Sugar High Friday: Almond Cake with Raspberry Filling and Brown Butter Frosting

The August edition of Sugar High Friday was hosted by Elissa at 17 and Baking.

The theme for this month is Brown Butter.  I was very excited.  I've made this brown butter frosting several times now, and it's one of my favorites.  It's not as time consuming or potentially tricky as a buttercream, but way tastier than a traditional powdered sugar based frosting.  And it's a great conistency for piping decorations.  And the brown butter, with its slightly nutty taste, pairs very well with the almond cake.

I'll be hosting the October edition of Sugar High Friday's, so check back on October 1 to see what the theme is, and please consider submitting an entry.

Berries & Cream Cake

This would have made a great cake for the 4th of July.  But berries are still in season, and it'll taste just as good on the 4th of September, or the 21st of August; well, you get the idea.  As far as layer cakes go, this is on the lower end of the difficulty level - the filling and frosting are the same, and you can whip the cream in just a few minutes.  The white cream is a great backdrop for all sorts of berry decorations, so have fun!

Berries & Cream Cake

Yellow Cake with Raspberry Buttercream Filling and Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

My niece Kate turned 4 not so long ago.  This year, she had a family party and a kid party.  Clearly two birthday cakes were required.  The children’s party had a butterfly theme, and hence a butterfly cake.  And it had to be chocolate.  But more about that later.

For the family cake, we went with flowers.  Chocolate frosting was still an absolute necessity, but Kate decided to try something different for the cake itself.  We went with yellow cake, raspberry buttercream filling. chocolate buttercream frosting, and yummy vanilla flavored frosting roses.  Don’t worry, the buttercream can be made in one batch, then split up and flavored with raspberry and chocolate.  The roses can also be made a couple of days ahead of time. The raspberry and chocolate buttercreams are light and creamy and go together extremely well.  The yellow cake is very moist.

I was so worried about keeping the buttercream from melting during the 3 hour drive to New York City, that I totally forgot what a roller coaster the Taconic highway with its potholes and bumpy ridged roads can be.  Luckily, I had the cake in a bakery box, packed tightly into a soft cooler bag, placed snugly into a larger cooler, wedged between a suitcase and other assorted packages in the trunk of my car.  I was thrilled to arrive on the upper west side, cake unscathed.  Phew!

And most importantly, the birthday girl loved her cake!

Almond Cake with Chocolate Raspberry Filling & Chocolate Frosting

Do you own 6" cake pans yet?  I love mine!  If you like to bake, and don't want to gain 5 pounds, you should definitely invest in some 6" pans.  You can usually just half the recipe for a 9" cake, and make it as a 6" instead - no complicated math required! If you're intimidated by the thought of putting together a big layer cake, a 6" is also a little less scary. The smaller layers are less likely to break while you're assembling the cake, and frosting the 6" is just a little bit easier than a bigger, unwieldy cake.

I didn't get to eat any of this cake unfortunately (it was for a Zucchero Dolce order), so I don't have any shots of the inside.  I'll just have to make it again soon so I can get you some more pictures... yeah, that's the reason I need to make it again soon. Really it is...

Almond Cake (adapted from Rose Levy Beranbaum)

This recipe makes a 2-layer 6" cake.  Double the recipe to make a 3-layer 9" cake, a 3-layer 8" cake, or a 2-layer 9" cake if your pans are a full 2" tall.

2 eggs
2/3 cups sour cream, separated
1 teaspoons almond extract
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 2/3 cups cake flour, sifted
1/3 cup finely ground almonds, toasted and preferably unblanched
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons butter (6 ounces), room temperature

Preheat oven to 350F.  Spray 2 6" round cake pans with baking spray, line with parchment paper, and spray again (you can probably skip the parchment if you spray well).

In a medium bowl, stir together the eggs, about 1/4 (that's a little under 3 tablespoons) of the sour cream, and the extracts.  Set aside. Don't worry, it won't be smooth or pretty.


In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine all the dry ingredients - mix for 30 seconds.  Add the butter and the remaining 1 cup of sour cream, and mix on low until combined.  Mix on medium for 2 minutes to aerate batter.  If you don't have a beater blade, scrape down the sides of the bowl frequently with a rubber spatula.  Add the egg and sour cream mixture in 3 additions, beating 20 seconds after each addition.

Split the batter between the cake pans, and smooth with a rubber spatula.  Bake for 20-30 minutes until a toothpick just comes out clean.  (that's a big time window, but cooking time can vary drastically with different ovens, so it's best to keep an eye on it).


Let the cakes cook in their pans for about 10 minutes, then turn on to cooling rack.  Cool completely, then wrap in plastic wrap and chill until ready to frost.

Chocolate Raspberry Ganache Filling

3 ounces semisweet chocolate
3 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup raspberry puree*

To make the puree, I find it easiest to use frozen raspberries.  Thaw (or microwave) the frozen berries, and puree in the blender or food processor.  You'll need about 2 cups of berries to get 1/3 cup puree.

Melt together the chocolate and butter in a double boiler or in a microwave (short 30 second spurts, stir in between or you're likely to burn the chocolate).  Stir in the raspberry puree, and use to fill the cake.  If you make this ahead of time, you may need to microwave it very briefly to bring it back to spreadable consistency.

Chocolate Frosting (adapted from Chocolate Chocolate)

 

4 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter 

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled to tepid 

2 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled to tepid 

Large pinch of salt 

1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract 

3-4 cups powdered sugar, sifted 

3 fluid ounces (3/8 cup) milk, heated to tepid

Beat butter on medium speed for 1-2 minutes.

Blend in the melted chocolate, salt, vanilla, and 1 cup powdered sugar.

  

Add in the rest of the powdered sugar in three additions, alternating with the milk in two additions (begin and end with the powdered sugar). Add more powdered sugar for heavier (this may be necessary if you want to pipe your frosting) frosting, or more milk for a creamier frosting.  Use the frosting immediately.  If it starts to harden before you're ready to frost, re-whip, adding a small amount of milk if necessary to restore the creamy consistency.

 

Assembly

About 1 cup ground almonds (I like salted)

2-3 tablespoons toasted slivered almonds (toast at 300F for 5-8 minutes)

Raspberries, lightly coated with sugar

Be sure the cake is completely cool before frosting. I always chill my cakes to be safe, you don't want cake layers melting frosting and sliding every which way!).  

Place one cake layer on a serving plate or a cake board, and spread the chocolate raspberry ganache on top, leaving roughly a 1/4" border on the outer edges (the weight of the second layer will make the ganache spread to the edge).  Top with the second cake layer, and chill if you have time (not long, even a half hour would be good if your kitchen is warm; you can assemble the whole thing at once if it's not too hot out).  Cover the entire cake with chocolate frosting.  

Cover the sides of the cake with the ground almonds while the frosting is still smooth and creamy (if you wait too long, the frosting will begin to harden and the nuts won't adhere to the cake).  To cover with nuts, just scoop some nuts up in your hand and gently press in to the cake.  Many many nuts will fall down on to the platter. Just keep scooping them back up and pressing on to the cake until it's covered.  Work quickly, so the frosting doesn't harden.

Pipe chocolate frosting around the edge of the cake if desired.  Scatter the toasted slivered almonds on top, and to with raspberries.  Serve at room temperature.  Enjoy! 

Birthday Cake 2010: Almond, Chocolate, Praline & Brown Butter

Wow, it's been over 3 weeks since my birthday, and I'm just getting you the recipe now. It's been a crazy two months - lots of orders, exams to grade, finals to write. But Friday was my last class until February, so I should be here a lot more often in the coming months. I have been baking this whole time, and I have all sorts of things just waiting to post!

For the past four years, I've made a peanut butter cake with chocolate ganache and cream cheese frosting for my birthday, but I decided to change it up this year.  This year, I made a raspberry ice cream cake (coming soon) and an almond cake with chocolate praline ganache filling and brown butter moscato d'asti frosting.  It went over really well. I couldn't taste the wine in the frosting as much as I would have liked, so I'll try to remedy that next time, but otherwise I think I'll leave it as is for next time.

Almond Cake (adapted from Rose Levy Beranbaum):  makes 3 9" layers


4 eggs
1 1/3 cups sour cream, separated
2 teaspoons almond extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 1/3 cups cake flour, sifted
2/3 cups finely ground almonds, toasted and preferably unblanched
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 sticks butter (12 ounces), room temperature

Preheat oven to 350F.  Spray 3 9" round cake pans with baking spray, line with parchment paper, and spray again.

In a medium bowl, stir together the eggs, 1/3 cup of the sour cream, and the extracts.  Set aside. Don't worry, it won't be smooth or pretty.


In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine all the dry ingredients - mix for 30 seconds.  Add the butter and the remaining 1 cup of sour cream, and mix on low until combined.  Mix on medium for 2 minutes to aerate batter.  Add the egg and sour cream mixture in 3 additions, beating 20 seconds after each addition.

Split the batter between the cake pans, and smooth with a rubber spatula.  Bake for 30-40 minutes until a toothpick just comes out clean.  


Let the cakes cook in their pans for about 10 minutes, then turn on to cooling rack.  Cool completely, then wrap in plastic wrap and chill until ready to frost.

Chocolate Praline Ganache Filling

6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup praline

Place the chocolate in a bowl; it doesn't have to be chopped finely, but you don't want any pieces that are much bigger than a blueberry.  Bring the cream to a boil, and pour over the chocolate. Stir in the praline if desired, and chill.

The ganache should be fairly thick before you spread it on the cake, you don't want it to squish out the sides when you place the cake layers over it. A couple of hours in the fridge should be sufficient.  If it's too thick to spread when you remove from the fridge, just microwave on half power for 10 seconds or so and stir.

Brown Butter & Moscato d'Asti Frosting (enough to frost and decorate (but not fill) a 9" 3-layer cake)


3 sticks butter, browned
1 1/2 pounds powdered sugar
6-8 tablespoons heavy cream
6-8 tablespoons Frangelico (or water or your choice of liqueur)
Pinch of Kosher salt (optional)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Brown the butter, pour through a fine meshed sieve into a heatproof bowl, and set aside to cool.  Wait for it to cool completely.

Pour the cooled brown butter into mixer bowl (paddle attachment).  Add about 1/3 of the powdered sugar, and beat.  Add the caramel syrup, and continue beating. Add half the remaining powdered sugar, and beat. Add the 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) of heavy cream, and beat until smooth.  Add more cream if you'd like the frosting to be softer, and more powdered sugar if you'd like it to be stiffer. Add salt if desired.

Dye the frosting if desired.  Refrigerate until ready to use.  Re-whip the frosting right before use. If it's been in the refrigerator long (say over night), you might need to let it sit for an hour or two before it's ready to whip and frost).

Assembly


Place one cake layer on a cake board, and slide scraps of parchment paper between the cake and the board.  Top with half the chocolate ganache.  Top with another cake layer and the remaining ganache.  Chill before frosting if the ganache is not thick enough to set yet.

Frost the top and sides of the cake.  When you've covered the whole cake, run your offset spatula under hot water for 30 seconds, and quickly dry it.  Run the spatula around the top and sides of the cake to smooth out the frosting (hold the spatula still very lightly against the cake at an angle, and rotate the cake on a revolving cake stand if you have one).  Remove the parchment paper, and decorate the rest of the cake as desired (borders, flowers, etc).

What a difference flowers make!

 

Butterflies & Birthday Cakes

Wow, April has been a busy month, can't believe it's almost over.  Have you noticed how many birthdays there are in the last half of April and first weeks of May?  I swear there must be more Tauruses out there than other signs.  My birthday was this past weekend, and I'll have pictures and recipes up soon:  I made a raspberry ice cream cake and an almond cake with chocolate praline ganache filling and brown butter moscato d'Asti frosting.

In the meantime, however, here are some pictures of a cake I did for a client last week.  It's a simple chocolate cake with vanilla frosting.  The birthday girl's dad emailed me the next day to say that the kids wouldn't let him put the cake away, they just sat at the table and looked at it, kept smelling it.  So cute!