Kitchen Recipe
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Sri Lankan Ribbon Cake
A staple at every Sri Lankan birthday and wedding: a buttery, vanilla-scented cake beautifully layered with vibrant pink and green stripes.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 40 min
- Total
- 60 min
- Servings
- 12
- Difficulty
- medium
- Cuisine
- sri lankan
Ingredients
Scaled for 12 servings
- butter
- sugar
- eggs
- flour
- baking powder
- milk
- vanilla extract
- pink food coloring
- green food coloring
Equipment
- Oven
- Baking tin
- Mixing bowls
Instructions
- 1
Make Batter
Cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Fold in sifted flour, baking powder, and milk. Add vanilla.
- 2
Color the Batter
Divide the batter equally into three bowls. Leave one bowl plain. Add a few drops of pink coloring to the second, and green to the third.
- 3
Layer
Drop spoonfuls of the plain, pink, and green batter alternately into a lined baking tin. Tap the tin gently to level it.
- 4
Bake
Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 40-45 minutes until a skewer comes out clean.
Cooking Tips
- Do not swirl the colors with a knife like a marble cake. Ribbon cake should have distinct, separate patches of color.
- Sri Lankan butter cakes traditionally use margarine (like Astra) for a specific nostalgic flavor, but real butter tastes superior.
Variations
- Iced Ribbon Cake: Frost the cake with a thick layer of vanilla buttercream.
Chef's Notes & Storage
- The quintessential Sri Lankan celebration cake.
Nutrition Estimate
340 calories · 5g protein · 42g carbs · 18g fat · 1g fiber per serving
