This Cotton Candy Birthday Cake is a vibrant, pastel-colored celebration dessert packed with nostalgic carnival sweetness. Featuring cotton candy flavoring in both the cake and frosting, this recipe creates a moist, fluffy vanilla base with a whimsical cotton candy twist. Perfect for birthdays and parties, this cake delivers beautiful layers, creamy frosting, and bold cotton candy aroma — making it a must-try dessert for anyone who loves fun and colorful cakes.

To create a fluffy pandan chiffon cake with pandan extract, begin by separating the eggs to whip the egg whites into a stable meringue with cream of tartar and half the sugar. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks with vegetable oil, coconut milk, pandan extract, vanilla, and remaining sugar until combined. Sift the dry ingredients—cake flour, baking powder, and salt—and fold them gently into the wet mixture. Gradually fold the meringue into the batter in three additions to maintain the light texture. Pour the batter into an ungreased tube pan and bake at 350°F (175°C) for about 45–50 minutes until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Cool upside down for maximum fluffiness before slicing. This pandan chiffon cake recipe is airy, fragrant, and moist, perfect for any special celebration or afternoon snack.

Make ube milk tea with brewed black tea, milk, condensed milk and water-soluble purple ube extract. Add cooked tapioca pearls for a boba-style drink, or leave them out for a simple iced milk tea. The purple extract used here contains Red #40 and Blue #1; it is not a dye-free formula.

Choose purple or clear ube flavor

Purple Ube Extract adds flavor and purple color and contains natural and artificial flavors plus Red #40 and Blue #1. If you want ube flavor without that purple coloring, compare clear ube extract and review its current label. Switching formulas can change the amount needed.

Prepare the tea and pearls separately

Steep the tea as directed in the card. Cook tapioca pearls according to their package directions: different pearl types have different cooking times. Assemble the drink with ice and cooked pearls when you are ready to serve.

Adjust sweetness and milk

The recipe includes condensed milk and optional sugar or honey. Adjust the sweeteners to your preference while following the flavoring’s product guidance. To make a dairy-free version, replace both the milk and the condensed milk with suitable dairy-free alternatives; changing only the milk leaves dairy in the recipe.

Is ube extract the same as ube jam?

No. Extract contributes concentrated flavor; ube halaya contributes body and other ingredients. The optional jam topping is a separate addition, not a direct replacement for the extract.

Explore water-soluble drink flavors and our ube flavoring ideas.