Mexican Panadería-Style “Pink Cake” | Gluten-free

If you’re not Mexican, “pink cake” may actually sound like some cake version of “mystery meat.” This cake is basically a vanilla cake with pink-dyed vanilla frosting — but BETTER.

Side note: I’m back from visiting family and friends in Texas, and I already miss it so much. So this is my attempt of creating recipes for foods that remind me of home. Also, sorry I haven’t posted much in the past month or so. Traveling and settling in back in Australia really had us busy. Ok, back to the recipe.

I don’t know what it actually is about this cake that makes it taste so delicious, so I looked it up. The verdict? I still don’t know. I did find the non-gluten-free version of this cake, though — aka a “normal” recipe for this cake — but if I want to eat it, I had to make a gluten-free version of it. So here it is: 

Ingredients:

(for cake)

• 2 1/2 cups gluten-free self-raising flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup white sugar
• 3 eggs, large
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup lactose-free milk

(for frosting)

• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 3 tablespoons lactose-free milk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• A few drops of red food coloring

Directions:

(for cake)

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF (176ºC). Grease a 9×13-inch pan.
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar, eggs, oil, and vanilla and mix until creamy. While mixing, alternate between adding the flour mixture and milk until the batter is smooth.
4. Pour into prepared pan. The batter may be somewhat thick, use a baking spatula to smooth over. Bake for 22-24 minutes. Be careful not to over-bake, which will result in a dry cake.

(for frosting)

1. Once cake has completely cooled, prepare frosting by whisking the powdered sugar, butter, milk, and vanilla together until well-blended. Add a few drops of the food coloring and stir. Add food coloring until you reach a pink color.
2. Frost the cake and let sit or chill in the fridge. The frosting will harden once it has set.