Description
This Purple Birthday Cake is a fun, colorful celebration cake with soft vanilla layers and creamy purple buttercream. It looks impressive but uses basic baking steps and easy ingredients. Perfect for birthdays, parties, or anytime you want a cheerful showstopper.
Ingredients
Vanilla Cake Layers
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2½ cups all-purpose flour
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2½ tsp baking powder
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½ tsp salt
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¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
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1¾ cups granulated sugar
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4 large eggs, room temperature
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1 tbsp vanilla extract
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1 cup whole milk, room temperature
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Purple gel food coloring
Lavender Buttercream (Purple Vanilla Frosting)
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1½ cups unsalted butter, softened
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5 cups powdered sugar, sifted
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2 tsp vanilla extract
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3–4 tbsp heavy cream or milk
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Purple gel food coloring
Optional: sprinkles, edible glitter, piped decorations
Instructions
1️⃣ Prep
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Heat oven to 350°F (175°C).
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Grease and line three 8-inch round pans with parchment.
2️⃣ Mix Dry Ingredients
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Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
3️⃣ Cream Butter & Sugar
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Beat butter and sugar 3–4 minutes until pale and fluffy.
4️⃣ Add Eggs & Vanilla
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Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each.
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Mix in vanilla.
5️⃣ Combine Wet & Dry
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Mix in flour mixture and milk in this order:
flour → milk → flour → milk → flour -
Mix just until combined.
6️⃣ Color the Batter
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Add purple gel coloring a little at a time until you reach your shade.
7️⃣ Bake
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Divide batter evenly between pans.
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Bake 25–28 minutes until a toothpick comes out with light crumbs.
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Cool 10 minutes in pans, then turn out and cool completely.
Notes
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Lemon Purple Cake: Add lemon zest to batter.
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Funfetti Purple: Stir in ½ cup rainbow sprinkles.
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Ombre Frosting: Use light and dark purple shades.
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Chocolate Purple: Replace ¼ cup flour with cocoa powder.