Delicious Accidents

I was supposed to spend all of March studying for my PMP exam. However, since I had Good Friday off, I spent the morning whipping up this challenge. The cake itself was easy to make, but I am no cake decorator. In fact I am such a failure at it. I’m not sure what it is, lack of tools, lack of patience. Whatever it is, the cake turned out delicious. The consistency was dense yet light. It was almost like a dense angel food cake. Not sure how to describe it. It almost tasted like our white cake from our wedding. The icing itself was perfect. I’ve tried making my own icing before, but it just turned out lumpy regardless of how I followed the recipe. This was light and not too sweet. Brian asked if it was a meringue. It starts out as one, but it’s actually a buttercream. I wasn’t a fan though of the lemon flavoring in the icing. The slight sour taste made me think it was spoiled. Maybe I should substitute the lemon flavor with coconut extract or better yet, some almond extract. We did enjoy the cake on Easter weekend. Each of us having a slice. I ended up throwing the rest away to keep us from devouring the entire thing. What a shame and waste, but it was certainly fun to make it. Hopefully we’ll have some company to share it with the next time I make the cake.

Anyway, here’s the recipe of Dorie’s Perfect Party Cake. I didn’t follow it to the tee. The only thing I didn’t do was layer it with rasberry jam since Brian doesn’t like rasberry. Next time I will try it with fresh strawberries. I did however layer it with shredded coconut. And please don’t hate on my cake decorating skills. I’ve got a ton to master.
For the Cake

2 1/4 cups cake flour (updated 25 March)
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups whole milk or buttermilk (I prefer buttermilk with the lemon)
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

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.