What do you day dream about when baking/cooking? Maybe its about...
...work, and how you officially need larger cake pans because a 9" cake no longer feeds your entire office. Do you get round or square pans now?
...potentially moving, when you don't want to deal with the stress of it all.
...wishing for the weekend, for trips to the beach and good times with great friends.
...last hurrahs with best friends, with ridiculous pictures, so you can always remember.
...life's strange surprises.
...hmmm
Well on to the cake. This cake had to make a statement, because it was not for one but two people's birthdays. The request..."something easy to make that has chocolate and strawberries. Chocolate covered strawberries?" The result...two layers of devils food cake with a layer of vanilla cake in the middle. Between the layers are strawberries and whipped cream. Then the cake is topped with vanilla butter cream and decorated with chocolate covered strawberries. I diagrammed the cake I had in my head and emailed it to the birthday girls; it looked a little like this. The layers turned out light and moist and the strawberries and whipped cream helped to lighten the cake.
Devils Food Cake Layers....
Dry ingredients: all purpose flour, corn starch, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda and baking powder.
Butter and sugar....
...add the eggs and vanilla.
Its starting to come together...alternating between adding the dry ingredients and milk-coffee mixture to the wet ingredients.
Ready for the oven...
And now the vanilla cake layer...
Wet and dry ingredients combined; ready to be poured into cake pan.
So pretty.
Bottom layer with whipped cream and strawberries arranged.
Cake assembled awaiting frosting.
Devil's Food Cake: (adapted from David Lebovitz devil's food cake recipe)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
9 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups cake flour (1 1/8 cup all purpose flour + 3 tablespoons cornstarch)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup strong coffee, at room temperature
1/2 cup milk
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray two 9 inch cake pans with non-stick cooking spray and then line with a parchment paper round in the bottom of the pan.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Whisk in eggs, one at a time, until well combined. Whisk in vanilla extract and set aside.
3. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together cake flour (or all purpose flour & corn starch), cocoa powder, salt, baking soda and baking powder.
4. Combine coffee and milk in a measuring cup.
5. Starting and ending with the dry ingredients, alternate between adding the dry ingredients and coffee-milk mixture to the wet ingredients, mix just until combined.
6. Pour into prepared cake pans and bake in a 350 degrees F oven for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cakes cool in pans for 10-15 minutes. Then gently remove the cakes from the pans and let finish cooling on a cooling rack. Prepare vanilla cake layer while devil's food cakes are cooling.
Vanilla Cake Layer: (recipe from Magnolia Bakery's vanilla cupcakes)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup self rising flour
1/2 + 1/8 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup milk
1. Re-prep one 9 inch cake pan with non-stick cooking spray and a parchment paper round.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar.
3. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, until well combined. Whisk in the vanilla extract and set aside.
4. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together flours.
5. Starting and ending with the dry ingredients, alternate between adding the dry ingredients and milk to the wet ingredients, mix just until combined.
6. Pour cake batter in to prepared cake pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cake cool in pan for 10-15 minutes. Then gently remove from pan and let finish cooling on a cooling rack with the devil's food cake layers. Prep strawberries for filling.
Whipped Cream with Strawberries:
2 cups heavy cream8 ounces (1 cup) sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 pints strawberries
1. In a medium size mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, mix together heavy cream, sugar and vanilla. Start mixer on a lower speed and slowly increase the speed. Mix until light peaks form. Place whipped cream in the refrigerator until ready to be used.
2. Slice 10-12 strawberries in 1/4 inch slices.
Vanilla Butter Cream Frosting: (recipe also from Magnolia Bakery's cookbook)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon vanilla
3-4 cups powdered sugar
1. In a medium mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, cream butter until light, airy and smooth.
2. Mix in the vanilla until well combined.
3. Mix in the powdered sugar starting with one cup until well combined. Continue mixing in the powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, until desired consistency and taste. With this cake I wanted the frosting to be smooth and creamy but not overly sweet. If you prefer sweeter butter cream frosting feel free to add extra powdered sugar.
To assemble:
Pick out flattest layer of devil's food cake. My cake came out pretty even, but if either has baked up fluffier in the middle, use a serrated knife to cut off the top of the bottom layer to flatten the cake so the layers will stack more evenly. Place bottom layer of devil's food layer on cake plate. Top with half of whipped cream and smooth out over cake, spread to within a quarter inch of the edge of the cake. Top the whipped cream with a layer of strawberries.
Next, cut off the top of the vanilla cake using a serrated knife to flatten the top of the cake. Place vanilla cake layer on top of the bottom layer of cake. Top with remaining whipped cream and sliced strawberries. Then carefully place the last layer of devil's food cake on top of the vanilla layer. Place cake in the refrigerator and prepare frosting.
Remove cake from the refrigerator and gently frost the cake. Be especially careful with the top layer of devil's food cake as it is crumbly. If you want and have the time, you can lightly frost the cake to begin with, creating a crumb layer, and place cake in the refrigerator for 5-10 minutes (I used this time to finish washing the dishes). Then finish icing the cake with remaining frosting. Top with chocolate covered strawberries or just plain strawberries cut in half and serve. If the cake will not be eaten right away, store in refrigerator until ready to be served. Invite some friends over and enjoy!
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