Need A Birthday Cake Recipe Recommendation That's Not Too Sweet archived
What about one of those Basque region or Portugese cakes that are egg-based? They are always super custard-y and good, and it might work with the Spanish meal.
I liked this when I made it once--it does have suger in it, but it is not overly sweet. And the sherry-buttercream might go well after a Spanish meal. This was concocted by Melissa Clarke and published in the New York Times about a year ago. She borrowed the sour cream cake base from The Cake Bible (a marvelous book of you like baking cakes). It is light with good crumb so it feels like a birthday cake, but it also has something kind of exotic with the lemon, cinammon, and sherry playing off the almonds.
May 6, 2009
Recipe
Almond Birthday Cake with Sherry-Lemon Butter Cream
FOR THE CAKE:
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (2 sticks plus 2 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature; more for greasing pans
3 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1/2 cup finely ground almonds
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt.
FOR THE BUTTER CREAM:
4 large egg whites
1 cup sugar
Large pinch salt
3/4 pound unsalted butter (3 sticks), at room temperature
3 tablespoons fino (dry) sherry
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon.
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 8-inch by 2-inch-deep round cake pans and line bottoms with parchment or waxed paper. In a bowl, beat together the eggs, 1/4 cup sour cream, vanilla and lemon zest.
2. In bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together the cake flour, ground almonds, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Beat in butter and remaining 3/4 cup sour cream until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly beat in the egg mixture until fully combined.
3. Scrape batter into prepared pans. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center of a cake layer comes out clean. Let cake layers cool in pans on wire racks for 15 minutes, then invert onto racks and peel off paper. Let cool completely on racks.
4. While cakes cool, make frosting: In a heatproof bowl suspended over a pan of simmering water (or use a double boiler), whisk egg whites, sugar and salt until sugar is completely melted (130 to 140 degrees on a candy thermometer), 3 to 4 minutes. Remove egg whites from heat; beat mixture with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until completely cooled and thickened, 5 to 7 minutes.
5. Beat in the butter, a little at a time, until frosting is smooth and fluffy. Beat in the sherry, lemon zest and cinnamon.
6. To frost cake, place 1 layer on a cake plate, rounded side down, trimming if necessary so it lies flat. Spread with a third of the frosting, top with second layer and frost remainder of cake.
Yield: 8 servings.
May 6, 2009
Recipe
Almond Birthday Cake with Sherry-Lemon Butter Cream
FOR THE CAKE:
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (2 sticks plus 2 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature; more for greasing pans
3 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1/2 cup finely ground almonds
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt.
FOR THE BUTTER CREAM:
4 large egg whites
1 cup sugar
Large pinch salt
3/4 pound unsalted butter (3 sticks), at room temperature
3 tablespoons fino (dry) sherry
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon.
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 8-inch by 2-inch-deep round cake pans and line bottoms with parchment or waxed paper. In a bowl, beat together the eggs, 1/4 cup sour cream, vanilla and lemon zest.
2. In bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together the cake flour, ground almonds, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Beat in butter and remaining 3/4 cup sour cream until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly beat in the egg mixture until fully combined.
3. Scrape batter into prepared pans. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center of a cake layer comes out clean. Let cake layers cool in pans on wire racks for 15 minutes, then invert onto racks and peel off paper. Let cool completely on racks.
4. While cakes cool, make frosting: In a heatproof bowl suspended over a pan of simmering water (or use a double boiler), whisk egg whites, sugar and salt until sugar is completely melted (130 to 140 degrees on a candy thermometer), 3 to 4 minutes. Remove egg whites from heat; beat mixture with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until completely cooled and thickened, 5 to 7 minutes.
5. Beat in the butter, a little at a time, until frosting is smooth and fluffy. Beat in the sherry, lemon zest and cinnamon.
6. To frost cake, place 1 layer on a cake plate, rounded side down, trimming if necessary so it lies flat. Spread with a third of the frosting, top with second layer and frost remainder of cake.
Yield: 8 servings.
poppy seed cake! my mom used to make it with two layers - custard in the middle and chocolate drizzled on top. THE BEST!
You could always do a basic vanilla (or almond) cake and frost it with whipped cream and strawberries in the middle and on top. In my opinion, the whipped cream is much more refreshing and less sugary than regular frosting and the cake could look very pretty.
thanks for ideas.
mf,
i actually made that recipe last year - it was very very good - tho all the butter in the cake and the butter cream was a little intense for my taste. i wanted to try something else this year.
algebra,
do you have the recipe?
mf,
i actually made that recipe last year - it was very very good - tho all the butter in the cake and the butter cream was a little intense for my taste. i wanted to try something else this year.
algebra,
do you have the recipe?
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