Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare three 8 inch round pans with baker's floured spray (or grease and line with parchment rounds).

Mix together all dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, and salt) in a stand mixer with a paddle until fully combined.

Mix chunks of room-temperature butter slowly into the dry mix, on a low speed. Continue to mix until no large chunks of butter remain, and the mixture becomes crumbly.

Pour in egg whites, and mix until just incorporated. Mix in the buttermilk on a low speed. Add in vanilla, oil, and gel food coloring, and mix at a low speed until fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, then beat on medium high for about 30 seconds.

Divide batter evenly between the prepared cake pans (I find a kitchen scale helpful for this part). This guarantees your layers will bake to be the same height.

Bake for 34-37 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out clean). Allow cake layers to cool for 10-15 minutes on a wire cooling rack before removing from pans. Cool completely before frosting. Set in the fridge or freezer to accelerate the cooling process if desired. (This is a great time to make your frosting!)

Once your cakes are cool, level them (if needed). This can be done with a cake leveler or a large serrated knife and a ruler. Place a smear of frosting on your cake circle (to keep the cake from sliding while you decorate it) and center your first cake layer in the center of the circle.

Spread the layer with frosting, and add the next layer on top. Repeat the process with your remaining cake layers.

Now you're ready to crumb-coat . If you're unfamiliar with crumb-coating, it's just what it sounds like – spreading a thin layer of frosting over the entire outside of the cake to keep crumbs out of your final layer. I usually do this with my large offset spatula.

Once your crumb coat has set (this takes about 5-10 minutes in the fridge), add your final layer of frosting and smooth. Don’t go too crazy here – you’ll add texture to the sides in a minute anyway! Once your cake is covered, clean your large offset spatula and start to work your way around the cake, pressing lightly into the frosting to create a series of indents in the frosting. I found working my way around an initial time to create each line and then going back over the lines with a warmed spatula (I’ve used hot water before, but this time I cheated and used a brulee torch)  gave me a smoother look to the frosting!

To decorate the top of the cake, I added red gel color to the leftover pink frosting and transferred it to a piping bag. Working in a ‘braid’ pattern, I piped a decorative rim around the outside of the cake. You could also use swirls or a circular border; completely up to you!

Add a few pink sugar pearls to the frosting rim and to the top of the cake – and you’re done!