(click here to see how I made the "love" sides)
(A Slice of Cocoa Crepe Cake!)
A cake unmolested can be a thing of beauty. But I prefer the view from the inside. I believe the point of baking is to watch someone you love savoring a morsel you made by hand. That’s right. I look in the mirror when I eat dessert.
Don't get me wrong, embellishing the exterior with bells and whistles is a hoot.
I’m all for bakers perfecting their piping and décor sides and fondant skills.
But in the end, it’s what’s on the inside that counts.
The elements of the wonderful lemony blueberry cake at the very top are already on this site:
(1) The vanilla cake is jerryrigged by leaving out vanilla and replacing it with lemon extract and the zest of one lemon. After pouring the batter into the cake pan, push plump blueberries into the batter symmetrically. I have no problems with using frozen berries but don’t stir the frozen fruit into the batter because it will dye the batter, albeit with lovely berry hues but I’d rather the cake look lemony and not like a tighty whitey that’s just taken a trip through the washer with a bleeding red sweatshirt.
(2) Lemon curd. Make this ahead of time so it’s chilled when you assemble the cake. I use about ½ of it to add layer to the cake. One layer cake, place ¼ cup of the curd on the cake layer and spread the curd evenly over the cake. Then follow with a layer of sweetened whipped cream. Repeat. Cake. Curd. Cream.
(3) Whipped Cream. Easy. Heavy cream, about 2 cups. Whip with ¼ cup confectioners sugar, a heaping tablespoon of curd, a teaspoon of lemon extract and a heaping tablespoon of Greek yogurt. The Greek yogurt is optional but it adds a lovely tang.
With curds and whipped fillings, it’s so much easier to build the cake inside a cake ring so you have stable sides keeping all that potentially loose filling from taking the side exit right out of the cake. Freeze the cake for a few hours until it’s set and an hour before serving, let it hang out in the fridge.
And decorate the cake as you like...just do it with love and make sure it's what's inside that counts.
19 comments:
Absolutely beautiful, and brilliant : )
so nice. great photos. the outside is nice to look at and the inside is inviting :)
Tell me more about the layered cakes with the bees on top- they look marvelous.
Your cakes astound me.
I just used your vanilla cake recipe to make a cake for Valentines Day- 2 layers, filled with semisweet ganache, outside ganache and decorated with chocolate whipped cream. It was the trial cake for my 8-year old's birthday and is just absolutely delicious.
Thank you for a beautifully versatile and always amazing cake recipe.
The Cocoa Crepe Cake is next on my list!
Made the lovely Vanilla cake in mini-loaf pans, added orange zest and topped with an orange glaze, using the juice from the orange. Oh my!
i've got to ask -
i know in Europe it's common to use ounces and so on as baking measurements, but in Canada we use cups. i really want to try some of the things you are making, but i need to know how many cups of flour, sugar, etc, to use! is there any way to figure this out?
Thank you June2, Snooky doodle and Ms. EAT!
Maria and Becky, So glad you like the recipe as much as I do.
Kirsten,
Most, if not all, of the recipes I'll post I've converted to home baking measure, i.e. cups, teaspoons, tablespoons. Since the decor sides are very particular creatures, I've stuck to weight. Professional bakers use weight to insure as closet to perfection as possible. Converting this one would likely lead to disaster!
Pastrywitch, those aren't layers, that's a jaconde decor side. The stripes are my favorite.
oh. my. goodness.
i would love to try this. How much lemon extract?
I made the Lemon Blueberry Layer Cake over Easter and it turned out wonderful, and for me that is an accomplishment since I am not a cook or baker. Hopefully I can try a couple more recipes in the future. Thanks.
Those owls rule!
I love, love, love, the LOVE cake! I'm thinking this might be perfect for an upcoming triple anniversary - me&mine, my parents, his parents. All were May long weekend weddings; different years though :-)
One question - when assembling, the love sides are wrapped around the outside of the pan, and the cake/layers stacked inside. How do the love sides "attach" to the rest of the cake?
Thanks for the inspiration and the step by step directions on how you created such magic!
can you order any of these beautiful looking pastrys online?OMG they look sooo good.Made me hungry looking at them.
Allison I am with you on the question, would love the instruction of putting it together. I definitely want to try this for my Mom's Birthday, such an extra special cake.
I saw this post linked from Cake Wrecks, which nudged me in the direction of your book, which I just finished reading.
You rock. Your passion and love for the beauty that is baking was delightful to read. Thank you for sharing it with the world.
The book's jacket says you're opening a bakery in Austin. If/when you do, I hope you'll come to a meeting of the Capital Confectioners: http://www.capitalconfectioners.com . We're a smallish, friendly group of bakers and cake decorators ranging from hobbyist to pro, and we put on a kick-ass cake show each year: http://thattakesthecake.org/ .
Now I need to go conceive of a good excuse to try this nifty technique but adapt it to my nerdy style...perhaps for my hubby's upcoming birthday cake...muahahahahaaaaaa...
You Truly are an artist. I'll bet they taste amazing, too. Do you still have your bakery in Vermont? Where can I buy your stuff?!
Love your blog and all your wonderful recipes! Thank you so much! Wondered if you think it would be ok to freeze egg-whites to use later for butter-cream frosting?
I just made the lemon,blueberry cake that you made for us on our wedding! Deeee-lish! Thank you for posting the recipe!
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