This month’s challenge for the Daring Bakers baking club was Dorie Greenspan’s Perfect Party Cake. The recipe is from Baking: From My Home to Yours, a book that has been in heavy rotation on the food blog circuit lately for its classic recipes and straightforward techniques. Since this month was my mother’s birthday, I made the cake for this occasion, and thankfully our host Morven gave us a lot of room for personalization - we has pretty much free rein apart from the basic cake recipe and buttercream or whipped cream frosting options.

Although I’ll be first to admit that my layer cake skills could use some work, I took my time with this one and I think it turned out reasonably well. I prefer dense chocolate monstrosities or fruit desserts for my own birthday or special occasions, so could really use some slicing, piping, and decorating practice - and I’ve recently been scoping for a local cake class to help remedy this. For this cake, though, I liked the simplicity of whipped cream, and for some visual interest added a little polka-dot pattern with inverted chocolate chips.

As for the interior, Mom had some very clear ideas about what she wanted in her cake. :) She was hoping for something that would combine all her favorite flavors in one: mini chocolate chips, raspberry, banana, and whipped cream. This part was nearly as much of a challenge as the Daring Bakers recipe itself(!), but I managed to hit all the elements and it ended up being quite good. I do think the mini chips may have weighed the batter down a bit and prevented it from rising as much as it could have (my layers were barely taller than an inch), but the cake was still fluffy and delicate-tasting.

My final changes to Dorie’s basic recipe were as follows: I skipped the lemon flavorings and added 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips to the cake batter. Instead of the buttercream, I used 1 pint of cream whipped with 2 tablespoons sugar for filling and finishing. I also left out the coconut. The layers were filled with alternating raspberry curd and banana pastry cream.

Overall, everyone was very pleased with the cake. I would probably make a thicker raspberry filling next time, and also maybe reduce the baking time to 25 minutes - the cake edges were getting a bit too dark at 30 minutes. This sort of cake is a great addition to my repertoire, though, and I’ll very likely make it again since it’s so easy to vary the filling and flavorings to suit nearly anyone’s wishes. Check out the other Perfect Party Cakes by visiting the Daring Bakers Blogroll, which keeps track of our ever-expanding numbers. Many thanks to Morven of Food Art and Random Thoughts, who hosted this month’s challenge!

Perfect Party Cake
Adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

For the 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 Cookworm note: I used one pint of cream whipped with 2 tablespoons sugar for the filling and frosting instead of this 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
Cookworm note: I used homemade raspberry curd and banana pastry cream and skipped the coconut.

Getting Ready
Centre a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9 x 2 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.

To Make the Cake
Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Whisk together the milk 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 milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated.
Add the rest of the milk 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 two 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, and then the vanilla.
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 Cake
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 I think 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.

Posted by the cookworm on Sunday, March 30th, 2008 at 5:37 pm.