically, the buttercream ‘broke’ and coagulated a bit. It became a bit lumpy and grainy. That being said, it tasted amazing – the strawberry flavor of the cake along with the strawberry buttercream is a wonderful combination. Next time I’ll probably try a whipped cream frosting with the strawberry puree. Either way, it was a wonderful cake. Thanks for passing along the recipe, I’ll be making this again.

    • Courtney says:

      Buttercream is finicky like that sometimes, but I’m glad it all worked out. I’m so glad to hear everyone enjoyed it, and I think I’ll be trying it with whipped cream frosting soon.

  42. Sierra says:

    Courtney – did you have any trouble multiplying this recipe? I’m a culinary student and I want to make this cake for my final in Cake Decorating. I made it this weekend and OH MY GOODNESS it was amazing. I know some recipes are finicky to multiply…thanks for a great recipe!

    • Courtney says:

      I made the cake part in two batches because I didn’t want to risk messing it up.

      I’m so glad you enjoyed it, and good luck on your final! Please let me know how it turns out. 🙂

  43. Janet says:

    Simply fabulous! I stumbled upon your site while searching for champagne buttercream~ not only did I find what I was looking for, but found a fab blog too! Well done!

  44. Ann says:

    This was the most amazing cake I have ever made. The bridal shower loved it. Thank you very much for posting the recipe!! Have a wonderful night.

    Sincerely,
    Ann

  45. Sierra says:

    Hi Courtney! I just wanted to let you know that I got 100% on my cake final using this cake with a white chocolate cream cheese frosting – it was delicious! And for the record – I multiplied the recipe 5x and it turned out just fine. If you ever do multiply it though, scale back on the strawberries needed for the puree. I think I measured out 60oz of strawberries and it was still more than needed! So if anyone else asks – yes, it can be multiplied! No fancy math equations needed 🙂

    Here’s the link to what it looked like: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=547563158656&set=a.524926787126.2034254.177500022&type=1

    • Courtney says:

      Sierra, I love it! Thanks so much for the advice about increasing the recipe, too.

  46. Scharon says:

    Can you freeze the buttercream icing?

  47. Jenn says:

    How many layers was the cake that you made for Annie’s Virutal Shower?

    • Sierra says:

      she says somewhere above (as a special note under the frosting recipe) that it’s (3) 6-in layers with some batter leftover

  48. Kelli C. says:

    I want to make this cake for my friend’s baby shower this weekend. I live at high altitude (6035ft) and need to know if you would recommend any adjustments to the Strawberry Cake recipe. Usually I have to add more water, or increase flour or decrease sugar when baking a cake. Thanks!!

    • Courtney says:

      Kelli, I know absolutely nothing about high altitude baking, so anything I could tell you would just be a guess. I’m sorry. Good luck, and please let me know how it turns out!

  49. Sarah G says:

    This cake looks AMAZING. Tomorrow is my birthday (28th. . .ahhh, pushing 30!) and I’m baking this for my party!

  50. Wow, everything here looks amazing!

  51. Danielle Rohde says:

    How much filling/frosting does this recipe yield? If I am going to fill and frost with the champagne buttercream will I need to double this recipe?

    • Courtney says:

      I would double it. I honestly can’t remember how much frosting I got from this recipe (I’m actually planning to remake it soon so that I can make a note). I’m of the mindset that it’s always better to have too much frosting.