Champagne Celebration Cake

Sparkling wine cake with fresh strawberry jam and St-Germain elderflower meringue frosting.

​​I was so excited to hear that my friends Robbin & Rachel were tying the knot this June and happily volunteered to make them a small cake to cut as they celebrate with friends and family. Since it is for a wedding celebration, I had to go with my favorite cake: champagne. Okay, so I don't actually use champagne for the cake, but I do use a good amount of sparkling wine, usually prosecco. And what goes good with sparkling wine? Strawberries of course!  And with the summer season approaching, strawberries right now are amazing.  And I'm also not going to lie, I have always loved a nice elderflower frosting and now it is even more popular thanks to the recent royal nuptials of Harry & Meghan.  Plus, my friends are arguable just as amazing as the royal family so the deserve something equally delicious!

I can't wait to see the new Mr. & Mrs. toasting to a happy future (and enjoying a slice of their cake)!

Note: The recipe below is for making the bottom tier of the cake pictured ONLY.  You can 1/2 the cake and frosting recipes for creating the smaller 4" , four layer, tier on top.

[ Ingredients ] 

Strawberry Jam
3 cups strawberries, diced small
2 tablespoons cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch 
1 tablespoon water

Champagne Cupcakes
3 ⅓  cups all purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 ½ cup unsalted butter (3 sticks), at room temperature 
6 large cage-free egg whites
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup sour cream
1 ¾ cups sparkling wine or champagne (I used Cupcake's Prosecco) 

Elderflower Meringue Buttercream
1 ¼ cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup water
pinch of cream of tartar
5 large cage-free egg whites
4 tablespoons St-Germain elderflower liqueur 

[ Directions ]

Strawberry Jam

1. In a large pot combine the strawberries and sugar. Mash together slightly until juices begin to flow with a fork or potato masher.
2. In a small bowl, whisk cornstarch and water until dissolved.
3. Place the strawberries over medium heat, stirring frequently until the mixture begins to bubble.
4. Gradually add the cornstarch mixture into the strawberries, stirring constantly.
5. Reduce heat to low and cook until thickened, stirring constantly. This can take up to 10 minutes. 
6. Remove from heat and pour into a bowl.  Cool completely before using.

Champagne Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare five 6" round cake tins by buttering, lining the bottom with parchment paper, and buttering again. Sprinkle a little flour into the pan and swirl the pan so it is coated.  Tap out an excess flour. (Note: when I make this cake, I have two 4"x6" round tins I use with double the batter.  It takes longer to cook, and then you have to halve the cakes with a cake cutter, but it works too. Then I use one 2"x6" tin for baking the last layer).
2. In a small pot, simmer 1 cup of the sparkling wine or champagne over low heart.  Cook until is reduced down to about 1/2 cup.  Let cool.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together the sugar and the butter until light and fluffy.
5. Slowly add the egg whites to the butter mixture, 2 at a time, beating well after each addition.
6. Add the vanilla to the mixture, and mix to combine.
7. Add 1/2 of the dry ingredients to the butter/egg mixture and mix to combine.
8. Add the sour cream to the mix and mix to combine.
9. Add the remaining dry ingredients.  Mix to combine.
10. Add the reduced sparkling wine or champagne along with another 3/4 cup regular sparkling wine or champagne and mix until just smooth.  Do not over mix.
11. Divide the batter between cake pans, filling about 2/3 full.
12. Bake for 25-30 minutes (or 35-40 minutes if using the deeper tins and planning on halving the cakes) , until a toothpick comes out clean.
13. Cool completely.

St-Germain Meringue Buttercream

1. In a small saucepan, bring sugar and water to a boil over medium heat. 
2. Continue to boil the sugar until it reaches 238 degrees F.
3. While the sugar boils, place the egg whites in the bowl of a standing mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment. 
4. When the temperature on the thermometer reaches 236 degrees F, turn the mixer on to high speed to begin to whip the egg whites.
5. With the mixer, carefully pour the boiling sugar mixture into the egg whites.
6. Whisk egg whites and sugar on high until room temperature (test this by touching the base of the bowl, it is cooled when the bowl is room temperature to the touch).
7. Continue whisking the mixture on high and gradually add the butter.
8. Once all the butter is incorporated add in the St-Germain and beat until smooth.

Put it all together

1. If you used deeper pans, use a cake leveler to split the cakes into even layers.
2. Use a little buttercream frosting to stick the bottom layer to a cake board.
3. Add a thin layer of the buttercream frosting and then a layer of the strawberry jam before adding the next layer.  
4. Continue to stack the layers until you have all five layers assembled.
5. Do a crumb coat on the cake by spreading a thin layer of frosting all over the cake.  It's okay if you can still see some of the cake this is just to ensure you don't get crumbs in the final layer.  Refrigerate the cake for 15-20 minutes until buttercream has hardened.
6. Finish frosting the cake with the buttercream using an off-set spatula to smooth it out.  
7. Decorate with fresh flowers or succulents but remember to check to make sure the flowers you are using are not poisonous.  More tips on how to do this can be found at Olive and Artisan.