The hot milk cake is my favourite for summer layer cakes and desserts because it is moist, sweet, light, and fluffy! This sponge cake was a recipe from my mom's recipe box. She made it every summer for her berry trifles, combining it with layers of lightly sweetened whipped cream and pastry cream in a big trifle dish. You can see how this sponge cake soaks up syrup and alcohol in trifles, like in this Christmas trifle. I also use it to make this gorgeous framboisier cake (or the classic strawberry version, the fraisier cake) and these raspberry lamingtons.

In my family, we don't call this a hot milk sponge cake: it's called a "Zilla's cake" on my grandmother's recipe card. We don't know who Zilla is, unfortunately.

Hot Milk Cake Explained

The hot milk cake is a wonderfully light and fluffy sponge cake: when you press on it lightly with your finger, you can hear the sound of the air releasing from inside the tiny bubbles of the cake, like pressing a sponge.

It gets its name from the ingredients used to make this particular type of sponge cake: it's made with milk that was warmed hot enough to melt the butter. It's also made from whipped eggs, giving it a light, fluffy texture.

You could compare this sponge cake to a genoise, but this is much, much easier to throw together: you don't need to carefully fold the flour into airy, whipped eggs and sugar. Yet this cake is more airy and tender than a classic génoise because of the milk in the cake batter and also the leavening agent used.

Ingredients To Make The Easiest Sponge Cake

This cake is a classic British recipe made from simple ingredients that most bakers and households have on hand at all times. This recipe calls for a chemical leavener, baking powder, which gives this sponge cake a more open crumb and a light texture.

As suggested by its name, this cake is made with hot milk (or warm milk) and also melted butter, two ingredients that aren't usually included in most sponge cake recipes. The milk and butter create a tender cake that is even lighter than classic sponge cakes. Some recipes also include oil, which will give a more moist texture and mouthfeel than butter does.

Please see the recipe card for the exact ingredients and quantities.

Steps To Make Hot Milk Cake

I think this is the easiest sponge cake you can make. Like most sponge cakes, the mixing method involves whipping the eggs with the sugar for several minutes to incorporate air and create volume.

The baking powder helps create more volume as the cake bakes, which means you don't have to be so worried about folding in the dry ingredients into the whipped eggs to maintain that air and volume: the baking powder will compensate for any loss of air during the mixing so you always get a light cake, even if you under-whipped the eggs or mix the batter a little too roughly.

Step 1—Start by combining the butter and milk in a microwave-safe bowl or a large measuring cup (image 1) and heat the mixture until the butter melts and the milk is hot (image 2). Meanwhile, whisk together the dry ingredients. I like to sift them to remove any lumps (image 3) and to lighten the mixture.

Step 2—You can either use a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or an electric hand mixer to combine the eggs and sugar (image 4), whipping them together until pale, fluffy and thick (image 5). At this stage, my mom who makes this cake with an electric hand mixer likes to add the dry ingredients and milk alternately, using the hand mixer to mix them in (image 6). I sometimes fold these ingredients in using a spatula (image 7). The cake batter should still be very fluffy!

Tip: The mixture will be pretty thick, and when you lift the whisk, the batter falls off like a ribbon and is relatively stable.

Step 3—Transfer the cake batter to a greased and floured cake pan (either 8-inch or 9-inch springform pans or tall 8-inch or 9-inch cake pans). I like to line the bottom to ensure the cake doesn't stick.

Note: My mom baked this cake in a tube pan. Sometimes she would butter and dust the pan with granulated sugar instead of flour.

My hot milk cakes generally bake into flat layers, so they don't require levelling, making them ideal for layering without extra work!

Baking Tips For Hot Milk Cakes

The hot milk cake is a sponge cake, so there are a few important steps to take to ensure you will be successful:

• Sift the dry ingredients together (flour, baking powder and salt) in order to lighten the dry mixture, to remove clumps, and to help these ingredients mix evenly into the cake batter. You can triple sift to be sure that they are properly mixed, or you can sift into a bowl and then whisk them.
• Use an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer. In order to whisk the eggs and the sugar enough to incorporate more air, I recommend using an electric mixer or a stand mixer. Sure, you can whisk the two ingredients together with a whisk by hand, but it will take longer, and you may not achieve the same volume, nor incorporate as much air.
• Whip the eggs with the sugar for several minutes (even 5 minutes if you are using an electric mixer). You want the mixture to be very light, airy, and thick. The mixture should be stable. When you lift the beater over the mixture, it should fall back like a ribbon that doesn't disappear right away.

Desserts With Sponge Cake

The tiny bubbles and spongy texture of this cake make it ideal for soaking flavourful syrups or liqueurs like sweet sherry. Use it to make:

• Trifle, like this berry trifle in summer or an eggnog trifle in winter, layered with pastry cream and whipped cream.
• Framboisier or fraisier cakes filled with mousseline cream from pastry cream and fresh berries like raspberries or strawberries. Here's a framboisier cake recipe made with sponge cake, vanilla mousseline cream, and topped with marzipan.
• Victoria sponge cake layered with lightly sweetened whipped cream and fresh berries or even strawberry jam.
• Lamingtons, like these raspberry lamingtons, are squares of sponge cake dipped in jam, melted chocolate, or salted caramel, and coated in shredded coconut.

If you tried this recipe for the best easy sponge cake (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

📖 Recipe

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Hot Milk Cake

This hot milk cake recipe is the easiest homemade sponge cake you can make!

Course Dessert

Cuisine British

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes minutes

Total Time 50 minutes minutes

Servings 12

Calories 130kcal

Author Janice Lawandi

Equipment

• OXO balloon whisk
• 5-quart KitchenAid Artisan mixer
• 8-in springform

Ingredients

• 125 grams bleached all-purpose flour
• 5 mL baking powder
• 1.25 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
• 125 mL whole milk (3.25 % fat) skim milk or whole milk will also work here
• 15 grams unsalted butter
• 5 mL pure vanilla extract
• 2 large egg(s)
• 200 grams granulated sugar

Metric - US

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 ºF (175 °C). Butter and flour an 8-inch (20 cm) cake pan with 3-inch (7.5 cm) sides or an 8-inch (20 cm) springform. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.
• Sift the flour with the baking powder and salt into a medium bowl. Set aside.
• In a small saucepan (or in a microwave safe bowl), heat the milk with the butter until the butter is melted on low heat. Add the vanilla and let cool slightly.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the eggs with the sugar until very light and fluffy. The mixture should at least double in volume, if not more.
• Add dry ingredients alternately with wet ones.
• Bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown. A cake tester inserted into the middle should come out clean. The cake will be spongy and light and spring back when gently pressed.
• Let cool slightly before unmoulding onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

• This recipe calls for Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount or the recipe may be too salty!
• If you have the patience, you can beat the eggs and sugar to the ribbon stage. If you don’t have the time, just make sure that they are frothy. I’m not sure that beating them to the ribbon stage is necessary, but sometimes I go the extra mile.
• When adding the wet and the dry alternately, remember to start and end with the dry. Thus: dry, wet, dry, wet, dry. This is one of the golden rules of baking.
• We always butter (or spray with cooking spray) the inside of the pan and coat it with either sugar or flour. Sugar gives a nice crunchy sweet layer on the outside but can cause more sticking than flour. If using sugar, you have to be very careful and get the baked cake out of the pan when it is just cool enough to release from the pan, but not so cool that the sugar has recrystallized, thereby irreversibly gluing the cake to the inside of the pan. Let it cool a maximum of 10 minutes before removing the cake from the pan. Run a knife around the edge to help get the cake out and make sure to line the bottom of the pan with parchment to prevent sticking on the bottom.
• The 35-minute baking time is pretty exact. Normally, my mom and her mom would bake this in a tube pan (like an angel food cake pan). It always takes exactly 35 minutes for the cake to bake. No joke. This time, I chose to deviate from the tradition, and I baked it in a loaf pan. And, once again, it came out perfectly! The only difference was that it baked for 47 minutes. Now, I’ve only baked it once in the loaf pan, so I cannot say for sure that it will take you 47 minutes. So start checking it after 45 minutes, or when you notice the edges coming away from the sides.

Nutrition

Calories: 130kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 56mg | Potassium: 77mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 88IU | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 1mg

The post Hot Milk Cake (Easy Sponge Cake Recipe) appeared first on The Bake School.

Fraisier and framboisier cakes are my favourite type of cake. Growing up, they were the cake we always got from the local French bakery to celebrate any and all occasions, mostly birthdays and baptisms.

Sadly, the local bakery we used to order them from shut down, so here is my version of the classic fraisier made with raspberries, mousseline cream, and layers of my mom's hot milk sponge cake recipe.

The recipe may seem overwhelming with many components, but you can actually make it in an afternoon, so don't panic! This cake is worth the time spent!

Meaning Of The Name

The framboisier cake is the raspberry variation of the fraisier cake, a traditional French layer cake made with strawberries. The fraisier is named after the French word for strawberry, which is "fraise." Similarly, the framboisier is named after the word "framboise," which is the French word for raspberry.

This French dessert is designed to showcase summer's most popular berry because the sides of this layer cake are not frosted, allowing you to see the strawberries that are layered inside.

Framboisier is also the French word for a raspberry bush, as the word fraisier can also refer to a strawberry plant. So, if you look up either of these words, you might get mixed results, some articles about gardening and others about baking!

Components Of Framboisier And Fraisier Cakes

The fraisier is made from two layers of sponge cake (often thin layers of génoise), brushed with a simple syrup, and filled with mousseline cream and fresh strawberries. The framboisier cake, on the other hand, is made with raspberries. Both are topped with either a dusting of powdered sugar or with a thin layer of marzipan.

As you can see, the fraisier and framboisier cakes are the French equivalent of the Victoria sponge cake recipe, which is a British layer cake made from two layers of sponge cake, filled with whipped cream, jam, and fresh berries.

To make a framboisier (or a fraisier), you will need:

• two layers of sponge cake or vanilla cake (traditionally, the recipe would be made with a génoise or even a biscuit joconde)—I like to use a hot milk cake because it's easy!
• soaking syrup that is made from 2 parts water and 1 part granulated sugar, by weight—you can leave the syrup plain or flavour it with a little spiced rum, Chambord, or another sweet fruity liqueur.
• vanilla mousseline cream, which is a French baking term for a filling made from pastry cream lightened with butter—alternatives for it include Italian meringue buttercream or a diplomat cream, which is a pastry cream lightened with whipped cream and stabilized with gelatin
• fresh raspberries if you are making a framboisier (or strawberries if you are making a fraisier)
• marzipan or icing sugar (I like to use German marzipan that is clearly labelled with the quantity of almonds so that you know you are using the good kind)

What You Need To Make Homemade Fraisier

• milk—ideally, use whole milk (3.25 % fat) or 2 % fat milk. Fat-free milk could work, but the texture of the cake may be drier, and the mousseline cream won't be as rich.
• flour—you will need both bleached all-purpose flour (for both the sponge cake and pastry cream) and a little cornstarch (to thicken the pastry cream)
• leavening—you will need baking powder for the sponge cake for the lightest texture. Read about baking soda versus baking powder if you aren't sure of the difference
• salt—I always bake with Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt. If using table salt, add half the amount to avoid the cake being too salty
• eggs—I bake with large eggs. Smaller or larger eggs will affect the texture of this dessert.
• sugar—I made all the components with granulated sugar to avoid adding any unwanted molasses flavour to the cake and filling.
• butter—I bake with unsalted butter, but if using salted butter, you may want to adjust the salt content in the cake
• flavour—I used pure vanilla extract for the sponge cake and the syrup, and vanilla bean paste for the pastry cream (a vanilla bean would also work). I also added a splash of spiced rum to the syrup for extra flavour
• marzipan—preferably a marzipan that is high in almonds
• berries—since I opted for raspberries, I used fresh raspberries for the filling and topping and freeze-dried raspberries to colour the top of the marzipan. Strawberries are the classic option (pair with freeze-dried strawberries for decor).

Please see the recipe card for the exact ingredients and quantities.

Special Baking Tools

The beauty of framboisier and fraisier cakes is that they are "naked cakes" with unfrosted sides that reveal the layering. To create the neatest naked cakes, without any stress, you will need to invest in a few special tools:

• cake ring—I use 6-inch cake rings for the Milk Bar cakes and for framboisier cakes and fraisier cakes, I like to make them in 8-inch cake rings
• acetate—the cake ring is lined with acetate to make unmoulding easy and completely stress-free. The acetate prevents the cake from sticking to the mould and it also creates a perfect, smooth edge.

Using a cake ring and acetate allows you to build a "naked" cake with perfectly smooth, straight edges. It's the same technique that is used for the Milk Bar recipes, like the Milk Bar birthday cake, the blackberry almond cake, and the banana split cake.

How To Make Fraisier Cakes

The beauty of fraisier and framboisier cakes is that the edges of the layer cake are not frosted. The cut berries are lined up all the way around the edge of the cake to feature them, otherwise, the mousseline cream would hide them.

A classic génoise cake works perfectly well here, but I'm a big fan of the hot milk cake, which is what we use for most of our summer cakes and desserts, like berry trifle.

The hot milk cake is lighter than a génoise because it's leavened with both whipped eggs and baking powder. It's also more tender because of the higher sugar content in the cake batter and the milk, which yields a softer cake with a more open crumb.

Step 1—Start by making the hot milk sponge cake by whipping the eggs and sugar until thick and fluffy (image 1), then fold in the flour alternating with the hot milk mixture (image 2). Bake until the cake is golden brown in a tall cake pan (image 3). Once the cake has cooled completely, you can split it into two equal layers (image 4).

Tip: Don't confuse baking soda and baking powder in this recipe. If you are unsure, read this comparison of baking soda versus baking powder.

Step 2—Heat the water and sugar (image 5) in a small saucepan until the sugar has dissolved, then add flavourings (rum and/or vanilla extract) off the heat to flavour the syrup and the cake (image 6).

Note: Layer cakes made from sponge cakes often feature a soaking syrup or a simple syrup made from water and sugar (in a 2:1 ratio, by weight). The liquid is brushed onto each layer of cake, sometimes on both sides, to lock in moisture and to add a little flavour. Of course, you don't have to add alcohol to the syrup.

Step 3—Make the pastry cream by whisking the eggs and sugar (image 7). Then, pour the hot milk over the eggs to temper them (image 8). Cook the mixture on the stove until it boils and thickens. Pass the pastry cream through a sieve to remove any lumps (image 9), then mix in the butter and vanilla (image 10). The pastry cream should be thick and emulsified.

Step 5—Rewhip the pastry cream after it has cooled to room temperature until creamy and smooth (image 11). Meanwhile, whip the butter until creamy and soft (image 13) before adding in the pastry cream slowly (image 13). Whip the mixture until fluffy, smooth, and light (image 14).

Tip: If the pastry cream was chilled in the fridge, let it come to room temperature before attempting to make the mousseline filling. If not, the mixture will end up lumpy and curdled, and you will have to use heat to melt a portion and adjust the texture (see the next section).

Step 6—Assemble the fraisier cake in a cake ring, set on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and with a piece of acetate fitted inside the walls of the ring (image 15). Start with a bottom layer of cake brushed with ⅓ of the syrup, then line up raspberries along the perimeter (image 16). Fill with most of the mousseline cream and more fresh berries (image 17), smoothing any leftover mousseline cream on top to hide the berries inside (image 18).

Step 7—Place the last layer of sponge cake on top, being sure to brush both sides generously with the remaining syrup (image 19). Meanwhile, roll out the marzipan into a 9-inch round (image 20) and place it on top of the last layer of sponge cake. Chill the cake as is for at least 4 hours to set the filling before unmoulding the cake onto a cake plate and removing the acetate.

You can colour some marzipan a pastel pink with food dye, kneading marzipan and working the colour in by hand. I prefer to leave the marzipan uncoloured, and then to sprinkle the top of the cake with freeze-dried raspberry (or strawberry) powder to add a pop of colour. You can use a mini strainer to evenly sprinkle the ground berries on top.

Tip: Many bakeries mix the marzipan with a small amount of gel food colouring to dye it a pale pink or pale green. I prefer to leave the marzipan the way it is, a pale beige. For colour, I like to sprinkle (or grate with a Microplane) some freeze-dried raspberries.

The key to the marzipan layer is to roll it out and cut it to exactly the size of the cake. In fact, you can use the cake ring you build the cake in as a giant cutter for the marzipan layer. Just make sure to do this step before you start building the layer cake!

Tips For Perfect Mousseline Cream Filling

Mousseline cream is a pastry cream that is whipped with a generous amount of butter. Ironically, the extra butter gives this filling a lighter texture than straight pastry cream!

In order to successfully make a mousseline cream, like with other real buttercreams, it's important that the butter and the pastry cream are similar temperatures:

• If the pastry cream is too cold (like if you chilled it in the refrigerator for hours), the softened butter will harden as you whip the two together. This lead to a grainy frosting with tiny chunks of butter.
  • To fix this, you will have to warm the mixing bowl with a hair dryer or a heat gun to warm the filling and whip the mixture a lot (images 22-23).
• If the butter is too warm (and if your kitchen is too warm), the emulsion in the filling will break, and the fat may separate out of the filling, leading to an overly shiny, greasy texture.
  • To fix this, you may have to chill the filling in the refrigerator for 20–30 minutes to cool it down and then whip the mixture a lot.

Either way, the filling needs to be whipped/whisked extensively to emulsify it and achieve a lighter, more airy texture and taste.

Storage

Given this raspberry cake is made with fresh berries and a mousseline cream, it's best to store it in the fridge. If you've cut into the cake, just cover the cut edges with pieces of parchment to prevent them from drying out. Cover the whole thing loosely with aluminum foil. You can store this cake for up to a week in the refrigerator, or freeze slices for later. The berries will break down if you defrost this cake, so it's best stored in the fridge and eaten within a week.

For a detailed explanation, read about how to store cake.

Other Berry Recipes

When it's peak berry season, here are a few other berry baking recipes to try:

If you tried this recipe for the best framboisier cake (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

📖 Recipe

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Framboisier Cake

This framboisier cake is like a fraisier made with raspberries: layers of sponge cake filled with mousseline cream and raspberries. You can top it with powdered sugar or a layer of marzipan.

Course Dessert

Cuisine British

Prep Time 25 minutes minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Servings 10

Calories 553kcal

Author Janice Lawandi

Equipment

• OXO balloon whisk
• 5-quart KitchenAid Artisan mixer
• 8-in springform
• Acetate
• 8-inch cake ring

Ingredients

Vanilla bean pastry cream

• 115 grams unsalted butter room temperature (softened)
• 5 mL vanilla bean paste
• 500 mL whole milk (3.25 % fat) or 2 % fat
• 100 grams granulated sugar divided
• 2 large egg(s)
• 24 grams bleached all-purpose flour
• 16 grams cornstarch
• 1.25 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt

Hot milk sponge cake

• 125 mL whole milk (3.25 % fat) or 2 % fat
• 15 grams unsalted butter
• 5 mL pure vanilla extract
• 125 grams bleached all-purpose flour
• 5 mL baking powder
• 1.25 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
• 2 large egg(s)
• 200 grams granulated sugar

Syrup

• 100 mL water
• 50 grams granulated sugar
• 15 mL spiced or dark rum or a splash of vanilla extract

Mousseline cream

• 1 batch vanilla bean pastry cream (room temperature) recipe above
• 115 grams unsalted butter room temperature (softened)

Framboisier assembly

• 300 grams Fresh raspberries
• 200 grams marzipan rolled out and trimmed into an 8-inch circle
• freeze-dried raspberries optional, either ground or grated on a microplane

Metric - US

Instructions

Pastry cream

• Place a strainer over a large bowl that contains the butter and vanilla bean paste. Set aside.
• Place the milk in a medium saucepan. Stir in half the sugar. Heat over medium–high until the milk is almost boiliing.
• Meanwhile, whip the eggs with the remaining sugar until light in colour and fluffy. Whisk in the flour and cornstarch until smooth.
• When the milk is hot, turn off the stove and, whisking constantly, pour the milk over the egg mixture.
• Pour the mixture back into the saucepan. Heat it on medium—high heat until the mixture comes to a boil, whisking constantly.
• Boil the mixture for 2 minutes until very thick, then immediately take off the heat and pour the custard over the strainer and push it through. Whisk the strained pastry cream to incorporate the butter (which has likely melted) and vanilla at the bottom.
• Cover the pastry cream with plastic wrap and let cool to room temperature.

Hot milk sponge cake

• Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C). Butter and flour an 8-inch (20 cm) cake pan with 3-inch (7.5 cm) sides or an 8-inch (20 cm) springform. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.
• In a small saucepan (or in a microwave safe bowl), heat the milk with the butter until the butter is melted on low heat. Add the vanilla and let cool slightly.
• Sift the flour with the baking powder and salt into a medium bowl. Set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the eggs with the sugar until very light and fluffy. The mixture should at least double in volume, if not more.
• Add dry ingredients alternately with wet ingredients, beginning and ending with the dry. You can fold it in or just whisk it in.
• Transfer the batter to the prepared cake pan and smooth it out. Tap the cake pan on the counter a few times to release any big air bubbles.
• Bake the cake until golden brown. A cake tester inserted into the middle should come out clean. The cake will be spongy and light and spring back when gently pressed. This takes about 35 minutes.
• Let cool slightly before unmoulding onto a wire rack to cool completely. You can cool the cake upside down to flatten the top.

Syrup

• In a small saucepan, combine the water and the sugar. Heat it on medium until the sugar is dissolved.
• Remove from the heat and add the rum (or vanilla). Let cool.

Mousseline

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the butter until creamy and smooth.
• Rewhip the pastry cream to loosen it up, then gradually add it to the stand mixer, whipping constantly.
• Whip the mixture until it is light and fluffy.
• Transfer the mousseline to a large pastry bag and use immediately.

Framboisier assembly

• Prepare an 8-inch cake ring (from Amazon) by placing it on a parchment-lined rimmed (or your cake stand) baking sheet, lining the inside of the ring with a 26 inch long piece of acetate (also on Amazon).
• Using a serrated knife, trim the top of the sponge cake if necessary so that it is flat and levelled. Slice the sponge cake into two equal layers.
• Place the bottom layer on the bottom of the ring and press it gently so that it fits flat.
• Brush the cake with one third of the syrup, roughly 50 mL (a little more than 3 tbsp).
• Slice 13 to 14 raspberries in half and arrange them neatly on top of the bottom layer of cake, pressing them gently against the acetate to set them in place.
• Pipe half the mousseline in the middle and smooth it from edge to edge, gently pushing it against the berries to lock them in place.
• Scatter raspberries over the mousseline (you'll need 50 to 60 berries depending on their size). Press the berries into the cream, gently.
• Pipe the rest of the mousseline over the berries, then smooth it from edge to edge with an offset spatula. The berries should be completely covered.
• Brush the underside of the top cake layer with 50 mL of syrup, then place over the mousseline cream, pressing gently to make sure there are no gaps of air.
• Brush the top of the cake with the rest of the syrup.
• Place the marzipan on top and press it gently to smooth it out.
• Chill the cake in the fridge for at least 4 hours.
• Before serving, remove the cake ring and gently peel off the acetate.
• Let the cake sit at room temperature for 30 minutes so that the mousseline isn't too cold.
• Sprinkle the top with a generous amount of ground freeze-dried raspberries or freeze-dried raspberry powder.

Notes

• This recipe calls for Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount or the recipe may be too salty!
• For the sponge cake:
  • For detailed step-by-step photos and instructions, read about the hot milk cake recipe.
  • If you have the patience, you can beat the eggs and sugar to the ribbon stage. If you don’t have the time, just make sure that they are frothy. I’m not sure that beating them to the ribbon stage is necessary, but this time I did go the extra mile and was pleased with the extra sponginess that it gave the final cake.
  • When adding the wet and the dry alternately, remember to start and end with the dry. Thus: dry, wet, dry, wet, dry. This is one of the golden rules of baking, although I’m not quite sure why.
  • We always butter (or spray with cooking spray) the inside of the pan and coat it with sugar (not flour) because sugar is delicious. Flour works best to prevent sticking so that's what I did in this recipe.
• For the mousseline cream:
  • Look over the pastry cream recipe to review the detailed step-by-step photos and instructions.
  • If the pastry cream or the butter is too cold, the texture will be lumpy. Use a blowdryer to heat the outside of the bowl, melting a portion of the filling. It will look even worse, but then when you whip it, it will come together into a light, fluffy, creamy, smooth mixture. Repeat this process until you achieve the desired texture. It takes some time, but it's worth it!
• You can make this exact recipe, replacing the raspberries with strawberries.
• You can dye the marzipan with a small amount of gel food colouring (traditionally, it is dyed pale pink or pastel green). Instead, I opted to leave the marzipan as is and dust it with ground freeze-dried raspberries for a pretty effect on top.
• Let the cake chill for 4 hours before unmoulding it to solidify the layers. At that point, you can place it on a plate and remove the cake ring. Let the cake sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving for the optimal texture and flavour.
• Store the leftover cake in the fridge, wrapped tightly.

Nutrition

Calories: 553kcal | Carbohydrates: 65g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 126mg | Sodium: 180mg | Potassium: 294mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 48g | Vitamin A: 824IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 139mg | Iron: 2mg

The post Framboisier Cake (Fraisier With Raspberries) appeared first on The Bake School.

Everybody needs an easy chocolate layer cake recipe that you can stir together in minutes. This chocolate cake is made without eggs, and yields three layers of fluffy cake, perfect for making a chocolate birthday cake.

What You Need to Make This Chocolate Layer Cake

To tackle this recipe, you will need two sets of ingredients to make the two components: the eggless chocolate cake and the thick cream cheese frosting. While the list of what you need seems long, you actually don't need anything special, and you likely already have all (or most) of the ingredients in your pantry and fridge!

• For the chocolate cake without eggs:
  • milk, non-dairy beverage (like soy milk), or even water will work in this recipe
  • vinegar, either plain white vinegar or cider vinegar, to react with baking soda to help the cake rise as it bakes
  • all-purpose flour to give the cake structure
  • baking soda to help the cake rise. Do not use baking powder here.
  • cocoa powder, preferably a high quality Dutch-processed cocoa powder like Cacao Barry extra brute cocoa powder, which is my favourite
  • salt, preferably Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
  • sugar, specifically brown sugar, either light or dark, or even granulated sugar
  • neutral-tasting oil like canola oil, vegetable oil, or a very light-tasting olive oil. Don't use extra virgin olive oil which has too much flavour for this cake
  • vanilla extract to enhance the flavour
• For the cream cheese frosting:
  • butter, preferably unsalted butter since the cream cheese in the recipe has enough salt
  • icing sugar, also called powdered sugar
  • cream cheese, preferably full-fat Philadelphia brand cream cheese. Make sure to buy the cream cheese in block format that is firmer than the whipped kind.
  • vanilla extract to enhance the flavour

Please see the recipe card for the exact ingredients and quantities.

Substitutions and Variations

• For the chocolate cake recipe
  • Milk—This eggless chocolate cake recipe is made with milk, so it's vegetarian, not vegan, but you could replace the cow's milk with your favourite non-dairy beverage, like soy milk, almond milk, or oat milk, if you want a vegan chocolate cake.
  • Vinegar—I usually use regular white vinegar but you could also use apple cider vinegar. You need the acidity of the vinegar for the baking soda to react. Do not omit the vinegar or else replace the milk+vinegar with buttermilk (see next bullet point).
  • Buttermilk—You can replace the combination of milk and vinegar with 1 cup (250 mL) of buttermilk. This will allow you to skip the vinegar but still bring that acidity necessary for the leavening agent to react.
  • Sugar—The brown sugar can be replaced with regular granulated sugar or granulated cane sugar. Either will work great! Do not use turbinado or a coarse sugar, which won't dissolve properly and will have a negative impact on taste and texture.
  • Oil—I always bake with canola oil, but you could replace it with a light olive oil or grapeseed oil.
  • Cocoa powder—I bake with a Dutch-processed cocoa powder. This recipe will likely work with natural (non-Dutch-processed) cocoa powder.
• For the frosting—use the best quality cream cheese you can. I prefer Philadelphia brand full-fat cream cheese. If you want to use a different brand of cream cheese, I can't make a suggestion because I've found the texture and taste of Philadelphia brand cream cheese is unmatched. Other brands I have tried had an impact on taste and texture, so I only recommend Philadelphia.

How to Make It

This chocolate cake couldn't be easier to make because it uses the two-bowl mixing method (also called the muffin mixing method). It's the same method as cake mix, actually, where the wet ingredients are added to the bowl with the dry ingredients, and stirred together to combine them.

Step 1—Whisk the wet ingredients together in a large measuring cup, including the sugar (image 1). Sift the dry ingredients in a large bowl (image 2).

Step 2—Pour the wet ingredients over the dry (image 3) and mix the two together to form a smooth chocolate cake batter (image 4). I like to use a Danish dough whisk for this task.

Step 3—Divide the cake batter between three buttered and floured 6-inch cake pans (or dusted with cocoa powder) (image 5). Make sure the cake batter is level in the pans by briefly spinning them on the counter. Band them a couple of times on the counter to release any big bubbles (image 6).

Step 4—Bake the cakes on the middle rack of the oven (image 7), checking them with a cake tester to ensure they are baked through. Set them on a cooling rack to firm up before unmoulding with the help of an offset spatula.

Once the chocolate cake layers have cooled completely, you can prepare the frosting. For the frosting, I use the same technique for thick cream cheese frosting, adding the cream cheese last to the creamed butter and sugar. This way, you use less icing sugar, but can still achieve a thick texture. This frosting is so thick you can use it for decorating and piping.

Step 5—Combine the butter and icing sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (image 10) and whip them together until light and fluffy (image 10).

Step 6—Add blocks of cold cream cheese to the bowl of butter and sugar (image 12) and continue whipping the mixture until smooth and thick (image 13).

Step 7—Level the cake layers using a large serrated knife once completely cool (image 14). This creates a flat surface for more stable stacking. Pipe a quarter of the frosting onto the top of the first layer of cake set on a cake stand (image 15), then smooth it with a mini offset spatula (image 16)

Step 8—repeat the frosting and stacking for all three layers of cake, then smooth the frosting on the exterior to create a thin crumb coat (image 17). Refrigerate until firm before frosting the sides and top with a final layer of frosting (image 18).

Step 9—I like to decorate this cake with chocolate sprinkles so that it is clear from the outside that the cake is chocolate.

Cream Cheese Frosting Alternatives

If you don't like cream cheese frosting, you can replace it with:

• chocolate fudge frosting (made from butter, icing sugar, melted chocolate, cocoa powder, and sour cream)
• Italian meringue buttercream (made from egg whites, soft ball sugar syrup, and butter)
• American buttercream (made from icing sugar, butter, and vanilla)
• peanut butter frosting (made from peanut butter, butter, and icing sugar)
• white chocolate cream cheese frosting (made without icing sugar but still very thick!)

Layer Cake Storage

Given this chocolate birthday cake is made with cream cheese frosting, it's best to store it in the fridge. If you've cut into the cake, just cover the cut edges with pieces of parchment to prevent them from drying out. Place the cake in the fridge until the frosting is firm and cold, then cover the whole thing with aluminum foil. You can store this cake for up to a week, or freeze slices for later.

For a detailed explanation, read about how to store cake.

Serving Suggestions

Serve this chocolate layer cake with ice cream, either vanilla ice cream, dark chocolate ice cream, or cookie ice cream.

If you tried this recipe for the best chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

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Chocolate Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting

This chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting is made from layers of eggless chocolate cake and thick cream cheese frosting for the best chocolate birthday cake.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 35 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour 35 minutes minutes

Servings 12

Calories 503kcal

Author Janice Lawandi

Equipment

• 5-quart KitchenAid Artisan mixer
• OXO balloon whisk
• Mini offset
• Ateco turntable

Ingredients

Eggless chocolate cake

• 185 grams bleached all-purpose flour
• 37 grams Cacao Barry extra brute cocoa powder
• 7.5 mL baking soda
• 1.25 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
• 250 mL skim milk (fat free)
• 200 grams light brown sugar
• 60 mL canola oil
• 15 mL white vinegar
• 5 mL pure vanilla extract

Cream cheese frosting

• 218 grams icing sugar
• 173 grams unsalted butter room temperature
• 500 grams Philadelphia cream cheese (full fat, regular) cold
• 5 mL pure vanilla extract
• chocolate sprinkles optional

Metric - US

Instructions

For the cake:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F (175 °C). Prepare three 6x2-inch (15x5-cm) round cake pans by brushing the bottom and sides of each pan with butter (softened or melted), then line the bottoms with a round of parchment and dust the sides with cocoa powder. Set aside.
• Sift or whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl and set aside.
• Combine the milk, brown sugar, vinegar, canola oil, and vanilla in a separate bowl. Stir, then let it stand for a few minutes so that the sugar dissolves. The milk may curdle and thicken, and that's fine!
• Add the wet ingredients to the sifted dry ingredients and stir until combined.
• Pour the batter in the prepared pans and bake until a cake tester inserted in the centre comes out clean (about 30 minutes but keep an eye on it after 25 minutes).

For the frosting

• The order of these steps is very important! First, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the icing sugar and butter until it is smooth.
• Then, when the butter and sugar are nice and smooth, add in the cream cheese, and beat until you get a creamy, fluffy frosting, for at least 2 to 3 minutes, if not more.

To assemble

• Trim the cakes to level them with a large, serrated bread knife.
• Place the bottom layer on a cake turntable (find it on Amazon) or cake stand, and pipe on about ¼ of the frosting, smoothing it out with an offset spatula. Top with the second layer of cake, frost, and repeat with the third layer. Smooth the last of the frosting on the sides and top of the cake. Decorate with chocolate sprinkles (optional).
• Store in the refrigerator, letting the cake come to room temperature for about an hour before serving.

Notes

• I used Cacao Barry Cocoa Powder - Extra Brute, which is a very dark cocoa powder
• You can also bake this recipe in one 3-inch deep 6-inch cake pan. It will take 60 minutes to bake and make sure to check if the cake is done baking in the middle before taking it out of the oven or else there's a risk that the cake collapses.
• For the chocolate cake recipe
  • Milk—This eggless chocolate cake recipe is made with milk, so it's vegetarian, not vegan, but you could replace the cow's milk with your favourite non-dairy beverage, like soy milk, almond milk, or oat milk, if you want a vegan chocolate cake.
  • Vinegar—I usually use regular white vinegar but you could also use apple cider vinegar. You need the acidity of the vinegar for the baking soda to react. Do not omit the vinegar or else replace the milk+vinegar with buttermilk (see next bullet point).
  • Buttermilk—You can replace the combination of milk and vinegar with 1 cup (250 mL) of buttermilk. This will allow you to skip the vinegar but still bring that acidity necessary for the leavening agent to react.
  • Sugar—The brown sugar can be replaced with regular granulated sugar or granulated cane sugar. Either will work great! Do not use turbinado or a coarse sugar, which won't dissolve properly and will have a negative impact on taste and texture.
  • Oil—I always bake with canola oil, but you could replace it with a light olive oil or grapeseed oil.
  • Cocoa powder—I bake with a Dutch-processed cocoa powder. This recipe will likely work with natural (non-Dutch-processed) cocoa powder.
  • Salt—This recipe calls for Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount or the recipe may be too salty!
• For the frosting—use the best quality cream cheese you can. I prefer Philadelphia brand full-fat cream cheese. If you want to use a different brand of cream cheese, I can't make a suggestion because I've found the texture and taste of Philadelphia brand cream cheese is unmatched. Other brands I have tried had an impact on taste and texture, so I only recommend Philadelphia. 
• Where I live, Philadelphia cream cheese is sold in 250 gram (0.55 lb) blocks.

Nutrition

Calories: 503kcal | Carbohydrates: 58g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 70mg | Sodium: 350mg | Potassium: 298mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 39g | Vitamin A: 905IU | Vitamin C: 32mg | Calcium: 102mg | Iron: 2mg

The post Chocolate Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting (Without Eggs) appeared first on The Bake School.

I love layer cakes, and to me, this is the perfect cake: alternating layers of moist chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting, then topped with a mountain of berries. The cake layers are chocolaty, and the frosting tastes like cheesecake. Together, they are made even better when paired with slightly tart, fresh seasonal berries. I also paired a flavourful cake with cream cheese frosting and a tart element in this moist gingerbread cake recipe topped with white chocolate cream cheese frosting and tart homemade lemon curd. These chocolate cupcakes with raspberry frosting are another example of combining berries and chocolate cake.

What You Need

The chocolate cake recipe is based on this eggless chocolate cake that is so easy and the batter is mixed in one bowl, just like a cake mix. The cake is made with cocoa powder instead of dark chocolate so that it has a more pronounced, deep chocolate flavour.

• Cocoa powder: Make sure you use Dutch-processed cocoa powder, which has a deeper more pronounced flavour and darker colour than natural cocoa powder, which has a flat taste and a red colour. If you aren't sure about the difference, you can read all about the types of chocolate used in baking.
• Oil: Use a neutral, flavourless oil like canola oil. Olive oil would impart more flavour unless you use a light olive oil.
• Vinegar: You need the vinegar to activate the baking soda. You can use regular white vinegar or even apple cider vinegar.
• Milk: I use cow's milk (sometimes skim or low-fat milk, but use up to 3.25 % fat to create a more moist cake). You can also replace this with non-dairy milk, like oat milk or soy milk with great results!
• Salt: I bake with Diamond Crystal Fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount or the cake may be too salty.
• Cream cheese: Use full-fat Philadelphia cream cheese if you can. I prefer the taste and texture of this cheese. Use the block form of cream cheese. Do not use whipped or spreadable cream cheese.
• Butter: Use unsalted butter for the frosting preferably because cream cheese is already bringing a lot of salt to the recipe.
• Berries: Use whatever is in season (or on sale). I love to combine strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries, but you can also try red currants, blackberries, or even gooseberries. You can keep the stems on many of these for a more whimsical look. In the winter months, you can top this cake with chocolate curls or even slices of orange. And if all else fails, you can always sprinkle liberally with sprinkles!

Please see the recipe card for a full list of ingredients and quantities.

How To Make This Berry Cake

This dark chocolate cake starts with an eggless chocolate cake recipe, which is baked in three pans and layered with thick cream cheese frosting and fresh berries. Here's how to make this recipe:

Step 1—Whisk the wet ingredients together in a large measuring cup, including the sugar (image 1). Sift the dry ingredients in a large bowl (image 2).

Step 2—Pour the wet ingredients over the dry (image 3) and mix the two together to form a smooth chocolate cake batter (image 4). I like to use a Danish dough whisk for this task.

Step 3—Divide the cake batter between three buttered and floured 6-inch cake pans (or dusted with cocoa powder) (image 5). Make sure the cake batter is level in the pans by briefly spinning them on the counter. Band them a couple of times on the counter to release any big bubbles (image 6).

Tip: Take the time to prepare the cake pans before baking, by buttering the pans, lining the bottom with parchment, and dusting the sides with flour. This way, your cakes will slide right out of the pan, without any resistance.

Step 4—Bake the cakes on the middle rack of the oven (image 7), checking them with a cake tester to ensure they are baked through. Set them on a cooling rack to firm up before unmoulding with the help of an offset spatula.

Tip: I baked the cake in three 6-inch cake pans so that it was easier to handle. The three layers bake faster separately than one tall cake that you would split into three equal layers after cooling. 

Step 5—Combine the butter and icing sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (image 10) and whip them together until light and fluffy (image 11).

Step 6—Add blocks of cold cream cheese to the bowl of butter and sugar (image 12) and continue whipping the mixture until smooth and thick (image 13).

Tip: It is very important to start by beating together the softened butter with the icing sugar first, before adding in the cream cheese after. Otherwise, you will end up with a soupy mess. This is the secret to making thick cream cheese frosting that's pipeable even though it has less than half the icing sugar of most recipes.

This cream cheese frosting also tastes great on a poppy seed cardamom cake with cranberries.

Step 7—Level the cake layers using a large serrated knife once completely cool (image 14). This creates a flat surface for more stable stacking. Layer each cake with frosting in between, setting the cake on a cake stand and smoothing it with a mini offset spatula (image 15). Smooth a layer of icing on the outside of the cake as well (image 16). Top the cake with a mound of fresh berries (image 17).

Variation—Another option for a thick cream cheese frosting is this white chocolate cream cheese frosting that is sweetened with melted white chocolate instead of icing sugar!

Storage

Given this berry chocolate cake is made with cream cheese frosting, it's best to store it in the fridge. If you've cut into the cake, just cover the cut edges with pieces of parchment to prevent them from drying out. Place the cake in the fridge until the frosting is firm and cold, then cover the whole thing with aluminum foil. You can store this cake for up to a week, or freeze slices for later.

Take the cake out of the fridge at least 30–60 minutes before serving to give time for the frosting to soften. For a detailed explanation, read about how to store cake.

More Chocolate Recipes

If you love chocolate (who doesn't?), here are a few more chocolate dessert recipes to try:

If you tried this recipe for the best berry chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

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Berry Chocolate Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

This berry chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting is made from layers of eggless chocolate cake and topped with berries.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 35 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour 35 minutes minutes

Servings 12

Calories 503kcal

Author Janice Lawandi

Equipment

• 5-quart KitchenAid Artisan mixer
• OXO balloon whisk
• Mini offset
• Ateco turntable

Ingredients

Eggless chocolate cake

• 185 grams bleached all-purpose flour
• 7.5 mL baking soda
• 37 grams Cacao Barry extra brute cocoa powder
• 1.25 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
• 15 mL white vinegar
• 5 mL pure vanilla extract
• 250 mL skim milk (fat free)
• 60 mL canola oil or your favourite neutral oil
• 200 grams light brown sugar

Cream cheese frosting

• 218 grams icing sugar
• 173 grams unsalted butter room temperature
• 500 grams Philadelphia cream cheese (full fat, regular) cold

Toppings (optional)

• 225 grams fresh strawberries
• 225 grams Fresh raspberries
• 225 grams fresh blueberries

Metric - US

Instructions

For the cake:

• Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C). Prepare three 6x2-inch (15x5-cm) round cake pans by brushing the bottom and sides with melted butter and dusting it with cocoa, then lining the bottom with a round of parchment. Set aside.
• Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa into a medium bowl and set it aside.
• Combine the milk, vinegar, and vanilla in a separate bowl. Stir, then let it stand for a few minutes so that the milk curdles and thickens.
• Whisk in the oil and brown sugar.
• Add the wet ingredients to the sifted dry ingredients and stir until combined.
• Pour the batter in the prepared pans and bake until a cake tester inserted in the centre comes out clean (about 30 minutes but keep an eye on it after 25 minutes).

For the frosting

• The order of these steps is very important! First, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the icing sugar and butter until it is smooth.
• Then, when the butter and sugar are nice and smooth, add in the cream cheese, and beat until you get a creamy, fluffy frosting, for at least 2 to 3 minutes, if not more.

To assemble

• Trim the cakes to level them with a large, serrated bread knife.
• Place the bottom layer on a cake turntable (find it on Amazon), and smooth on about ¼ of the frosting. Top with the second layer of cake, frost, and repeat with the third layer. Smooth the last of the frosting on the sides and top of the cake.
• Top the cake with a tall mound of the berries.

Notes

• This recipe calls for Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount or the recipe may be too salty!
• I used Cacao Barry Cocoa Powder - Extra Brute, which is a very dark cocoa powder
• Where I live, Philadelphia cream cheese is sold in 250 grams (0.55 lb) blocks. Do not use whipped or spreadable cream cheese.
• I bake with Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt. Add less or the cake may be too salty.
• Vinegar: You need the vinegar to activate the baking soda. You can use regular white vinegar or even apple cider vinegar. Do not omit the vinegar.
• Milk: I use cow's milk (sometimes skim or low-fat milk, but use up to 3.25 % fat to create a more moist cake). You can also replace this with non-dairy milk, like oat milk or soy milk with great results!
• If it's not berry season, you can top this cake with chocolate curls.
• You can also bake this recipe in one 3-inch deep 6-inch cake pan. It will take 60 minutes to bake and make sure to check if the cake is done baking in the middle before taking it out of the oven or else there's a risk that the cake collapses.

Nutrition

Calories: 503kcal | Carbohydrates: 58g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 70mg | Sodium: 350mg | Potassium: 298mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 39g | Vitamin A: 905IU | Vitamin C: 32mg | Calcium: 102mg | Iron: 2mg

The post Berry Chocolate Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting (Eggless) appeared first on The Bake School.

Getting creative with a basic vanilla cake recipe

Every birthday should be celebrated with a cake, if possible. And while you can't go wrong with the classic vanilla cake with milk chocolate frosting, sometimes it's nice to switch it up. You can take your favourite vanilla cake and get creative with it through some thoughtful baking substitutions and also some careful additions. Here are a few ways to jazz up your favourite vanilla cake recipe:

• use brown sugar instead of granulated sugar, which will give the cake a light butterscotch or caramel flavour: to do so, replace a portion (or even all) of the granulated sugar with light brown sugar or even dark brown sugar (gram for gram, or cup for cup)
• add almond extract, which will give the cake layer a marzipan flavour, while keeping the vanilla extract in the recipe: remember almond extract is potent so a little goes a long way and for a recipe with around 190 grams (1.5 cups) of flour, try adding 5 mL (1 teaspoon) and see how you like it
• add citrus zest, which will give your cake layers a lovely flavour without you having to make any changes to the recipe: add the zest of a lemon or the zest of an orange to your favourite recipe, and you'll be surprised at the amount of flavour it imparts (starting with lemon sugar or orange sugar is the best way to add citrus flavour)
• add warm spices to the dry ingredients, like in the recipe below, with a combination of cinnamon, ginger, and allspice. You can also try adding other spices, like ground cardamom like in this cardamom cranberry layer cake and you won't need to make any adjustments to the other ingredients to do so.
• add ground tea leaves to the dry ingredients, like Earl Grey tea in this Earl Grey cake and you won't need to make any adjustments to the other ingredients to accommodate the tea.

Substitutions and Variations

You can pair this spice layer cake with either a classic thick cream cheese frosting or this white chocolate cream cheese frosting without powdered sugar. I chose the latter for this recipe, but either will work!

Baking a three-layer cake

I baked this 3-layer cake in one single, very tall cake pan (the only 6-inch pan that I owned at the time), and it took a full hour to bake, and in my opinion, could have even used a few minutes extra in the oven. Though you can easily bake a layer cake in one single layer that you will split after it cools, the baking time is so much longer and there is a greater risk that you end up slightly underbaking the cake, which may result in some gumminess at the bottom or even cake collapse. For this reason, I highly recommend that you bake this cake in three separate 6-inch cake pans (not one!) and if you only have one, then I suggest you bake the batter in stages, one-third at a time. The baking will be more even, and it will be much easier for you to judge doneness.

Take the time to prepare the cake pans before baking, by buttering the pans, lining the bottom with parchment, and dusting the sides with flour. This way your cakes will slide right out of the pan, without any resistance. And also take the time to use a few techniques to check if your cake is done baking so you don't have any surprises when you level and stack the cakes later.

Making thick cream cheese with white chocolate instead of icing sugar

Since I am still on a quest for a cream cheese frosting that is thick while using less icing sugar, I tried out a new-to-me recipe from Rose Levy Barenbaum's Cake Bible (Amazon). What is interesting about this recipe is that it is sweetened with white chocolate, and not icing sugar, so there is little to no chance of the cream cheese liquifying on you. I must admit that this recipe is a little challenging for a couple of reasons:

1. If the white chocolate is too hot, or melted too quickly and therefore more liquid than cooled melted white chocolate should be, your frosting may be runny and require some chill time to get back that perfect texture.
2. If your white chocolate is melted and cooled to room temperature, but it hits the mixer paddle or the bowl sides, it may harden up, resulting in a lumpy frosting.

Helpful tip: add the melted white chocolate in stages, being sure to get it right onto the room-temperature cream cheese, and not down the sides of the cold metal mixer bowl because it will splatter/harden. If you lose some to the beater or if you end up with a couple of nuggets of white chocolate, it's okay, people: it's white chocolate! And so, if that happens, let's just call it white chocolate chip cream cheese frosting, okay?

If you are not comfortable working with chocolate and combining melted chocolate with other ingredients, I suggest making this thick cream cheese frosting instead, which is much easier to mix and thickened with powdered sugar

If you are looking for a "regular" cream cheese frosting made with icing sugar and without white chocolate, you can try this formula for thick cream cheese frosting which I used to top these apple cupcakes. It's also the frosting I used on this chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting, so you can see it works great for layer cakes! Both of these frostings would make an excellent topping on these carrot cake bars.

I'm always looking for creative ways to decorate a cake if you aren't a professional cake decorated. I decided to decorate this birthday cake with honey Teddy Grahams. Animal crackers would also work. And the top of the cake is decorated with a stencil of the birthday number made with number cutouts and a generous scattering of graham cracker crumbs. Easy! Another great way would be to decorate the top of the birthday cake with candy and fun treats.

How to store this cake

Given this spice layer cake is made with cream cheese frosting, it's best to store it in the fridge. If you've cut into the cake, just cover the cut edges with pieces of parchment to prevent them from drying out. Place the cake in the fridge until the frosting is firm and cold, then cover the whole thing with aluminum foil. You can store this cake for up to a week, or freeze slices for later.

For a detailed explanation, read about how to store cake.

If you tried this recipe for spiced cake with cream cheese frosting (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

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Spice cake with cream cheese frosting

This spice cake with cream cheese frosting is made with a white chocolate cream cheese frosting and decorated with graham cracker crumbs and Teddy Grahams cookies.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 1 hour hour

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 2 hours hours

Servings 16 slices

Calories 452kcal

Author Janice Lawandi

Equipment

• 6-inch cake pan (2-inch deep)
• 5-quart KitchenAid Artisan mixer
• Mini offset
• Ateco turntable

Ingredients

Spice cake

• 290 grams bleached all-purpose flour
• 7.5 mL baking soda
• 1.25 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
• 5 mL ground cinnamon
• 5 mL ground ginger
• 2.5 mL ground allspice
• 7.5 mL pure vanilla extract
• 250 mL buttermilk (1 % fat)
• 115 grams unsalted butter
• 300 grams light brown sugar
• 3 large egg(s)

White chocolate cream cheese frosting

• 255 grams white chocolate
• 340 grams Philadelphia cream cheese (full fat, regular) room temperature
• 172 grams unsalted butter room temperature
• 22.5 mL fresh lemon juice

Decoration

• 22 Teddy Grahams
• 250 mL graham cracker crumbs

Metric - US

Instructions

Make the spice layer cake

• Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C). Grease and flour three 6x2-inch (15x5-cm) round cake pans. Line the bottom of each with a round of parchment.
• In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and spices.
• Combine the buttermilk and the vanilla in a cup.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and the sugar for several minutes until it is light and fluffy.
• Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well with each addition and scraping down the bowl as needed.
• Add the flour mixture in thirds, alternating with the buttermilk, mixing on low.
• Divide the batter between the 3 pans, and bake the cakes until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. (if you are baking the batter in one tall cake pan, the cake may take as long as an hour or more to bake!)
• Let the cake layers cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then unmold them onto a rack to cool completely.

Make the white chocolate cream cheese frosting

• Melt the white chocolate over a double boiler until it is thick and just melted. Do not overheat the chocolate, it should never feel warm to the touch. Let the melted chocolate stand for a few minutes or until it has thickened up and to make sure it's not too warm to make frosting.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese until it is smooth, then add the white chocolate in thirds, being sure to pour it right onto the cream cheese, and not on the beater or the sides of the bowl as it will harden and clump. Beat in the white chocolate and when it is all incorporated, add in the butter and beat it in, finishing with the lemon juice.

Assemble and decorate the cake

• Trim/level the layers with a serrated knife so that they are flat and fairly even. Place the first layer on a plate, top with a generous ½ cup of frosting, smoothing it with an offset spatula. Top with the 2nd layer of cake, another generous ½ cup of frosting, and then the 3rd layer. Smear the last of the frosting onto the top and sides of the cake so the surface is smooth and completely covered.
• Line up the Teddy Grahams around the base of the cake, pressing them into the frosting to “glue” them. Use the graham cracker crumbs to stencil on the number of the birthday celebrated.

Notes

• This recipe calls for Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount or the recipe may be too salty!
• Makes one 6-inch layer cake
• Calories calculated based on one-twelfth of the cake+frosting

Nutrition

Calories: 452kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Cholesterol: 98mg | Sodium: 280mg | Potassium: 158mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 809IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 102mg | Iron: 1mg

The post Spice Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting appeared first on The Bake School.

I fell in love with sugared cranberries at the end of last year. I'd honestly never eaten them before I made a batch to top that chestnut cake in November (remember that cake? It was so cute!). I thought sugared cranberries were a fad, something cute to put on top of a layer cake. Turns out that yes, they are certainly pretty to look at, but they are also easy to make and a treat to eat.

Ingredients

• sugar—use granulated sugar because it won't impart a taste that may interfere with the delicate flavours of the components of this recipe
• cranberries—use fresh cranberries, especially for the sugared cranberries. You could use frozen cranberries for the cranberry cake filling
• salt—Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
• pure vanilla extract
• flour—use bleached all-purpose flour
• leavening agents—baking powder is used in the cake. Do not confuse it with baking soda. If you aren't sure the difference, read about baking soda vs baking powder.
• poppy seeds are optional, but they give the cake layers a really special look
• butter—use unsalted butter, but if you prefer to bake with salted, cut back on the salt in the cake recipe
• eggs—use large egg(s) that are at room temperature
• milk— use whole milk (3.25 % fat) or milk with at least 2 % fat
• cream cheese—use full-fat cream cheese sold in bars, like Philadelphia cream cheese (full fat, regular). Do not use whipped cream cheese or cream cheese spread.
• white chocolate—make sure to use a good quality white chocolate that has around 30 % cocoa content in it. Do not use candy melts or white chocolate chips
• lemon juice—I prefer fresh lemon juice for its flavour

Please refer to the recipe card for the exact ingredients and quantities.

Substitutions and Variations

• Frosting—I have made this cake with two different frostings: the white chocolate cream cheese as written below and this thick cream cheese frosting, which is much easier to make than the white chocolate cream cheese frosting. Both work great with this recipe, but the flavour is a little different, obviously, because one is sweetened with white chocolate and the other with icing sugar.
• Poppy seed cake—you can omit the poppy seeds if you don't have them or don't want them. They don't add a ton of flavour and are more for looks and texture.
• Almond cake flavour—the cake layers would taste great with pure almond extract added to the batter along with the vanilla. Use carefully: add about 2.5–5 mL (½–1 teaspoon) as it can be quite potent.

How it's Made

Layer cakes take a little more time to make and assemble, so plan accordingly!

• The day before, make the sugared cranberries and the cranberry compote
• The day you want to serve the cake, bake the cake layers in the morning, then finish the sugared cranberries and make the frosting so that you can assemble the cake.

Step 1: Make a simple syrup by combining sugar and water in a small saucepan (image 1) and heat it on the stove until it's clear and the sugar has all dissolved (image 2). Pour the syrup over the cranberries in a bowl, stirring to coat them in syrup. Let them sit in the syrup overnight before draining (image 4).

Step 2: Toss the syrup-coated cranberries in granulated sugar to coat them (image 5), then lay them on a wire rack over a sheet pan (image 6). Let them stand for at least an hour to dry (image 7) before using them.

Step 3: Combine the sugar, cranberries, water, and salt in a small saucepan (image 8) and cook them together on the stove until you get a thick compote (image 9). Add the vanilla off the heat and store the compote in the fridge until you are ready to use it.

Step 4: Combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (image 10). Beat them until light and fluffy (image 11), then add the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla (image 12). Whip the batter until it's fluffy and light (image 13).

Step 5: Whisk the dry ingredients in a separate bowl (image 14), then add them to the batter (image 15), alternating with the milk (image 16). Stir until combined (image 17).

Step 6: Split the cake batter between three prepared 6-inch cake pans using a large disher (image 18), and then smooth the tops with a mini offset spatula (image 19).

Step 7: Once the batter is smoothed and level (image 20), bake until the edges pull away from the sides of the pan and the cake is set (image 21).

Step 8: Chop the white chocolate and place it in a heat-proof bowl (image 22). Melt the chocolate gently over a double boiler until smooth (image 23). Meanwhile, whip the cream cheese until soft and fluffy (image 24), then drizzle the cooled melted white chocolate with the mixer running (image 25).

Step 9: Whip the cream cheese and white chocolate mixture until thick, fluffy, and well mixed (image 26), then slowly incorporate the softened butter and lemon juice (image 27). Beat the frosting until thick and fluffy, like whipped cream (image 28). If you notice any flecks of butter or white chocolate, you can pass the frosting through a fine-mesh sieve to smooth it out (image 29).

Step 10: Level the cake layers using a serrated knife (image 30). Place the first layer on your cake stand, then pipe a dam of white chocolate cream cheese frosting around the perimeter (image 31). Fill with half the cranberry compote, smoothing it out from edge to edge within the dam (image 32). Top with a thin layer of frosting, then repeat the process with the 2nd layer of cake, the frosting, and the last of the compote. Stack the third layer on top and coat the outside of the cake with all the remaining frosting.

Step 11: Decorate with sugared cranberries (image 34) before serving.

Layer Cake Tips

You don't need to be a professional pastry chef to decorate a layer cake. Topping this layer cake with sugared cranberries and vertically dragging a mini offset spatula up the sides of the frosting to create a ridged effect are all you need to jazz up this cake and make it stunning. I am not a professional cake decorator, but THIS, I can handle, and so can you!

Layer Cake FAQs

Other Desserts Make with Cranberries

If layer cakes aren't your thing, you can always make:

• cranberry chestnut cake, a festive loaf cake for the winter months
• cranberry chestnut financiers, which are infinitely faster to bake.
• gingerbread cranberry muffins to snack on
• fancy, but easy make-ahead cranberry eggnog trifle

If you tried this white chocolate cranberry cake recipe (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

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White Chocolate Cranberry Cake

Learn how to make the best white chocolate cranberry cake with layers of poppy seed vanilla cake, cranberry compote, white chocolate cream cheese frosting, and sugared cranberries.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 2 hours hours

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Chill time 4 hours hours

Total Time 6 hours hours 40 minutes minutes

Servings 10 slices

Calories 855kcal

Author Janice Lawandi

Equipment

• 6-inch cake pan (2-inch deep)
• 5-quart KitchenAid Artisan mixer
• Mini offset
• Ateco turntable

Ingredients

For the sugared cranberries

• 250 grams water
• 200 grams granulated sugar
• 150 grams fresh cranberries
• 50 grams granulated sugar more or less, for dusting the cranberries

For the cranberry filling

• 100 grams fresh cranberries
• 50 grams granulated sugar
• 30 grams water
• 1.25 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
• 1.25 mL pure vanilla extract

For the cake

• 250 grams bleached all-purpose flour
• 10 mL baking powder
• 1.25 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
• 10 mL poppy seeds
• 173 grams unsalted butter room temperature
• 250 grams granulated sugar
• 3 large egg(s) room temperature
• 5 mL pure vanilla extract
• 188 mL whole milk (3.25 % fat)

For the frosting

• 340 grams Philadelphia cream cheese (full fat, regular) softened
• 255 grams white chocolate
• 173 grams unsalted butter room temperature
• 23 grams fresh lemon juice

Metric - US

Instructions

To make the sugared cranberries

• Heat together the water and the cup of granulated sugar on medium–low to dissolve the sugar.
• Transfer the syrup to a heat proof bowl and let cool 15 minutes.
• Add the cranberries, cover the bowl, and chill in the fridge for serveral hours or overnight, stirring every so often.
• Toss with half the remaining 50 grams (¼ cup) of sugar to coat all sides. Let dry on a rack set on a sheet pan to set and dry out before using.

To make the cranberry filling

• In a small saucepan, heat the cranberries, sugar, water, and salt on low to dissolve the sugar.
• Increase the heat to medium, and boil to thicken the filling. The filling should be very thick. Transfer the filling to a container, stir in the vanilla, and refrigerate overnight.

To make the cake layers

• Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C). Grease, flour, and line the bottoms of three 6x2-inch (15x5-cm) round cake pans (I like these pans from Wilton available on Amazon) pans. Set aside.
• Whisk together the flour, baking powder, poppy seeds, and salt. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle, cream together the butter and sugar for 3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl as needed. Add the eggs, one at a time, and then the vanilla, beating well between each addition and scraping down the bowl as needed.
• Add the dry ingredients alternately with the wet, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Finish stirring the last bit of flour into the batter by hand.
• Divide the batter between the prepared pans (~330 grams per pan). Tap pans on the counter and smooth the tops with a spatula. Bake the layers for 28 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
• Let cool on a wire rack completely.

To make the white chocolate cream cheese frosting

• Chop the white chocolate and place it in a heat-proof bowl. Melt it over a double boiler until silky smooth, then let it cool before using it.
• Whip the cream cheese in a stand mixer until fluffy and very soft, then with the mixer on low, slowly drizzle the cooled melted white chocolate. Continue beating until light and fluffy.
• Add the butter, a little at a time, and mix until it's all incorporated. Beat for several minutes until you have a thick, fluffy smooth frosting. If you notice any flecks of butter or white chocolate, you can pass the frosting through a strainer to smooth it out.

To assemble the cake

• Remove the parchment paper from the layers. Level the tops of the cakes so they are flat with a serrated knife.
• Fill a piping bag (fitted with a 20 mm round tip or with a large opening) with frosting.
• Place one layer of cake on the cake stand, pipe a rim of frosting, and fill with half the cranberry filling, smoothing with a spatula.
• Pipe frosting over top to completely cover the rim and filling, smoothing with a spatula again.
• Top with a second layer of cake and repeat the rim, filling, and frosting step.
• Top with the third layer of cake. Completely frost the outside of the cake.
• Use your spatula to smooth and add texture to the sides of the cake, and top the cake with sugared cranberries just before serving.

Notes

• This recipe calls for Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount or the recipe may be too salty!
• Layer cakes take time to make. Here's a schedule to help you get organized:
  • The day before: make the sugared cranberries and the cranberry compote
  • The day you want to serve the cake: bake the cake layers in the morning, then finish the sugared cranberries and make the frosting so that you can assemble the cake.
• Frosting—I have made this cake with two different frostings: the white chocolate cream cheese as written below and this thick cream cheese frosting, which is much easier to make than the white chocolate cream cheese frosting. Both work great with this recipe, but the flavour is a little different, obviously, because one is sweetened with white chocolate and the other with icing sugar.
• Poppy seed cake—you can omit the poppy seeds if you don't have them or don't want them. They don't add a ton of flavour and are more for looks and texture.
• Almond cake flavour—the cake layers would taste great with pure almond extract added to the batter along with the vanilla. Use carefully: add about 2.5–5 mL (½–1 teaspoon) as it can be quite potent.
• I split the batter between three 6-inch cake pans. Take the time to prepare the cake pans before baking, by buttering the pans, lining the bottom with parchment, and dusting the sides with flour. This way, your cakes will slide right out of the pan without any tearing.
• Store this cake for three days at room temperature, covered. For a detailed explanation of storing after slicing, read about how to store cake.

Nutrition

Calories: 855kcal | Carbohydrates: 96g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 50g | Saturated Fat: 30g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 166mg | Sodium: 283mg | Potassium: 329mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 73g | Vitamin A: 1447IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 180mg | Iron: 2mg

The post White Chocolate Cranberry Cake appeared first on The Bake School.

This vanilla cake and milk chocolate frosting is a direct consequence of having tried so many vanilla cake recipes to find the best. I was left with three extra layers of yellow butter cake in the end. How could I not take those poor, abused layers of buttery vanilla cake and reward them (and myself) with some milk chocolate frosting? We deserve it after all that "hard" work!

Spending more time with the cake gave me a chance to think more about the large holes in cake and why cakes sink. And I also got to put the best vanilla cake recipe to the test to see if I'd really found a recipe that yields an awesome classic birthday cake. 

Anyways, I also made this cake for celebratory reasons. My obsessing over cake bubbles, cake collapse, and the best baking science books has got my brain working overtime, but in a really good way. Sure, I'm super bummed that something might be wrong in the way I mix a cake batter (ugh! Am I overstirring? Side note: how is it possible that I don't yet know how to mix a cake batter?!), but technique flaws aside, I'm genuinely EXCITED to figure it out and to share what I find with you! I'm so stoked about all this, I'm already planning another 6 or 7 versions of this vanilla cake recipe so that I can finally understand how I can make this recipe even better and less prone to giant air pockets.

I haven't felt this excited in a long time. Sure, I've always loved developing recipes over the years, but my favourite part is the analyzing, the thinking, the tweaking, and the troubleshooting to make the recipes better, and that's what I've been focusing on these days. So, I realize this vanilla cake and milk chocolate frosting are what would be considered as a quintessential, traditional birthday cake, but I'm not celebrating a birthday. I'm celebrating something bigger!

This is one of my all-time favourite cakes, yet somehow, if you scroll through the archives, you'll quickly realize that this blog has never seen this classic combination among all the layer cakes I've made. It's simple, and it's old-fashioned and very nostalgic. As adults, how often do we get to have a slice of a cake like this? It's one of those cakes that would have been served at our birthday parties when we were kids, and at many of the birthday parties we all attended when we were younger. But then we grew up and the yellow cakes with chocolate frosting disappeared, long forgotten. So, I resurrected this combination because we are celebrating and it's probably been more than a decade since I've had a slice of this.

I have more to say about cake bubbles (duh!), but for now, let's just eat cake. This vanilla cake has a fantastic, very buttery taste. Just make sure you don't overmix the batter when you are adding the flour. The milk chocolate frosting is sweet, with a slight tang from the sour cream. When you are making it, add the melted milk chocolate along with the sour cream and beat them into the dry ingredients together. Don't do this stepwise. I've tried and it leads to lumpy frosting, and nobody wants that!

Classic birthday cake: Vanilla cake with milk chocolate frosting

I took the best vanilla cake recipe to make this classic birthday cake, which is 3 layers of vanilla cake with milk chocolate frosting. Remember that to add vanilla flavour to cake batters and cookies, use pure vanilla extract, vanilla bean paste, or imitation vanilla. This isn't a good recipe for vanilla beans.

Here are some of my favourite tools to make layer cake recipes like this one:

• Kitchen-Aid Artisan mixer (Amazon)
• Oxo whisk (Amazon)
• Wilton 6-inch cake pans (Amazon)
• Cooling rack (Amazon)
• Ateco mini offset spatula (Amazon)
• Cake tester (Amazon)
• Ateco turntable (Amazon)

To bake the cake layers, I split the batter between three 6-inch cake pans. Take the time to prepare the cake pans before baking, by buttering the pans, lining the bottom with parchment, and dusting the sides with flour. This way your cakes will slide right out of the pan, without any resistance.

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Vanilla cake and milk chocolate frosting

This is a recipe for the classic birthday cake: vanilla cake with chocolate frosting. The frosting is made with a combination of milk chocolate and cocoa for a deep chocolate flavour with a little tang from some sour cream. The vanilla cake recipe yields buttery vanilla cake layers that are perfect for any frosting.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 28 minutes minutes

Total Time 58 minutes minutes

Servings 12 slices

Calories 445kcal

Author Janice Lawandi

Equipment

• 5-quart KitchenAid Artisan mixer
• Mini offset
• 6-inch cake pan (2-inch deep)
• Ateco turntable

Ingredients

For the cake

• 250 grams cake flour
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1.25 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
• 173 grams unsalted butter room temperature
• 250 grams granulated sugar
• 3 large egg(s) room temperature
• 15 mL pure vanilla extract
• 188 mL whole milk (3.25 % fat)

For the milk chocolate frosting

• 77 grams unsalted butter
• 86 grams milk chocolate (41 % cocoa content)
• 5 mL pure vanilla extract
• 188 grams icing sugar
• 30 grams Cacao Barry extra brute cocoa powder
• 125 mL sour cream (14% fat)

Metric - US

Instructions

To make the cake

• Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C). Grease, flour and line with parchment three 6x2-inch (15x5-cm) round cake pans (Amazon).
• Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and the sugar for 3 minutes until it's creamy.
• Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed. Beat well between each addition. After all the eggs are added, add the vanilla and beat for an additionnal 2 to 3 minutes to lighten it. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
• Drop in one third of the flour, then mix on low, followed by half the milk, again mixing it in on low. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
• Add in half the remaining flour, mixing it into the batter on low, the remaining milk, then turn off the mixer and remove it from the stand. Finish adding the last of the flour with the spatula by hand, being sure not to overmix. Divide the batter between the 3 pans, smooth the surface and bang them on the counter to push out any air pockets. Bake the cakes on the middle rack for about 25 to 30 minutes, until the edges are golden brown and begin to pull away from the pan. Use a cake tester to ensure the centre is baked through.
• Cool 15 minutes, then unmold on a rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting

• Melt the chocolate with the butter on medium power in the microwave. Heat for 1 minute at a time to make sure you don't burn the chocolate. Stir to combine, add the vanilla, and let cool slightly.
• Meanwhile, combine the powdered sugar with the cocoa powder in the mixer. Pour in the melted chocolate mixture and the sour cream, then beat the frosting for several minutes to combine the ingredients and lighten the mixture.

To assemble the cake

• With a serrated knife, level the tops of the cakes. Plop the first levelled cake on the cake stand (or plate), cut-side down, then slather the surface with ½ cup of the frosting just to the edge. Top with a second levelled cake, and slather with another ½ cup of frosting. Top with the 3rd levelled cake, and another ½ cup of frosting. Smooth it nicely. Dirty frost the sides with ¼ cup of the remaining frosting (about half of what's left). Chill 30 minutes, then finish frosting the sides with the last of the frosting.

Notes

• Makes one 6-inch layer cake
• This recipe calls for Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount or the recipe may be too salty!
• For the frosting, I used Alunga milk chocolate from Cacao Barry, which you can buy at IGA stores in Quebec and online from Vanilla Food Company who deliver!
• For the cocoa powder, I like Cacao Barry extra brute cocoa, which you can find on Amazon. Feel free to use any cocoa powder. They all should work here.

Nutrition

Calories: 445kcal

The post Vanilla cake and milk chocolate frosting appeared first on The Bake School.

I turned 33 on the 3rd (of January), but actually, I was saying I was 33 at least a couple of months before the big day. I don't think it happened overnight. I didn't just wake up one morning and feel 33. I think gradually over the last few months, I started to feel "older", and then one day, I just started saying I was 33, and I truly thought it. I felt older. I felt 33. People freak out over turning 30, and I wrote back in 2012 how I expected that turning 30 was going to be a big deal, but it wasn't in the end. I had baked myself the Milk Bar birthday cake to celebrate. Turning 33 wasn't a big thing either for me, but for once, I really felt that extra year. I was basically done with my 32nd year of age somewhere in November, and then I was 33.

I turned 33 on the 3rd, and that's a lot of 3's. I worried before the big day that if 3 happened to be an unlucky number for me, then given the number of threes involved with this particular birthday, it could only mean bad news. But I don't have a lucky or an unlucky number, as far as I know, and I don't know if 3 is lucky or unlucky for me. Can I simply declare 3 as my lucky number and make this 33rd birthday year a great one? Perhaps it's that easy.

I spent the week following my birthday trying to decide what I wanted to make to celebrate all the threes of this year. I thought about all the cakes I'd made and blogged about over the last few years. For my 32nd birthday I made a spice cake with cream cheese frosting  and for my 31st, I made a chocolate amaretti cake, which is not a layer cake but still satisfying for its chocolate and almond flavour, and I celebrated my 30th with the Bar birthday cake. I spent a lot of time thinking, but by mid-week, I still had made nothing. So I went to the bookstore, and I bought 3 cookbooks to inspire me (I'm not kidding: I really did buy three cookbooks last Wednesday), including Matt & Renato's 4th book (Baked Occasions on Amazon). In the end, after buying 3 cookbooks, of course I went back to my bookshelves and pulled Matt & Renato's first (Baked New Frontiers in Baking on Amazon), which got me thinking about making a tea frosting because I love sweet, milk tea. It's my favourite thing.

To celebrate my 33rd birthday a week after the 3rd, I took the best vanilla cake recipe (based on a Ricardo recipe), flavoured with lemon zest and speckled with finely ground Earl Grey tea (Earl Grey tea #1). To bake the cake layers, I split the batter between three 6-inch cake pans. Take the time to prepare the cake pans before baking, by buttering the pans, lining the bottom with parchment, and dusting the sides with flour. This way your cakes will slide right out of the pan, without sticking.

Between the layers, I slathered a milk tea frosting flavoured with instant Earl Grey crystals (Earl Grey tea #2) and based on a recipe for matcha frosting from Matt & Renato, and I decorated the cake with a ring of loose-leaf Earl Grey tea—a mixture that contains pretty blue flowers (Earl Grey tea #3). And thus, my "three Earl Grey teas" cake was born because "Three is a magic number. Yes it is, it's a magic number" (as sung by Shannon Hoon for Schoolhouse Rock!). I guess you could say it's quite like a London Fog cake, London Fog being a tea-based latte where the espresso in the latte is replaced with brewed tea. This Earl Grey cake is my favourite layer cake by far, but if you are more of a traditionalist, there's always vanilla cake with chocolate frosting.

How to store this cake

Given this Earl grey layer cake is made with buttercream frosting, it's best to store it in the fridge. If you've cut into the cake, just cover the cut edges with pieces of parchment to prevent them from drying out. Place the cake in the fridge until the frosting is firm and cold, then cover the whole thing with aluminum foil. You can store this cake for up to a week, or freeze slices for later.

For a detailed explanation, read about how to store cake.

Earl Grey tea layer cake recipe

Here are some of my favourite tools to make layer cake recipes like this one:

• Kitchen-Aid Artisan mixer (Amazon)
• Oxo whisk (Amazon)
• Wilton 6 inch cake pans (Amazon)
• Cooling rack (Amazon)
• Ateco mini offset spatula (Amazon)
• Cake tester (Amazon)
• Ateco turntable (Amazon)

For more layer cake inspiration, check out my other layer cake recipes.

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Earl Grey Tea Layer Cake

This Earl Grey cake is flavoured with tea throughout. The cake layers are made with ground Earl Grey tea and lemon zest, the frosting is infused with instant Earl Grey tea (from freeze-dried Earl Grey tea), and the cake is decorated with Earl Grey tea leaves with pretty blue corn flowers.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 50 minutes minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings 12 slices

Calories 417kcal

Author Janice Lawandi

Equipment

• 6-inch cake pan (2-inch deep)
• 5-quart KitchenAid Artisan mixer
• Mini offset
• Ateco turntable

Ingredients

Earl Grey cake ingredients

• 250 grams bleached all-purpose flour
• 10 mL baking powder
• 1.25 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
• 5 grams finely ground Earl Grey tea leaves
• 173 grams unsalted butter room temperature
• 250 grams granulated sugar
• 15 mL finely grated lemon zest
• 3 large egg(s) room temperature
• 5 mL pure vanilla extract
• 188 mL whole milk (3.25 % fat) room temperature

Earl Grey frosting ingredients

• 150 grams granulated sugar
• 21 grams bleached all-purpose flour
• 7.5 mL instant Earl Grey tea crystals I used Guilin Dynasty brand
• 188 mL whole milk (3.25 % fat)
• 42 mL whipping cream (35 % fat)
• 173 grams unsalted butter room temperature
• loose leaf Earl Grey tea

Metric - US

Instructions

To make the cake layers

• Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C). Butter, flour, and line with parchment three 6-inch cake pans (Wilton on Amazon)
• Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt, then whisk in the Earl Grey.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and the sugar with the lemon zest for several minutes until it is well blended, creamy, and light.
• Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for several minutes between each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl every so often. The mixture should be super light in colour and very fluffy.
• Add the vanilla.
• Add one third of the flour mixture, mix it in on low speed, then half the milk. Continue with half the remaining flour and the last of the milk. Scrape down the bowl sides and then mix in the last of the flour.
• Divide the mixture between the three pans, banging the pans to release any air pockets. Smooth the surfaces of the cakes with an offset spatula and bake them for about 25 to 28 minutes.
• Let the cakes cool 10 minutes before unmolding to cool completely on a wire rack.

To make the frosting

• In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar, flour, and instant tea powder, then whisk in the milk and the cream.
• Heat the mixture on medium-high heat, whisking fairly often, especially when the mixture comes to a boil. I heated this mixture for a total of 11 minutes until it was super thick and gooey.
• Strain through a sieve into the bowl of a mixer, working it through with your whisk, then beat the mixture to cool (this takes a long time) with the paddle attachment.
• When you are sure the sweet tea mixture is completely cooled, add in the butter in dollops, while mixing on low, then when all the butter is added, increase the speed to medium-high and whip the frosting until it is light and fluffy.
• Level the cakes with a serrated knife, then place the first layer on a cake stand. Top with a couple spoonfuls of frosting (~70 grams) and smooth it out. Stack on the second cake layer and another 70 grams of frosting, then top with the final layer and frost the sides and top with the last of the frosting.
• Decorate with a ring of loose-leaf Earl Grey tea before serving.

Notes

• This recipe calls for Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount or the recipe may be too salty!
• Makes one 6-inch layer cake
• Calories calculated based on one-twelfth of the cake+filling+frosting
• For the finely ground Earl Grey tea, I used Twinnings (find it on Amazon)
• For loose-leaf Earl Grey with blue cornflowers, try this one on Amazon

Nutrition

Calories: 417kcal

The post Earl Grey cake appeared first on The Bake School.

What is a banana split?

A banana split is a classic American ice cream dessert where a banana is split in half, lengthwise, then topped with three scoops of ice cream, vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry. The dessert is drizzled with chocolate fudge sauce, strawberry sauce, or even pineapple topping, and then garnished with dollops of whipped cream, maraschino cherries, chopped nuts, and even sprinkles.

Ways to turn it into a layer cake

There are so many ways you can translate a banana split into a layer cake. The goal is to pinpoint the key flavours of the classic dessert in order to incorporate them into a layer cake

Here are a few ideas:

• For the cake layers, you can use vanilla cake, banana cake, chocolate cake, or even strawberry and/or cherry cake.
• For the fillings, you can use:
  • sliced bananas and incorporate them as is, or sauté them in butter and brown sugar to soften them.
  • chocolate fudge sauce or salted caramel sauce
  • fruit fillings, like strawberry jam or pineapple compote
• For the frosting, you can flavour it with vanilla extract or go with bolder flavours, incorporating nut butter or even freeze-dried berries.
• For the toppings, chopped nuts or nut crunch work well, as do Milk Bar milk crumbs or berry milk crumbs, and maraschino cherries, the classic topping for most ice cream sundaes and desserts.

After testing out a few combinations with these components, I felt like the combination that best represented the banana split is a vanilla cake with a cherry-pomegranate soak, sautéed bananas, peanut crunch, chocolate fudge sauce, cherry-strawberry frosting, topped with maraschino cherries.

Most of the components for this layer cake are adapted from either Christina Tosi's first book Milk Bar, available on Amazon, or her third book All About Cake, also available on Amazon. I highly recommend both books.

The layers of cake are cut out from a large vanilla sponge sheet cake. This is the secret to achieving the flawless "naked cake" look with no golden brown edges to be seen. Tosi isn't a fan of the golden edges.

The bottom layer of the cake is actually made from cake scraps, patched together and pressed gently to create the base that you build on.

This method will still leave you with leftover cake. Save the cake scraps and make cake truffles, using the same method as the birthday cake truffles.

Special ingredients you need to bake Milk Bar recipes

• liquid glucose: you may find it at Bulk Barn or your local bulk ingredients store, or restaurant/baking supply stores in your area. If not, you can buy Wilton brand glucose from Amazon.
• cake flour: cake flour has a lower protein content and higher starch content than regular all-purpose, which will help you achieve a fluffier, more tender cake. This type of flour is better at absorbing more liquid. You can find it on Amazon if your grocery store doesn't have it.
• grapeseed oil: grapeseed oil is a flavourless oil. If you don't want to buy grapeseed oil, Tosi recommends using canola oil. If you feel like buying grapeseed oil, you can buy it on Amazon. I use canola oil because it's cheaper, so feel free to swap them!
• pailleté feuilletine from Cacao Barry is what gives the nut crunches that crispy light texture. You can buy it on Amazon, but I used Gavottes crispy crêpe cookies, and they worked perfectly. I got them at the grocery store from the cookie aisle, but you may have to order them from Amazon.
• freeze-dried fruit powders, cherry and strawberry for this recipe—you can buy whole freeze-dried cherries on Amazon and whole freeze-dried strawberries on Amazon, and then grind them down in the food processor into a fine powder.

Special equipment and tools to make Milk Bar layer cake recipes

• stand mixer: Christina Tosi has a very specific way of mixing cake batters and they require a ton of beating. Unfortunately, this means using a hand-held electric mixer is a terrible option for this recipe (as is a wooden spoon for mixing by hand). Your best bet is to use a KitchenAid Artisan 5 quart mixer or their 6 quart professional mixer. If you don't have one and you want to bake more, I highly recommend getting one on Amazon.
• 6-inch cake ring: I actually used the ring of a 6-inch springform pan from Amazon to build my cake, but it was not ideal because of the rim/seam on the springform which made it extra hard to unmold. Buy a cake ring from Amazon if you can.
• acetate: when I made this cake, I didn't know where to buy acetate, so I used acetate sheets from an office supply store. No clue if it's food grade. Don't do that. Buy a roll of acetate from Amazon.
• mini offset spatula: I love my mini offset spatula from Ateco and I use it all the time when I am making cakes. You can buy it on Amazon! Tosi actually uses a spoon that she's bent to assemble cakes. That's another option if you don't mind bending one of your spoons.
• quarter sheet pans with rims: I like these Nordic Ware quarter sheet pans on Amazon, which are like the ones Tosi recommends. I actually bake the sheet cakes in a 10x15 pan from Chicago Metallic. The darker finish of this line of baking pans means you have to watch the baking time because cakes brown faster in darker pans

If you are a fan of Milk Bar's baked goods, here are some other Milk Bar recipes to explore:

How to store this cake

Given this banana split layer cake is made with fruit filling, it's best to store it in the fridge. If you've cut into the cake, just cover the cut edges with pieces of parchment to prevent them from drying out. Place the cake in the fridge until the frosting is firm and cold, then cover the whole thing with aluminum foil. You can store this cake for up to a week, or freeze slices for later.

For a detailed explanation, read about how to store cake.

Notes on this recipe

For this three-layer banana split cake recipe, it's very important to follow the directions, especially when it comes to the mixing times for the cake batter and the frosting.

The cake batter is high in fat and sugar, and you need to beat it for several minutes at specific stages in order for the ingredients to emulsify properly. Otherwise, your cake may be heavy or greasy.

The same goes for the frosting, which contains a higher amount of butter than most American buttercream frostings. Make sure to beat the butter and the sugar for a long time to lighten the mixture, incorporate a ton of air and improve its taste and mouthfeel of it.

For the filling components, you might have a little leftover chocolate fudge sauce, for example. Save it in the fridge to top your next bowl of ice cream! All you have to do is warm it in the microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute to warm it up so that you can use it.

📖 Recipe

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Banana Split Cake

Learn how to make a banana split cake from vanilla sponge cake stacked with chocolate fudge sauce, banana compote, and peanut crunch with this layer cake recipe.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 5 hours hours

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Freeze time 3 hours hours

Total Time 8 hours hours 45 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Calories 1143kcal

Author Janice Lawandi

Equipment

• OXO kitchen scale
• 6-quart KitchenAid Pro mixer
• 10x15 sheet pan
• Food processor
• Acetate
• 6-inch cake ring

Ingredients

Vanilla sponge sheet cake

• 115 grams unsalted butter room temperature
• 250 grams granulated sugar
• 50 grams light brown sugar
• 3 large egg(s)
• 110 grams buttermilk (1 % fat)
• 75 grams canola oil
• 15 mL pure vanilla extract
• 185 grams cake flour
• 5 mL baking powder
• 5 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt

Chocolate fudge sauce

• 60 grams dark chocolate (70 % cocoa content)
• 36 grams Cacao Barry extra brute cocoa powder
• 1.25 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
• 200 grams Wilton glucose
• 50 grams granulated sugar
• 110 grams whipping cream (35 % fat)

Peanut crunch

• 125 grams chopped toasted peanuts
• 40 grams canola oil
• 20 grams light brown sugar
• 2.5 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
• 60 grams feuilletine

Cherry frosting

• 115 grams unsalted butter room temperature
• 95 grams icing sugar for a sweeter frosting, use a little more
• 10 grams freeze-dried cherries more or less depending on how much flavour you want
• 5 grams freeze-dried strawberries more or less depending on how much flavour you want

Banana compote

• 30 grams unsalted butter
• 60 mL light brown sugar
• 4 ripe banana(s) sliced

Soak

• 30 grams cherry pomegranate juice
• 30 grams maraschino cherry syrup strained from a jar of maraschino cherries

Toppings

• 8 maraschino cherries

Metric - US

Instructions

Vanilla sponge sheet cake

• Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C).
• Combine unsalted butter, granulated sugar, and light brown sugar in the bowl of a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment. Cream together on medium-high speed for 2 to 3 minutes.
• Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix in the eggs, one at a time, then increase speed and mix on medium–high again for 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl once more.
• On low speed, stream in buttermilk, oil, and vanilla. Continue mixing for 4 to 6 minutes, until the mixture is practically white, twice the size of your original fluffy butter-and-sugar mixture, and completely homogenous. Be patient and don't rush the process! It takes a long time to force so much liquid into an already fatty mixture that doesn't want to make room for the liquid.
• Stop the mixer and use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
• With the mixture on low speed, add cake flour, baking powder, and kosher salt. Mix for 45 to 60 seconds, just until your batter comes together and any remnants of dry ingredients have been incorporated. BE CAREFUL NOT TO OVERMIX. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl — if you see any lumps of cake flour in there while you're scraping, mix for another 45 seconds.
• Prepare a quarter sheet pan by generously spraying with cooking oil and line with parchment. Lightly spray the parchment as well.
• Using a rubber spatula, transfer the cake batter to the sheet pan, spreading the cake batter in an even layer in the pan. Give the bottom of your sheet pan a tap on the countertop to even out the layer.
• Bake the cake for 30 to 35 minutes. The cake will rise and puff, doubling in size, but will remain buttery and dense. At 30 minutes, gently poke the edge of the cake with your finger: the cake should bounce back slightly and the center should no longer be jiggly. Leave the cake in the oven for an extra 3 to 5 minutes if it doesn’t pass these tests.
• Take the cake out of the oven and cool on a wire cooling rack. The cooled cake can be stored in the fridge, wrapped in plastic wrap, for up to 5 days.

Chocolate fudge sauce

• Combine the chocolate, cocoa powder, and salt in medium bowl.
• Combine the glucose, molasses, sugar, and heavy cream in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and stir intermittently while bringing to a boil over high heat. The moment it boils, pour it into the bowl holding the chocolate. Let sit for 1 full minute.
• Slowly, slowly begin to whisk the mixture. then continue, increasingly the vigour of your whisking every 30 seconds, until the mixture is glossy and silky-smooth. This will take 2 to 4 minutes, depending on your speed and strength. You can use this sauce at this point or store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Peanut crunch

• Purée the chopped roasted peanuts with the oil, brown sugar, and salt in a food processor until it's the consistency of wet sand.
• Transfer to a bowl and stir in the pailleté feuilletine (or crushed Gavottes cookies). Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 5 days or in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Cherry frosting

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and icing sugar for 5 minutes on medium–high until very light and fluffy.
• Grind the freeze-dried cherries and strawberries together in a food processor until you get a fine powder.
• Add the powder to the frosting, and stir on low to combine. Use the frosting immediately.

Banana compote

• In a non-stick fry pan, melt the butter. Add the brown sugar and sliced bananas and stir.
• Bring the mixture up to a simmer, and continue cooking for about 10 minutes, stirring every so often, until the bananas are soft, but still hold their shape. The goal is to form a chunky compote while removing some of the moisture from the bananas.

Soak

• Combine the juice with the maraschino cherry syrup. Stir well to mix them together. Use immediately.

To assemble

• Prepare a 6-inch (15.25 cm) cake ring (from Amazon) by placing it on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet, lining the inside of the ring with a 20-inch (50.8 cm) long piece of acetate (also on Amazon).
• Cut out two 6-inch (15.25 cm) circles of cake, and two half circles. Fit the two half circles of cake at the bottom of the acetate-lined ring, filling any gaps with the leftover cake scraps.
• Brush the cake with half the soak (~30 grams), then smooth on half of banana compote (roughly ⅔ cup).
• Sprinkle one third of the peanut crunch over the compote. Dollop with half of the warmed chocolate fudge sauce frosting, then gently spread into an even layer.
• Gently fit a second strip of acetate between the first acetate strip and the ring to give your mold more height. Then, place the next layer of cake over the chocolate sauce, and repeat the previous step by brushing with soak, smoothing with compote, sprinkling with peanut crunch, then dolloping/smoothing with warm chocolate sauce.
• Place the final layer over top, pressing slightly. Spread with the frosting and sprinkle with the rest of the crunch.
• Freeze for a few hours to set, if not overnight.
• On the day you are serving the cake, pop the frozen cake out of the ring, placing it on a cake stand. Pull off the strips of acetate and let the cake defrost for about 3–6 hours in the fridge before serving.

Notes

• I highly recommend to use a kitchen scale to weigh out ingredients because the conversions for some to volume/cups is approximate, which is not ideal! Please weigh your ingredients! 
• This recipe calls for Diamond Crystal fine Kosher salt. If using regular table salt, add half the amount or the recipe may be too salty!
• If the fudge sauce is too thick to spread, microwave it for 30 seconds to loosen it up. I highly recommend this because otherwise, the fudge sauce will pull up the crunch layer and it will be hard to achieve the distinct layers we are looking for!
• If you can't find pailleté feuilletine, you can replace it with crushed "Gavottes" which are a thin crispy rolled crêpe cookie from France, which we can find in grocery stores in Quebec. This is what I used to make the peanut crunch.
• The banana compote may darken with time from the fruit's exposure to air. This is a natural browning process and nothing to worry about. A splash of lemon juice may help preserve the colour, temporarily. 
• For the dark chocolate, I used Cacao Barry Ocoa 70 % dark chocolate.

Nutrition

Calories: 1143kcal | Carbohydrates: 144g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 60g | Saturated Fat: 25g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 155mg | Sodium: 623mg | Potassium: 643mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 94g | Vitamin A: 1214IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 126mg | Iron: 3mg

The post Banana split cake appeared first on The Bake School.

Black Forest cake originates in the black forest region of Germany, and that's where it gets its name "schwarzwälder kirschtorte." The French call it a gâteau Forêt Noire. Black forest cake is a classic layer cake taught in pastry school and ever popular in Europe. 

Black forest cake components

The cake is made from layers of chocolate génoise. The layers are soaked with a kirsch flavoured simple syrup to moisten the chocolate sponge cake. The filling is lightly sweetened whipped cream, with a few boozy cherries soaked in kirsch (griottes is the French term for these sour cherries soaked in kirsch) dropped between the layers. The outside is coated with more whipped cream, and then darkchocolate shavings.

Making a chocolate génoise

I've been focusing on practicing génoise cakes. The génoise cake is another balloon-whisk recipe that I'm working on getting just right. The eggs and sugar are whisked over a double-boiler to 55°C, then whisked off the heat back to room temperature at which point the mixture is a very creamy light yellow and ribbony. Finally, you carefully but quickly fold in the dry ingredients (in this case flour and cocoa powder, double sifted so that it's extra light and without any lumps). Then you gently work in the melted butter.

If you fold the batter too much, your mixture will deflate and you risk making a rock-hard cake. If you don't fold the mixture enough, you end up with a cake with little flour rocks randomly dispersed throughout. There's a fine line between too mixed, and not mixed enough. Remember, with this sponge cake, the only leavening agent is the eggs. There's no baking powder, nor baking soda here, so the rise of the cake comes from the air incorporated into the batter with a little evaporation from the heat of the oven. This is quite a different recipe than the warm milk sponge, for example, which not only depends on eggs but also baking powder to rise.

I'll leave you with a basic recipe for a black forest cake. You can obviously make it with a chocolate génoise sliced into three even layers (like I did in school), or you can use your favourite chocolate cake for the layers. This eggless chocolate cake would make great layers for this cake..

📖 Recipe

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Black Forest Cake

A recipe for traditional German black forest cake made with layers of chocolate sponge cake, kirsch, whipped cream, and cherries. Feel free to make this cake with fresh raspberries if you prefer

Course Dessert

Cuisine German

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 minute minute

Total Time 11 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Calories 576kcal

Author Janice Lawandi

Ingredients

For the whipped cream

• 625 mL whipping cream (35 % fat)
• 60 mL icing sugar sifted
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the soaking syrup

• 200 grams granulated sugar
• 200 mL water
• 30 mL kirsch

For assembly

• 1 6-inch chocolate cake sliced into three even layers
• 150 grams boozy cherries or maraschino
• 300 grams Chocolate curls

Metric - US

Instructions

For the whipped cream

• In a large bowl with a balloon whisk (or in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment), whip the cream to soft peaks. Add the icing sugar and vanilla, and continue whipping to firm peaks. Set aside in the fridge until you are ready to use it.

For the soaking syrup

• In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar and water. Heat the mixture over medium-high heat until the sugar is completely dissolved and the syrup comes just to the boil. Remove the pan from the heat and set it aside to cool.
• When the syrup has cooled, add the kirsch to flavor it. Set aside.

To assemble the cake

• Place the first layer of cake on a cake board (or a turntable cake stand) and brush generously with the soaking syrup (if working with a génoise cake, brush on enough syrup that when you press on the cake, the syrup comes up).
• Top with a layer of whipped cream and a third of the cherries. Press the cherries in place lightly, then spread another thin layer of whipped cream over top to lock them in place.
• Repeat steps 1 and 2 with the the second layer of cake.
• Top the cake with the third layer, brushing it with syrup and topping it with a thin layer of whipped cream.
• Spread whipped cream on the sides of the cake and smooth the surface.
• Press chocolate shavings all over the sides.
• Top the cake with more chocolate shavings and pipe on a few decorative rosettes with a star tip. Place a cherry in the middle of each rosette.
• Sprinkle the cake with a little cocoa powder and icing sugar before serving.

Notes

For this recipe, you can buy boozy cherries like these on Amazon

Nutrition

Calories: 576kcal

The post Black forest cake appeared first on The Bake School.