Birthday Cake

@Princess Cake Recipe@

This pretty cake requires care in preparation. Plan your baking and assembling steps prematurely and the outcome is a beautiful, scrumptious cake.

INGREDIENTS:

Vanilla Genoise Layer Cake (recipe follows)

Soaking Answer (recipe follows)

1/3 cup raspberry jam

Flavored Whipped Cream (recipe follows)

1 cup Pastry Cream (recipe follows)

Marzipan, at room temperature (recipe follows), see observe

Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

1 contemporary pink or white rose for adorning

DIRECTIONS:

Vanilla Genoise Layer Cake:

5 giant eggs

1/3 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup cake flour, sifted

1. To make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour one 9 x 2-inch cake pan or two 9 x 1 1/2-inch cake pans; knock out the surplus flour. Line the underside of the pan(s) with a spherical of parchment paper. Fill a medium saucepan half filled with water and produce to a boil.

2. Utilizing a hand whisk, beat the eggs till blended within the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer. Whisk within the sugar. Place the bowl over the saucepan of boiling water. (The water ought to be not less than 2 inches beneath the underside of the bowl.) To stop the eggs from cooking, use your hand to stir the combination always till it feels fairly heat. The eggs ought to stay liquid and never develop into opaque or cooked. (Failing to combine always will lead to very candy scrambled eggs!) Instantly take away the bowl from the warmth, match the mixer with the whisk attachment and begin whipping the eggs on excessive pace with out stopping for 3 to 4 minutes.

3. In the meantime, soften the butter and pour it right into a small bowl. Add the vanilla. Place the flour in a sifter and put aside.

4. The egg combination is prepared when the eggs have simply cooled and not less than tripled in quantity. If you raise the whisk out of the bowl, the batter ought to fall of the whisk in ribbons.

5. Take away the bowl from the mixer and sift rather less than one-fourth (a scant 1/4 cup) of the flour over the floor of the batter. Utilizing a rubber spatula, gently fold within the flour. Repeat till all of the flour is integrated.

6. Pour a beneficiant cup of batter over the melted butter combination within the small bowl. Totally fold the batter into the butter. Slowly pour the butter combination over the remaining batter within the bowl in a round movement. (In the event you add the butter combination too shortly, it is going to sink, decreasing the quantity and toughening the cake.) Gently fold collectively till not one of the darker butter combination is seen.

7. Fastidiously pour the batter into the ready 9 x 2-inch pan; it ought to be about two-thirds full. If utilizing two 9 x 1 1/2-inch pans, pour one-third of the batter into one pan and the remaining two-thirds into the opposite pan. Set the cake pan(s) on a baking sheet and instantly place on the middle rack within the oven. If utilizing a 9 x 2-inch pan, bake for about half-hour and wait to open the oven till the cake has baked not less than 25 minutes, or it could fall. If utilizing two pans, bake for about 20 minutes and wait to open the oven till the truffles have baked not less than quarter-hour. The cake is completed when it simply begins to drag away from the perimeters of the pan. (The cake is not going to spring again when gently pressed, and a toothpick is not going to come out clear when it’s prepared.)

8. Take away the truffles from the oven and instantly run a metallic icing spatula or knife across the inside the pan(s) to loosen the cake. Let cool for five minutes, then unmold and let cool utterly. The truffles could also be saved, effectively wrapped, within the fridge for 1 day, or frozen for as much as 1 week.

Prepare dinner’s Notes:

(1) For optimum moistness, this cake is finest baked in a 9 x 2-inch cake pan, then minimize into 3 layers.

(2) Genoise could also be minimize into layers as quickly as it’s cool. If the cake has been refrigerated, minimize it as quickly as you take away it from the fridge. If it has been frozen, let it thaw about half-hour, then minimize. All the time minimize off the highest layer first and place it minimize aspect down.

(3) In the event you precut the cake layers effectively earlier than icing the cake, hold them lined with plastic wrap. Vanilla genoise dries out in a short time when left unwrapped.

Marzipan:

3 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

1 pound almond paste

3 tablespoons gentle corn syrup

2 to three tablespoons water

1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon inexperienced meals coloring (conventional for the princess cake)

1. Put the confectioners’ sugar within the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer fitted with the flat beater. With the mixer working on medium-low pace, add the almond paste about 1 teaspoon at a time. It will take about 5 minutes. The combination can be crumbly. Scrape down the bowl and beater. Add the corn syrup and blend on low pace till integrated. The combination will nonetheless be crumbly. Once more scrape down the bowl and beater.

2. In a small bowl, mix the water and meals coloring. With the mixer on medium-low pace, add about half of the meals coloring combination and beat till integrated. Proceed step by step including the meals coloring till the marzipan simply comes collectively and reaches the consistency of sugar cookie dough. It ought to be clean however not crumbly or overly sticky. 3. If extra coloration is desired, knead it in by hand after eradicating the marzipan from the mixer. (Keep in mind it’s simpler so as to add a bit extra coloration on the finish than to make a brand new batch!) Completely different colours have completely different intensities and would require completely different quantities.

3. Place the marzipan on a sheet of plastic wrap and kind it right into a 9-inch disk about 1/2 inch thick. Wrap and refrigerate in a single day earlier than utilizing. Retailer in an hermetic container or lined in plastic wrap within the fridge for as much as 1 month.

Soaking Answer:

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon Myers’s darkish rum

1. In a small saucepan, mix the water and sugar and produce simply to a boil over medium warmth. Take away from warmth and let cool. Add the rum. Let cool utterly earlier than utilizing or refrigerating. Retailer in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 1 month.

Pastry Cream:

1 1/2 cups half-and-half

6 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

4 giant egg yolks, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. In a heavy saucepan, heat the half-and-half over medium warmth till it begins to simmer. In the meantime, in a medium bowl, combine the cornstarch with the sugar. Utilizing a whisk, whip within the water till clean. Beat within the egg yolks. When the half-and-half is simmering, slowly add about half of it to the cornstarch combination, whisking always to include. Whisk this combination into the simmering half-and-half and proceed to whisk vigorously and always till the pastry cream thickens, 2 to five minutes.

2. Take away from warmth, add the vanilla and switch to a glass or metallic bowl. Let cool utterly, stirring ceaselessly to forestall a pores and skin from forming on the highest. Cowl and refrigerate for not less than 5 hours or as much as 3 days.

Flavored Whipped Cream:

3 cups heavy cream

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1. When you’re able to assemble the cake, make the whipped cream: In a deep bowl, mix all of the elements. Utilizing an electrical mixer or a balloon whisk, beat the combination till tender peaks kind. Put aside whereas slicing the cake.

To Assemble the Princess Cake:

1. Utilizing a protracted serrated knife, degree the highest(s) of the truffles. In the event you used a 9 x 2-inch pan, minimize the cake into three even layers; when you used two 9 x 1 1/2-inch pans, minimize the thicker layer into two even layers. Place the highest layer of the cake, minimize aspect down, on a 9-inch cake cardboard. Brush it evenly with soaking answer, being cautious to not oversoak it. Unfold the cake with a skinny layer of the raspberry jam. (You must nearly have the ability to see by means of it.) Unfold a 1/4-inch-thick layer of the whipped cream over the raspberry jam. Set the center layer of the cake on the whipped cream. Brush it with soaking answer after which unfold it with a 3/8-inch-thick layer of pastry cream. Place the remaining cake layer, minimize aspect down, on the highest of the pastry cream. Brush it with soaking answer.

2. Utilizing a metallic icing spatula, coat the aspect of the cake with a 1/8-inch-thick coat of whipped cream. There ought to be simply sufficient whipped cream to seal in all of the crumbs and to forestall the marzipan from resting straight on the cake.

3. Mound the remaining whipped cream on the highest of the cake and, utilizing a metallic icing spatula, unfold right into a dome in order that the cake nearly appears to be like like an upside-down bowl. Soften the sting the place the highest of the genoise ends and the dome begins by beveling it with the flat a part of the spatula.

4. Deliver the marzipan to room temperature not less than 1 hour earlier than assembling the cake. Earlier than making an attempt to cowl a cake with marzipan for the primary time, follow protecting an inverted 8- or 9-inch bowl. As soon as you might be comfy with this system, collect up the marzipan, knead it right into a ball and reroll to cowl the cake.

5. Flippantly mud the work floor with confectioners’ sugar. Place the marzipan on the floor and, utilizing an 18-inch-wide rolling pin, roll out the marzipan as you’d pie dough, right into a 16-inch circle, 1/8 inch thick. Continuously mud the marzipan with loads of confectioners’ sugar and switch the circle to ensure the marzipan just isn’t sticking to the work floor. Utilizing your hand, brush off the surplus confectioners’ sugar. Don’t fear if lots of confectioners’ sugar clings to the marzipan; it is going to be absorbed.

6. Set the cake close to the rolled out marzipan, about 6 inches away from the sting of the work floor, as a way to see and attain across the total cake. Loosely roll the marzipan onto the rolling pin, beginning on the again and rolling towards you.

7. Elevate the rolling pin with the marzipan rolled round it. Unroll the marzipan over the cake, beginning on the entrance and unrolling towards the again, whereas ensuring to cowl your complete cake and cardboard. When completed, some marzipan ought to drape onto the work floor throughout the cake.

8. At this level, the dome of the cake can be easily lined, however there can be folds or creases on the perimeters. To take away the folds and creases, raise the surface fringe of the marzipan with a hand on both aspect of a fold and, with out tearing or stretching, gently pull the marzipan out and down till the fold disappears.

9. Work your method across the cake. As soon as all of the folds are eradicated, rub the palm of your hand across the sides of the cake to additional clean it and get rid of air pockets.

10. With a rolling pizza cutter or small, sharp knife, fastidiously minimize off the surplus marzipan alongside the underside fringe of the cake cardboard. (The cardboard mustn’t present.) Reserve for making leaves.

11. Slide the icing spatula underneath the cake cardboard and tilt the cake up sufficient to get the palm of your different hand beneath to raise it with out touching the perimeters. Flip the cake, checking to ensure the cake and cardboard are utterly lined with the marzipan. If not, gently push the marzipan down, utilizing the palm of your different hand.

12. Set the cake down and sift a positive dusting of confectioners’ sugar over it. Switch to a serving platter.

13. Reduce three elongated ovals about 3 inches lengthy by 1 inch broad out of the remaining marzipan to make three leaf shapes. Flippantly rating the highest of the leaves with a knife to create veins. Gently mix every leaf right into a leaflike curve. Place the marzipan leaves, spaced evenly aside, on the middle of the domed cake prime with the steam ends touching. Gently press the stem ends into the dome to safe the leaves to the highest of the cake.

14. Reduce the rose stem 2 inches beneath the flower. Elevate the sepals so they are going to set over the marzipan leaves and insert the rose into the middle of the dome.

15. The completed princess cake could also be saved within the fridge for as much as 2 days, however it’s best the day it’s made. Take away the cake from the fridge half-hour earlier than serving.