Cakes

Lemon Blueberry Layer Cake

Yield: serves 10-12

Sunshine-sweet lemon layer cake dotted with juicy blueberries and topped with lush cream cheese frosting. Take a bite and taste the bursts of bright flavors!

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours, includes cooling

Ingredients:

Cake

• 1 cup (230g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 and 1/4 cups (250g) granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup (100g) packed light brown sugar
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature¹
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups (375g) all-purpose flour
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (240ml) buttermilk³
• zest + juice of 3 medium lemons⁴
• 1 and 1/2 cups blueberries, fresh (258g) or non-thawed frozen (275g)
  
• 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
  

  Cream Cheese Frosting

• 8 ounces (224g) full-fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature⁵
• 1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 3 and 1/2 cups (420g) confectioners' sugar
• 1 - 2 Tablespoons (15-30ml) heavy cream⁶
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinch salt

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray three 9x2 inch cake pans with nonstick spray. Set aside.
2. Make the cake: Using a handheld or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high until creamy - about 1 minute. Add granulated and brown sugars and beat on medium-high speed until creamed, about 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until everything is combined, about 2 full minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Set aside.
3. In a large sized bowl, toss together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Beat on low speed for 5 seconds, then add the milk, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Remove from the mixer and stir lightly until everything is just combined. Toss the blueberries in 1 Tablespoon of flour and fold into the batter. Batter is extremely thick. Do not overmix at any point. Overmixing will lend a tough, dense textured crumb.
4. Spoon batter evenly into 3 prepared cake pans. If only using 2 cake pans, your bake time will be longer. Bake the three layers for about 21-26 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Mine took 21 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before frosting.
5. Make the frosting: Using a handheld or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and butter together on medium speed until no lumps remain, about 3 full minutes. Add confectioners' sugar, 1 Tablespoon cream, vanilla extract, and salt with the mixer running on low. Increase to high speed and beat for 3 minutes. Add 1 more Tablespoon of cream to thin out, if desired.

6. Assemble and frost: First, using a large serrated knife, trim the tops off the cake layers to create a flat surface. Place 1 layer on your cake stand. Evenly cover the top with cream cheese frosting. Top with 2nd layer, more frosting, then the third layer. Top with frosting and spread around the sides. The recipe doesn't make a ton of frosting, just enough for a light frost. Top with blueberries or lemon garnish if desired. Refrigerate for at least 45 minutes before cutting or else the cake may fall apart as you cut.
7. Make ahead tip: Prepare cakes and frosting 1 day in advance. Keep cakes at room temperature, covered tightly. Refrigerate prepared frosting in an airtight container until ready to use. Frosted or unfrosted cakes may be frozen up to 2 months, thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature if desired before serving.

Additional Notes:

This batter will fit into a 9×13 pan. Fill 2/3 full. If there’s extra batter, you can make a few cupcakes. I’m unsure of the baking time since I only typically make it as a layer cake.

1. Room temperature eggs preferred for even distribution among batter. Simply set into a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes before using or set out when you set out your cream cheese/butter for the recipe.
2. Be very careful not to overmeasure your flour. This will result in a heavy, dense crumb. You want a precise 375g. For a lighter crumb, you can use 3 + 1/4 cups sifted cake flour instead.
3. Please use buttermilk in this recipe. See note in post about how to make a DIY version at home.
4. 1 medium-size lemon = approximately 1 tablespoon of lemon zest = 2 to 3 tablespoons of lemon juice.
5. Use brick-style cream cheese. Not cream cheese spread.
6. Heavy cream with 30% or more milk fat preferred in frosting for creamiest texture. For a less creamy texture, milk would be fine.

http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2014/02/09/lemon-blueberry-layer-cake/

Spumoni Cake

Print

Ingredients

For the Cherry Cake:

• 6 oz (1 cup) marschino cherries
• 10½ oz (1½ cups) granulated sugar
• 10½ oz (3 cups) sifted cake flour (measured after sifting)
• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp baking powder
• ¾ tsp salt
• 6 egg yolks
• 1 cup milk
• 1½ tsp cherry extract (or more to taste)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 6 oz unsalted butter, at room temperature
• Pink food coloring 

For the Buttercream:

• 12 egg whites
• 18⅔ oz (2⅔ cups) granulated sugar
• 1 lb 5 oz unsalted butter, soft but still cool
• 1½ tbsp vanilla paste or 2 tbsp vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp salt
• 4.75 oz (1 cup) shelled pistachios
• Green and yellow food coloring
• Pink food coloring

Instructions

To Make the Cherry Cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. If you have a 9-inch pan with 3-inch high sides, line it with parchment and spray the pan with nonstick cooking spray. Otherwise, line three shorter 9-inch cake pans with parchment and spray them with nonstick spray.
2. Finely chop the maraschino cherries. Pat them dry between layers of paper towel, getting them as dry as possible so that they won't sink to the bottom of the cake batter. Set aside.
3. Combine the sugar, cake flour, baking powder, and salt in the bowl of the stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on low speed for about a minute to combine the dry ingredients.
4. Lightly whisk together the egg yolks and about ¼ cup of the milk (it doesn’t have to be a precise measurement) and the cherry and vanilla extracts, and set aside for now.
5. Add the remaining milk and the softened butter to the large mixing bowl and mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened. Turn the mixer to medium speed and mix for a minute and a half.
6. Add the egg yolk mixture in three batches, mixing for 20-30 seconds after each addition, until you have a smooth batter. Add a few drops of pink food coloring, scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, and give the batter a few more stirs to make sure everything is incorporated and the coloring is even. Taste the batter and add more cherry flavoring if desired.
7. Pour the batter into the 9x3-inch pan, or divide it between the 3 shorter 9-inch pans. Scatter the chopped cherries on top and swirl them into the batter.
8. If you are baking a single cake in the 9x3 pan, bake it for about 50 minutes, until the sides just start pulling away from the pan, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. If you are baking three cake layers, they will take more like 25 minutes to bake. Let them cool completely before proceeding. The cake can be made in advance and kept, well-wrapped, in the refrigerator for several days or in the freezer for several weeks. If frozen, thaw partially before assembling.

To Make the Buttercream:

1. Combine the egg whites and the granulated sugar in the bowl of a large stand mixer, and whisk them together. Choose a small saucepan that lets you fit the base of the stand mixer snugly into the top of the saucepan—this is your makeshift hot water bath. (Alternately, you can use a different bowl or an actual bain marie and then transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl once it’s heated.) Add an inch of water to the bottom of the saucepan, and bring the water to a simmer.
2. Place the mixing bowl on top of the saucepan, making sure that the bottom isn’t in contact with the water, and heat the egg white mixture. Whisk frequently so that the egg whites don’t cook. Continue to heat the whites until they are hot to the touch, and when you rub a bit between your fingers, you don’t feel any grittiness from the sugar. Once the whites are hot, transfer the mixing bowl to your mixer and fit it with a whisk attachment.
3. Beat the whites on medium-high speed until they are a shiny, stiff, voluminous meringue, and are no longer warm to the touch—feel the outside of the bowl, and make sure that it is around room temperature. Depending on your mixer and the temperature of your environment, this may take 15-20 minutes, or more. Reduce the speed to medium-low and add the softened but cool butter in small chunks, a tablespoon at a time, making sure to wait in between additions. It may separate or look a little gloopy at this point—fear not. Once all of the butter is added, increase the speed again and whip until it comes together and is light and fluffy. If, after 5 minutes, it hasn’t come together, refrigerate the mixing bowl for 5-7 minutes, to cool the mixture down, and whip it again until it has thickened and is smooth and silky. Add the vanilla extract and salt.
4. The buttercream can be made in advance and kept at room temperature if you’re going to use it the same day, or refrigerated. If it has been chilled, let it sit at room temperature until completely soft, then re-whip it to get the smooth texture back before you use it.
5. To make the pistachio buttercream, process the pistachios in a food processor until they turn into pistachio butter, scraping down the sides periodically. This may take 5 minutes or more. If the butter is warm, let it cool to room temperature before proceeding.
6. Place about 1½ cups of buttercream into a bowl, and add the pistachio butter. Stir it in until well-mixed. Add a drop or two of green gel food coloring, and a bit of yellow, to make a nice pistachio color.

To Assemble:

1. Set the cake on a cardboard cake round, and place it on a cake turntable. Use a sharp serrated knife to slice it into three even rounds. (If you baked the cake in 3 cake pans, then you can skip this step.) Fit a piping bag with a large round tip, and fill it with vanilla buttercream. Pipe a circle of buttercream around the outer edge of the cake layer.
2. Scoop half of the pistachio buttercream into the center of the cake and spread it into an even layer out to the edge of the buttercream round. Scoop some vanilla buttercream on top and spread it evenly to the edge. Place a second cake round on top, and repeat with the buttercream ring, pistachio layer, and vanilla layer. Finish by placing the third cake round on top. Spread a thin layer of buttercream on the sides and top of the cake, to seal in the crumbs, and refrigerate the cake for an hour.
3. While you wait for the cake to chill, divide the remaining buttercream into three portions. Keep one portion white, add pink coloring to a second portion, and add green and a bit of yellow coloring to the last portion, to make a pistachio color.
4. Fill three piping bags fitted with round attachments with the white, pink, and green colors. (Alternately, you can use large plastic bags with holes cut in the corners.) Pipe stripes around the side of cake, alternating colors as you move from the bottom to the top. You can make thin strips, like I did, or just do three stripes total. Pipe a bulls-eye design on top of the cake. I recommend making the outer edge of the top and the top of the sides of the cake the same color, for easier blending.
5. Angle the side of a metal offset spatula against the side of the cake, and turn the cake on the cake turntable. As the spatula smooths out the frosting, it will blend together and create a watercolor effect. You can take several passes around the side, but don’t try to go around too many times or the stripes will start to blur together. Do the same thing with the top of the cake. If you make a mistake, you can pipe on more frosting and try to gently blend it in. Use a smaller offset spatula to clean up the top edges and blend them together.
6. For the best taste and texture, enjoy this cake at room temperature.

Notes

Note that different cherry extracts can have drastically different strengths. If you're using a cherry flavoring oil or candy flavor, start with just ½ tsp and taste the batter before you add more. If you're using a more traditional cherry extract, you may find that you need more than the amount called for in the recipe to get a good flavor—it's all about figuring out your ingredients and going by your taste buds!

ORANGE DREAMSICLE CAKE
Ingredients:
1 Pkg Yellow Cake Mix
2 Pks Orange JELL-O (use sugar free)
1 Pk Vanilla Instant Pudding (use sugar free)
  1 Cup 2% Milk
2 Tsp Vanilla
1 Tub Cool Whip
*you can substitute other flavor jello's for variations like lime, strawberry, pineapple, cherry..
Directions:
Bake the cake as directed in a 9x13" pan. Let cake cool completely. Poke holes in cooled cake. Mix 1 package orange gelatin dessert with 1 c. boiling water and 1 c. cold water. Pour over cake. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours. Mix pudding mix with cold milk the other package of orange gelatin dessert and vanilla. Beat by hand with a whisk until thickened. Fold in the whipped topping. Frost the cake with the pudding mixture. These instructions will make a single layered amazing cake that is delicious!
PLEASE NOTE: To get the layered look as in this particular picture - make your cakes in well greased and floured pans - follow baking instructions. I then tip then out onto cooling rack and invert back onto a cookie sheet. Proceed to poke holes and do the jello thing and refrigerate