Becky’s Birthday Cake
Cake
¾ cup (3 ounces) lightly packed premium
unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa
2/3 cup hot coffee (rewarmed from the leftover
morning pot works fine)
½ cup (4½ ounces) full-fat sour cream
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1½ cups (7½ ounces) all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
10 tablespoons (5 ounces) unsalted butter,
at room temperature
1¼ cup (9 1/3 ounces) firmly packed dark
brown sugar
1/3 cup (2 1/3 ounces) granulated sugar
2 egg yolks, at room temperature
2 eggs, at room temperature
Cherry
Filling
1 1/3 cup dried cherries, finely chopped
7 to 8 tablespoons orange juice
2 cups cherry preserves or jam
Whipped
Cream Frosting
1½ cups minimally pasteurized heavy cream
(go to Whole Foods or another specialty grocer and read the labels carefully –
a high quality cream makes a noticeable difference)
1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
4 rounded teaspoons
confectioners’ sugar
1.
Center an oven rack and preheat the oven to 350
degrees. Grease, line with parchment,
and dust with flour two 8-inch cake pans.
2.
In a small bowl, whisk together the cocoa and
the hot coffee. Blend in the sour cream
and vanilla, and set aside.
3.
In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking
soda, and salt, then whisk the ingredients by hand to ensure they are well mixed.
4.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the
paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars together on medium-high speed
until fluffy, about 5 minutes. As you
make the batter, stop the mixer frequently and scrape the paddle and sides of
the bowl with a rubber spatula. Blend in
the eggs and egg yolks one at a time, adding the next one as soon as the
previous one has disappeared into the batter.
With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in three parts,
alternating with the cocoa mixture in two parts, beginning and ending with the
flour. After each addition, mix until
just barely blended and stop and scrape the bowl. Stop the mixer before the last of the flour
has been incorporated and complete the blending by hand with a rubber spatula
to ensure you do not overbeat the batter.
5.
Divide the thick batter evenly between the
prepared pans (there will be approximately 1 pound 4 ounces per pan) and smooth
the tops. Rap the pans firmly on the
counter to release any air bubbles.
Place the pans in the middle of the oven and bake until the centers of
the cake spring back when lightly touched and small cracks have formed on the
surface, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool on a
rack for 30 minutes before removing from the pans. Flip the cakes out of the pans, leaving on
the parchment paper until you assemble the cake. Continue to cool the cakes on a rack, top
side up, until they reach room temperature.
6.
Meanwhile, heat dried cherries and 7 tablespoons
orange juice in small saucepan over low heat until very warm. Stir in
preserves; cook and stir until preserves are melted. Cool completely. If
mixture is too thick to spread, stir in additional orange juice 1 teaspoon at a
time. (Filling can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room
temperature before using.)
7.
For the whipped cream frosting: Whip the cream
in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer or a whisk until soft peaks form.
Add the sugar and flavorings and continue to whip until stiff peaks begin to
form. Do not overbeat or you risk making sweetened flavored butter.
8.
To assemble the cake, first divide each cake
layer in half to create four layers. Place
one of the layers, top side up, on a serving plate. Using a metal spatula, spread 1/3rd
of the cherry filling over the top of the cake, spreading it just to the edge
of the cake. Place the next layer of
cake (top side up again) on top of the filling.
Repeat with next two layers. Chill
to allow the cake to set and firm up.
9.
Spread the whipped cream over the chilled cake
and swirl decoratively.
Cake recipe from Vintage
Cakes by Julie Richardson
No comments:
Post a Comment