My original idea was to make a chiffon layer cake with fruit filling and vanilla frosting. In the past, Jason’s mother had mentioned how much she liked summer fruit and I thought this would be a nice, light seasonal treat. I planned to use the chiffon cake recipe that I used for Jason’s Tiramisu cake (minus the espresso) but was on the hunt for a good vanilla frosting recipe. Most of what I found was in the buttercream family which just seemed too heavy/sweet for the light summer dessert I had in mind. Cue Smitten Kitchen and her recipe for Strawberry Chiffon Shortcake. Rather than frosting the cake, she uses whipped cream as part of the filling and for the frosting. She also flavors the cake with lemon zest and the idea of summer berries +lemony cake + whipped cream fit with my vision perfectly.
As Jason’s mom blew out the candles she said she couldn’t remember the last time someone had made her a birthday cake. Light, airy, and not overly sweet, it turned out to be the perfect gift.
Summer Berry Shortcake
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Ingredients:
¼ cup vegetable oil
6 large eggs (or 5 extra large), separated
2 teaspoons plus 1 TBL vanilla
1 medium lemon
6 TBL cold water
1 1/3 cups cake flour
1 ½ cups plus 1 TBL granulated sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 container each of strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries (strawberries thinly sliced and raspberries cut in half)
2 cups heavy cream
6 TBL powdered sugar
Make the cake layers:
1.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 3 9-inch round cake pans with parchment paper (I used pre-cut 9 inch parchment rounds I bought at Sur La Table which were awesome!) and lightly spray with cooking spray.
2.In a large bowl combine flour, 1 ¼ cup sugar, baking powder and salt until well mixed.
3.In another bowl, beat the egg yolks, water, oil, zest from the entire lemon, and 2 teaspoons of vanilla until smooth. Stir into the flour mixture until smooth and well combined.
4.In another large bowl, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks are formed. Add ¼ cup sugar and beat on high until the peaks are stiff but not too dry.
5.Use a rubber spatula to fold ¼ of the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture, then gently fold in the remaining whites just until the whites are no longer visible. You want to be very careful not to deflate the egg whites otherwise the cake will not be as light and airy.
6.Divide the batter as evenly as possible among the three cake pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 18 minutes. You may want to rotate the pans half way through to ensure they all cook evenly.
7.Cool cakes on a cooling rack for at least an hour. When completely cool, run a knife around the edges and flip out onto a plate.
Make the filling:
1.While the cakes are cooling, combine ¾ of the berries in a large bowl with 1 TBL sugar and juice from the lemon. Cover and let sit at room temperature. Reserve remaining berries for garnish.
2.Right before you are ready to assemble, beat the heavy cream, powdered sugar and 1 TBL vanilla in a clean mixing bowl until it holds stiff peaks.
Assemble the cake:
Place first cake layer on a cake stand or plate. Top with ½ of the macerated berries. Then spread 1/3 of the whipped cream on top of the cakes, being careful not to go over the edge of the cake. Place next layer on top of that and gently press down. Repeat the process. When you place the final cake layer on top, carefully spread the remaining whipped cream. Top with reserved (non-macerated) berries. I choose to pile them in the center of the cake but you could also arrange them in a pattern if you’d like. Serve immediately or refrigerate until you are ready to serve.
No comments:
Post a Comment