Ombre Strawberry Cake Is Easier To Make Than You Think

Whether you’re having a post-Valentine’s Day celebration with your gal pals, hosting a gender reveal party or just looking for an extra-fun dessert recipe — this easy-to-make strawberry ombre pink cake recipe is bound to come in handy. Some red food coloring and a steady hand is all you really need to create a dessert that’s perfectly pink and almost too pretty to eat.

This recipe from Oh, Sweet Basil will walk you through the steps of creating a three-layer cake that has a beautiful ombre effect, with the top light pink layer giving way to a bright, bubblegum-pink bottom layer. Oh, and the icing on the outside of the cake has the same effect!

The addition of strawberry extract will give each layer of cake a subtle fruity flavor. Once you’ve combined the strawberry extract with egg whites, flour, sugar and more, you will have created the batter for your cake, which will be divided into three separate sections. Red food coloring will be added to each layer, ensuring that each layer is slightly darker than the next. You’ll follow the same process when dyeing the frosting.

When each layer is baked and it’s time to assemble your cake, you’ll add a layer of strawberry jam in between each cake layer and coating of frosting for even more strawberry flavor. Spread the corresponding frosting color as you add each layer of cake.

In the end, your cake will be a pink-lover’s dream come true:

If you’d like to make this process even easier, you can also follow along with this recipe from Land O Lakes, which uses just one coat of all-over pink frosting instead of dyeing it multiple colors. This version does, however, go with five layers of cake instead of three — thus offering up no shortage of ombre effect, despite skipping the step of making ombre frosting.

And to make single-serving versions of this ombre cake, mason jars and biscuit cutters help show off your ombre cake-making skills in cute individual-sized portions. This recipe from Cupcake Lovers calls for using a cake mix, too, so your pre-assembly preparation will be minimal.

By layering tiny cake circles and frosting in a mason jar, you’ll create the ultimate dessert parfait:

So, who’s ready to eat only pretty ombre cakes from now on? When they’re this simple to make, why would you bake anything else?