Perfect Party Cake

Its daring bakers time again! Quite honestly, I’m not sure how I manged to complete this month’s edition of Daring Bakers. All month I’d been planning to make this cake Easter weekend (also my mom’s birthday). It was going to be the perfect way to take care of this challenge. Unfortunately hubby’s grandfather got very ill. We spent the weekend of easter and a couple days beyond that out of town sitting at the hospital/visiting with family. Sadly, he passed away just before midnight on Tuesday March 25th so we’ve been in Houston since we found out. We were home for about 24 hours and in between loads of laundry, cleaning house, getting suits dry cleaned and such I somehow managed to whip up this cake for the family.

But enough of the sadness, this is about Party Cake! This recipe is from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking from My Home to Yours. The only restriction for this month’s challenge was to use the basic cake recipe and the basic buttercream recipe. We had freedom to flavor it and garnish it however we chose. The base recipe is for a cake flavored with lemon, layered with a little raspberry jam and filled and frosted with a classic meringue buttercream. I’ve mentioned it before, I just don’t really like lemon flavored stuff, so I cut the lemon zest in half and omitted the lemon extract (subbed with vanilla). I also skipped the raspberry filling and used fresh sliced strawberries in the middle most layer and only used buttercream for the other two.

This cake got absolutely raves from hubby’s 20 plus relatives who were there to try it. I really do mean raves. It was absolutely delicious. The cake was wonderful! It was fluffy and delicious. The buttercream was wonderful. Its my new fav buttercream recipe; so wonderfully creamy. I love this recipe and I’ll definitely make it again in a heartbeat. Unfortunately since it was gobbled up so quickly and I was too preoccupied spending time with fam, I didn’t get a photo of the inside of the cake. But it looked beautiful as well! This really is the perfect party cake!

I’ve posted the original recipe below without my modifications. And thanks again to Morven of Food Art & Random Thoughts for hosting this month! It was a great choice! Oh and you must definitely check out the Daring Bakers Blogroll this month since this recipe was so versatile and there are so many different combinations!

Perfect Party Cake

2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups whole milk or buttermilk
4 large egg whites
1 ½ cups sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 stick (8 tablespoons or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ teaspoon pure lemon extract

For the Buttercream
1 cup sugar
4 large egg whites
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¼ cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 large lemons)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For Finishing
2/3 cup seedless raspberry preserves stirred vigorously or warmed gently until spreadable
About 1 ½ cups sweetened shredded coconut

Centre a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter 4 4-inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each pan with a round of buttered parchment or wax paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet.
Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk together the buttermilk and egg whites in a medium bowl. Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the butter and working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light.
Beat in the extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed. Beat in half of the buttermilk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated. Add the rest of the buttermilk and eggs beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients. Finally, give the batter a good 2- minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated. Divide the batter between the four pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and springy to the touch – a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean.
Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unfold them and peel off the paper liners. Invert and cool to room temperature, right side up (the cooled cake layers can be wrapped airtight and stored at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to two months).

To Make the Buttercream:
Put the sugar and egg whites in a mixer bowl or another large heatproof bowl, fit the bowl over a plan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes. The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like shiny marshmallow cream.
Remove the bowl from the heat. Working with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the meringue on medium speed until it is cool, about 5 minutes. Switch to the paddle attachment if you have one, and add the butter a stick at a time, beating until smooth. Once all the butter is in, beat in the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, 6-10 minutes. During this time the buttercream may curdle or separate – just keep beating and it will come together again. On medium speed, gradually beat in the lemon juice, waiting until each addition is absorbed before adding more. You should have a shiny smooth, velvety, pristine white buttercream. Press a piece of plastic against the surface of the buttercream and set aside briefly.

To Assemble the Cakes:
Using a sharp serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion, slice each layer horizontally in half.Put one layer cut side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper. Spread it with one third of the preserves. Cover the jam evenly with about one quarter of the buttercream. Top with another layer, spread with preserves and buttercream and then do the same with a third layer (you’ll have used all the jam and have buttercream leftover). Place the last layer cut side down on top of the cake and use the remaining buttercream to frost the sides and top. Press the coconut into the frosting, patting it gently all over the sides and top.

Serving:
The cake is ready to serve as soon as it is assembled, but it’s best to let it sit and set for a couple of hours in a cool room – not the refrigerator. Whether you wait or slice and enjoy it immediately, the cake should be served at room temperature; it loses all its subtlety when it’s cold. Depending on your audience you can serve the cake with just about anything from milk to sweet or bubbly wine.

Storing:
The cake is best the day it is made, but you can refrigerate it, well covered, for up to two days. Bring it to room temperature before serving. If you want to freeze the cake, slide it into the freezer to set, then wrap it really well – it will keep for up to 2 months in the freezer; defrost it, still wrapped overnight in the refrigerator.

Source: Adapted from Baking From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan

Tagged as: Cake, Daring Bakers, Fruit, Sweets