Inspired by my wildly popular Big Pink Cookie recipe, this Big Pink Cookie Cake features all of the goodness of the cookies but in cake form! This simple cake, made with and almond & vanilla base, features creamy soft swirls of swoopy strawberry cream cheese frosting.
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I'm not a big birthday person. I usually opt for a quiet slice of pie or a single cookie to celebrate my birthday. While I enjoy a simple cake, multi-layered, overly frosted sprinkle-fest cakes don't get me going. However, this Big Pink Cookie Cake has my name written all over it.
This Big Pink Cookie Cake was inspired by my Big Pink Cookie Recipe
For as long as I can remember, I have adored the Big Pink Cookies from Rocket Bakery in my hometown of Spokane, WA. They are these soft and tender, extra thick cut sugar cookies with a thick spread of pink hued cream cheese frosting messily spread over the top. They've got a hint of almond flavor and a whole lot of personality.
I love these cookies so much that I reverse engineered them so I could bake them whenever I had a hankering. As it turns out, the happes quite often. In fact, the Big Pink Cookie Recipe on my site is one of my most popular posts ever!
Recently, after I made the Big Pink Cookies, once again. My husband said to me, you should try making a Big Pink Cookie Cake. I was floored. Why hadn't I thought of this before?! The flavors and ingredients in these cookies would lend themselves so well to a cake. How had I not developed a Big Pink Cookie Cake recipe yet? It's such an obvious and brilliant idea. Who wouldn't love a Pink Cake with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting?
Simple cakes are the best cakes
So, I got to scheming. Sketching out ideas and writing down recipe notes. I briefly consider making a 2 or 3 layer Big Pink Cookie Cake. But after further thought, I realized that the allure of the Big Pink Cookies is their sweet simplicity. There was no need to overcomplicate this cake. A single layered, simple vanilla and almond scented cake frosted with messy swirls of pink cream cheese frosting matches the vibe of the cookies. Keep it simple, sweetie.
Single Layer Vanilla & Almond scented Cake
Just 10 ingredients work together to make the basic Almond and Vanilla Scented Cake layer. There isn't anything too fancy going on in here. But the interplay between the basic ingredients makes for one special single layer cake!
Ingredients for the Vanilla & Almond Cake
- All Purpose Flour is an ingredient that does it all. I use APF in the cookies and it's the perfect base for this Big Pink Cookie Cake as well.
- Baking Soda is the leavener that gives the cake just enough loft to rise up with a tender crumb.
- Cardamom adds a very subtle layer of spice that gives the cake a hint of warm character without overpowering. It compliments the almond extract wonderfully.
- Fine Sea Salt balances out the sweetness just so. A bit of salt brings out the other flavors.
- Unsalted Butter enriches the cake batter, giving it a buttery smoothness.
- Granulated Sugar adds just enough sweetness and helps the cake keep it's lofty structure.
- Eggs also help with lift and body. After a few tests, I found that 2 whole eggs and 1 egg yolk was the perfect blend for getting the texture and crumb of this Big Pink Cookie Cake just right. The extra yolk pushes the cake towards a yellow cake style without fully committing. It teeters between a basic vanilla cake and a richer yellow cake. A real sweet spot in the cake department. A huge thanks to my friend Nisha for helping me get this detail dialed in just right!
- Almond Extract gives the cake its classic Big Pink Cookie energy. The almond adds a lot of depth in flavor. In combination with the cardamom it offers an intriguing element of flavor wonder.
- Vanilla Extract combined with the almond extract plays really well together. This is a trick I often use. It helps ease into that almond flavor with the familiarity of an old friend, classic vanilla.
- Buttermilk adds a hint of tanginess and the acids in the buttermilk work to keep that cake crumb nice and tender.
How to make the simple Vanilla & Almond Scented Cake
Ingredients for Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
It takes just 6 ingredients make for the most flavorful and creamy frosting. This Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting blends together into a smooth and stable frosting. The tender, simple almond and vanilla scented cake is an ideal base for this rich and slightly indulgent cream cheese frosting.
- Cream Cheese is obviously the winning ingredient in this Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting. It's what gives this Big Pink Cookie Cake a signature stamp of deliciousness. Smooth and rich cream cheese is a crowd pleasing cake and cookie frosting move.
- Unsalted Butter is blended with the cream cheese to smooth it out a bit. Since the cream cheese is so firm, the butter sort of slides in there and greases the wheels so the cream cheese can blend smoothly with the other ingredients. Also, yum, butter!
- Powdered Sugar adds soft sweetness and transforms the cream cheese and butter into a sweet and spreadable frosting.
- Freeze Dried Strawberries, while not necessary, adds both color and flavor to the Cream Cheese Frosting. Years ago I opted out of food coloring and started using ground and sifted freeze dried strawberries to color my Big Pink Cookie frosting. The concentrated strawberry flavor is an added bonus that works so well with both the Big Pink Cookie recipe and this Big Pink Cookie Cake!
- Almond Extract rounds off the frosting with earthy sweet almond-y flavor. That signature flavor comes through in both the cake and the frosting.
- Fine Sea Salt, just a pinch, just enhances the almond and strawberry sweetness.
Assembling the Big Pink Cookie Cake is so easy!
Since the Pink Cake with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting is just a single layer cake, it really could not be easier to assemble. Simply center the cake on a pretty cake plate. Then scoop the frosting onto the center of the top of of the cake. Use a small spatula or an offset spatula to spread the frosting over the top of the cake, almost to the edges. Make a swirling motion with the spatula to create dramatic swoops and swirls with the frosting.
Decorate the Pink Cake to taste
When it comes to decorating the Big Pink Cookie, the options as endless. This is another reason to love a simple cake, you have a solid and delicious base that you can customize to taste.
I was struggling to choose between keeping the cake naked, topping with crushed freeze dried strawberries or adding a ring of white sprinkles. So I took to the internet and held an Instagram poll. The freeze dried strawberry sprinkles were the fan favorite so that's what I went with! The people have spoken. The contrast of the vibrant hot pink crushed strawberries against the soft swirls of pale pink is an easy and elegant touch.
However, you can decorate your version of this Big Pink Cookie any way you'd like! I could see it being really sweet with some fresh berries, tendrils of thyme or even a few fresh blooms. Itty bitty chamomile flowers would be darling dotting the top of this cake. If you are feeling downright decorative, pipe that Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting onto the cake in a pretty pattern.
Keep it chill or get all detailed, no matter how you decorate the Big Pink Cookie, it's bound to be a big hit! If you want to double down on the drama, double the recipe and assemble a 2 layer really Big Pink Cookie Cake! Just layer that frosting between cake layers and top to taste.
Creating this cake came so naturally to me. My love of the Big Pink Cookie runs deep. A great big thanks to Dayn for scheming up the idea for a Big Pink Cookie Cake. It is already an instant classic that feels like an old friend. I will be baking this beauty for my birthday, and probably yours too, for years to come.
A special thanks to Nisha, @gujusiscooks, for coming out to help me perfect the recipe and shoot the stunning images and video for this Big Pink Cookie Cake. It was a true joy having you in the studio with me. Looking forward to working together more in the future, friend!
Recipe
Big Pink Cookie Cake
- Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
- Yield: 8-10 slices of cake
Description
Inspired by my wildly popular Big Pink Cookie recipe, this Big Pink Cookie Cake features all of the goodness of the cookies but in cake form! This simple cake, made with and almond & vanilla base, features creamy soft swirls of swoopy strawberry cream cheese frosting.
Ingredients
Cake
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs + 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
1 ½ teaspoons almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup buttermilk or whole milk, at room temperature
Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
¼ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons freeze dried strawberries, crushed & sifted or a couple of drops of pink or red food coloring + more crushed berries if using for decoration
1 ½ teaspoons almond extract
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
Cake
Begin by preparing a 9" round cake pan. Grease the cake pan with butter or non-stick spray, line the bottom and sides of the pan with parchment paper. Then grease the paper. Add a sprinkle of flour, then tap the pan lightly until the bottom and sides are evenly coated with a light layer of flour. Tap over the sink to remove any excess flour.
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Place a large sifter or a sieve in a large bowl. Add the flour, baking soda, cardamom and salt, then sift together. Set aside.
Add the butter to the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attached, cream the butter on medium-high speed for about 2 minutes until creamy. With the mixer on a medium speed, slowly pour in the sugar and cream the butter and sugar together on medium-high speed for 3-5 minutes, until the mix is light and fluffy.
With the mixer still on low speed, add the eggs and egg yolk, 1 at a time, allowing each egg to be fully incorporated into the batter before adding the next. You may need to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula a time or two. Stir in the almond and vanilla extracts.
With the mixer on a low speed, stir in the the dry ingredients followed by the buttermilk in 3 additions. Begin with ⅓ of the dry ingredients, stir until just combined, followed by the half of the buttermilk. Alternating two times, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined and smooth. Don’t over-mix the batter. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula to make sure it’s well combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Tap on the counter a few times to remove any air bubbles.
Bake in the center of the oven for 20-25 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean and the cake bounces back when lightly pressed.
Allow to cool in the pan for at least 20 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
Crush the freeze dried strawberries with a mortar and pestle, in a food processor or by placing them in a sealed plastic baggie and gently rolling and pounding them with a rolling pin. Keep crushing them until they become a fine powder.
Sift the strawberry powder through a fine mesh sieve to remove any large seeds. Then sift the freeze dried strawberry powder together with the powdered sugar and salt.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle or whisk attachment, cream the butter, cream cheese and almond extract until completely smooth.
With the mixer on a slow speed, gradually add in sifted powdered sugar and strawberry mix. Blend until color is evenly distributed throughout the frosting. Place the frosting in refrigerator until ready to use. Alternatively, if you are using food coloring, slowly add, one small drop at a time, until you are happy with the color.
Once the cake has cooled completely, center the cake on a plate or cake stand. Use an offset spatula to spread the Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting into swooping swirls. Decorate with more crushed, freeze dried strawberries or sprinkles, if desired. Slice and serve!
Notes
Store the cake in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Once the frosting has set and firmed up in the refrigerator, cover with plastic wrap. Serve slightly chilled or at room temperature.
- Prep Time: 20
- Cooling Time: 60 minutes
- Cook Time: 25
- Category: dessert
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