16 Must-Try Vegan Products You Can Find at Safeway
White Chocolate Wedding Cake
To stack the cakes, hold a dowelling rod at the side of the 23cm/9in cake and mark with a pencil where the icing comes to. Cut the rod and three others to the same length. Push the rods into the cake about 5cm/2in away from the sides, to form the four corners of a square in the centre of the cake. Place the pillars on top of the largest cake, positioning each one over a dowelling rod, then top with the 15cm/6in cake. Decorate with fresh flowers.
Brown-Butter Layer Cake
Chill Time:
4 hrs 20 mins
Active Time:
1 hr 35 mins
Total Time:
6 hrs 40 mins
This choose-your-own-adventure cake from chef Tom Douglas lets you pick between milk, dark, or white chocolate for the rich mousse filling. The buttercream frosting can also be made in one of three flavors: dark chocolate, white chocolate, or hazelnut.
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Ingredients
Mousse filling
1/2 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
1/2 tablespoon water
1/2 cup chilled heavy cream
2 tablespoons coffee liqueur (for milk chocolate mousse or dark chocolate mousse) or orange liqueur (for white chocolate mousse)
2 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons sugar
Pinch of salt
4 ounces milk chocolate (for milk chocolate mousse), bittersweet chocolate (for dark chocolate mousse), or white chocolate (for white chocolate mousse), melted and cooled
Brown-butter cake
3 sticks unsalted butter (12 ounces), plus more for greasing the pans
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 2/3 cups sugar
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
3 large egg yolks
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups milk, at room temperature
Buttercream
1 cup sugar
3 large egg whites
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 sticks plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (9 ounces), cut into tablespoons, at room temperature
4 ounces extra-bittersweet chocolate (for dark chocolate buttercream) or white chocolate (for white chocolate buttercream), melted and cooled, or 2 tablespoons hazelnut-praline paste (for hazelnut buttercream)
In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over the water and let stand until softened.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the cream until softly whipped. Refrigerate until chilled, about 10 minutes.
In a small, microwave-safe bowl, heat the liqueur at high power until hot, about 45 seconds. Stir in the softened gelatin until dissolved.
In another medium bowl, beat the egg yolks with the sugar and salt at high speed until pale and thickened, about 5 minutes. While beating the yolks, beat in the liqueur-gelatin liquid; scrape the side and bottom of the bowl. Beat in the melted chocolate. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the whipped cream in 2 additions. Scrape the mousse into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, at least 4 hours or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Butter 2 (9-inch) cake pans and line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper. Butter the paper and dust the pans with flour, tapping out the excess.
In a medium saucepan, melt the 3 sticks of butter. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until foamy, about 5 minutes. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the milk solids turn brown and the butter smells nutty, about 4 minutes longer. Scrape the melted butter and browned bits into a large heatproof bowl. Set the bowl in an ice water bath until the butter begins to set around the edge, about 8 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk the 2 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour with the baking powder and salt.
Remove the bowl from the ice water and scrape up the hardened butter. Transfer the butter to the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle and beat until creamy. Add the sugar and vanilla seeds and beat at medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the egg yolks followed by the whole eggs. Beat in the dry ingredients and milk in three alternating additions, scraping down the side and bottom of the bowl as necessary.
Pour the cake batter into the prepared pans and bake in the center of the oven for about 40 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking, until the cakes are golden and a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the pans for 20 minutes, then invert them onto a rack to let them cool completely. Peel off the parchment paper.
In a blender or food processor, pulse the sugar until powdery. Transfer the sugar to a medium heatproof bowl and whisk in the egg whites and salt. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and whisk gently until the sugar is completely dissolved, 5 minutes.
Transfer the warm egg-white mixture to the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the whisk. Add the vanilla and beat at medium-high speed until stiff and glossy, about 8 minutes. Beat in the butter a few pieces at a time, making sure it is fully incorporated before adding more. The buttercream should be light and fluffy; if it appears runny at any time, transfer the bowl to the freezer for 5 to 10 minutes, then return it to the mixer and continue.
Beat in the melted chocolate or the hazelnut-praline paste until fully incorporated, scraping down the side and bottom of the bowl. Remove the bowl from the mixer and beat with a wooden spoon to remove any air bubbles.
Set one cake layer on a platter. Spread the mousse filling on top and cover with the second cake layer. Frost the cake all over with a thin layer of buttercream and refrigerate until set, about 5 minutes. Frost the cake with the remaining buttercream. Refrigerate the cake until the frosting is firm, at least 15 minutes, before serving.
Originally appeared: February 2012
Chocolate Drip Cake
Divide the cake batter between the 4 cake tins, filling each tin up to three quarters full. Place the tins in the centre of the oven and bake for about 30-40 minutes, turning after 20 minutes so they colour evenly. Once baked, remove the cakes from the oven, cool on a wire rack, then wrap in cling film and store in the fridge.
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