This festive and delicious Pastel Easter Cake is perfect for celebrating the Easter holiday with family and friends. This moist and tender white cake is expertly swirled with beautiful Easter colors, creating a stunning and unique cake that is sure to impress. It’s perfect for any Spring gathering or celebration, and is sure to be a hit with all of your guests!

The Best Easter Swirl Cake
This Swirl Cake is just so good and simple to make. The swirl of color is made by combining a few different colors of food coloring and mixing together slightly. This gorgeous cake is the perfect Easter dessert and sure to be a hit no matter where you take it!
Key Ingredients You’ll Need
Cake Ingredients
White Cake Mix and the cake mix ingredients: I love using cake mix because it is a HUGE time saver. However, if you have your own homemade recipe, you are more than welcome to use it.
Sour Cream: This adds a lot to the cake. It makes the cake tender and moist.
Food Coloring Gel: Be sure to use food coloring gel and not the liquid form to make it blend easier into the ingredients. Use a drop to a couple of drops to make the desired color of the recipe. You will need the colors Blue, Pink, and Yellow.
Frosting
Butter: It is best to use unsalted butter for this recipe. Using unsalted butter will give you control of the flavoring in the recipe. This will allow the rawest and most natural flavor to come out in the recipe.
Powdered Sugar: This is the best sugar to use when needing a frosting with a smooth consistency.
Heavy Cream: This is a great thickening agent and when used at room temperature it will give you a creamier consistency.
How To Make A Pastel Easter Cake
Step 1. Set the oven to 350 degrees and use pam baking spray to grease a 9×13-inch baking dish. Add the cake mix, water, egg whites, oil, sour cream, and clear vanilla extract into a large mixing bowl and combine using an electric mixer on low for 30-seconds. Use a spatula to scrape the bowl as needed. Continue to combine for another 2 minutes on medium speed.
Step 2. Add the 2 cups of batter into the pan.
With the remaining batter, separate it into 3 different bowls (about 1/2 cup each). Add a couple of drops of each food coloring into their own bowl and mix until you have the desired color.
Step 3. Start adding spoonfuls of the colored batters into the prepared pan in different spots.
Use the back of a butter knife to swirl the colors together slightly. Place into the oven for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick placed in the middle comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool thoroughly before making the frosting.
Buttercream Frosting
Step 1. Add the butter into an electric mixer and combine for 1-2 minutes until light in color and slightly fluffy. Put in the powdered sugar and salt and combine again on low – medium speed for another minute. Use a spatula to scrape the bowl as needed.
Step 2. Put in the vanilla and 2 tbsp of heavy cream and combine for an additional minute. If you want to add in food coloring for the frosting, you want to add it now. Pour more cream in gradually and combine until you have the right consistency. Beat until light and fluffy for another minute.
Step 3. Frost the cake and top with sprinkles to decorate.
How To Make The Swirl In Swirl Cake?
You make the swirl of cake by making a few different colored batters. You make a large batch of batter and separate it into 3 or more different colors. Then, you randomly place the batter into the pan and swirl.
Can I Make Colored Frosting For Easter Swirl Cake?
Yes, you can change the color of the frosting. While you’re making your frosting, you can add whatever color food coloring you want and mix. You can also mix different colored frosting for a more swirled effect.
More Easter Cake Recipes:
Easy Pastel Easter Cake
Ingredients
Cake Ingredients:
- 1 box white cake mix
- ¼ cup water
- 4 egg whites
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1-2 tsp clear vanilla extract
- Blue pink, and yellow food coloring (either gel or liquid)
- Pastel-colored sprinkles
Frosting ingredients:
- ½ cup butter softened (not melted)
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 2-4 tsp heavy cream or you can use milk
- Food coloring optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9×13 baking dish.
- In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat cake mix, water, egg whites, oil, sour cream, and clear vanilla extract. Mix on low speed for 30 seconds or until combined. Scrape the edges of the bowl. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes more, scraping the edges occasionally.
- Pour 2 cups of the batter into the prepared pan.
- Divide the remaining batter between 3 medium bowls (about ½ cup each). Add a few drops of blue, pink, and yellow food coloring (one color per bowl) to the batter, stirring well after each drop, until the batter reaches the desired color.
- Place spoonfuls of each colored batter in random places on top of the white batter. Run a butter knife back and forth through the batter to swirl the added color.
- Bake cake for 30-35 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.
Frosting directions:
- With an electric mixer, whip the butter for 1-2 minutes until it is lighter in color and a bit fluffy.
- Add the powdered sugar and salt. Beat on low to medium speed for about 1 minute until well combined, occasionally scraping the sides of the bowl.
- Add the vanilla and 2 tablespoons of cream and beat for one minute. (If adding food coloring to the frosting, incorporate that now.) Slowly add more cream, if necessary, to get the desired consistency. Whip for 1 more minute or until light and fluffy.
- Frost and decorate the cake with Easter sprinkles.