BAKING

MARCH MADNESS & A DARING BAKERS PERFECT PARTY CAKE!!

2008/03/30 / 79 Comments
“Spring is nature’s way of saying, ‘Let’s party!’ “
Robin Williams

IMG 5317 1

Gimme a layered cake to make & I’m in 7th heaven!

As you can obviously guess from my blog posts, I love baking cakes. I have Morven @ Food Art & Random Thoughts to thank for posting such a wonderful challenge..Dorie Greenspan’s ‘Perfect Party Cake’. After my first 2 challenges I was pretty much on shaky grounds (what with LMPs & French loaves), I must admit I procrastinated even going to check on March’s challenge! Crumbs…by the time I checked, had already begun work on our anniversary cake (Chocolate Orange Cloud Gateau; nice one) so felt like kicking myself! The next opportunity was grabbed with both hands & I marched into a cake baking frenzy!
IMG 5377 1COFFEE stamped all over it!

As Morven, the large-hearted lady said…put your stamp on it. In her words…”I wanted to pick something that had potential for putting your personal stamp on. Although this is essentially a white cake I know there are some lemon haters among us so feel free to use your imagination. If you inner chef tells you that you need to make a chocolate layer cake then by all means do so.” I did just that. My stamp had to be COFFEE!! So, I flavoured the basic sponge with coffee essence & a medium roast instant coffee blend. The icing was of whipped cream, again mildly flavoured with coffee. Drooooooooooooooolicious!! The edges I finished off with a dripping of thick chocolate ganache; the 2 flavours really compliment each. A few coffee beans completed my stamp!!
IMG 5343If March is here, can Spring be far behind?

The theme was worming its way into my mind. Here’s what I did. I made an Easter basket of sorts with melted chocolate & filled it up with Easter eggs & crystallised flowers from our garden! This is something that gave me a lot of satisfaction & creative pleasure. I also added a few flowers & butterflies that I piped onto parchment & peeled off when they had set. Thank you Morven for giving me such endless joy…this is actually my passion in life, to be able to fill up a ‘cake canvas’ & extempore!!
IMG 5447 My daughter then became part of my mad photography & set up a mini studio for the slice of cake! Flowers were brought in from the garden & the infectious March madness spread even further!!IMG 5419 1PERFECT PARTY CAKE
Courtesy of Dorie Greenspan’s Baking from My Home to Yours (page 250).

Ingredients:
1/4 cups cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups buttermilk
4 large egg whites
1 ½ cups sugar
1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
1 stick (8 tablespoons or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ teaspoon coffee essence

For the Whipping cream:
Whip about 500 ml of whipping cream with 5-6 tbsps of icing sugar & 1 tbsp of instant coffee till firm.

Getting Ready:

  • Centre a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Butter two 9 x 2 inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each pan with a round of buttered parchment or wax paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet.

To Make the Cake:

  • Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
  • Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl.
  • Add the butter & with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light. Add coffee & beat for another minute.
  • Beat in the extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed.
  • Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated.
  • Add the rest of the milk and eggs beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients.
  • Finally, give the batter a good 2- minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated.
  • Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.
  • Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and springy to the touch – a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean.
  • Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unfold them and peel off the paper liners.Invert and cool to room temperature, right side up (the cooled cake layers can be wrapped airtight and stored at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to two months).

collage 1

To Assemble the Cake:

  • Using a sharp serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion, slice each layer horizontally in half. Put one layer cut side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper.
  • Spread it with one third of the whipped cream.
  • Repeat with the next 2 layers.Place the last layer cut side down on top of the cake and use the remaining whipped cream to frost the sides and top.
  • Garnish, decorate as desired.

collage

  • If you use whipped cream, you’ll have to store the cake the in the refrigerator – let it sit for about 20 minutes at room temperature before serving.

collage 2

  • Notes:

Like Morven said in her notes, my cake didn’t rise much at all and had a slightly coarse texture but was still quite delicate and moist.

  • It gave me an opportunity to use my 4 egg whites that I had frozen away…saved from 2 batches of banana muffins I had made previously. For those who don’t know this, egg whites freeze beautifully.
  • Also, since I had just a single 9″ tin, I baked the whole batter in 1 go, & later sliced it into 4 layers, Painstaking, but possible; not quite the perfect solution though.
  • Finally, the cake was a little sweeter than I thought it would be. The kids lapped it up, so did my old folks; DH & I thought it was a bit sweet…but I put it down to personal taste! Was a nice cake; sliced beautifully & perfectly.
    • collage1So that was my experience. I loved making it. Be sure to drop by the Daring Bakers Blogroll to check out the baking frenzy of the 4 layer type that added to the madness this March!!
    IMG 5407

    Perfect slices…can you see all 4 layers?

    Couldn’t resist a little trivia about Dorie Greenspan that I found online…

    …She burned her parents’ kitchen down when she was thirteen. She never even baked a chocolate chip cookie until she was a newly wed nineteen-year-old. Yet today, Dorie Greenspan is one of the most sought-after baking authorities in the country.
    Dorie was finishing up her doctoral thesis when she found herself consumed by love of baking. She immersed herself in a complete culinary education and begged her way into famous pastry kitchens to work as an apprentice. Eventually she was hired for her first professional job, where she caught the eye of the owner, who noted approvingly, “How chic! A thin pastry chef.” Always an experimenter, Dorie couldn’t resist tweaking one of the restaurant’s signature cakes. The customers loved the results, but Dorie immediately learned the perils of upstaging a boss. She was promptly fired for “creative insubordination.That insubordination was the beginning of a fabulous career as a cookbook author, culminating in BAKING: FROM MY HOME TO YOURS (Houghton Mifflin Company, November 1, 2006). ”

    I haven’t got a copy of any of her books, but am now going to keep my eyes open for them whenever they show up here in our part of the globe!

    IMG 5334

    The cake is on it’s way for Easter Cake Bake, Round 2 @ A Slice of Cherry Pie with Julia. She launched her very first food blogging event last March, the ‘Easter Cake Bake’ & asked fellow bloggers to bake themed cakes for Easter. It brought in outstanding cakes with wonderfully creative ideas, & is onto ‘Round 2’ this year!!

    Posted by Deeba @ PAB

    About me: I am a freelance food writer, recipe developer and photographer. Food is my passion - baking, cooking, developing recipes, making recipes healthier, using fresh seasonal produce and local products, keeping a check on my carbon footprint and being a responsible foodie! I enjoy food styling, food photography, recipe development and product reviews. I express this through my food photographs which I style and the recipes I blog. My strength lies in 'Doing Food From Scratch'; it must taste as good as it looks, and be healthy too. Baking in India, often my biggest challenge is the non-availability of baking ingredients, and this has now become a platform to get creative on. I enjoy cooking immensely as well.

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    79 Comments

    • chelley325

      2008/03/30 at 1:33 am Reply

      Great use of your creativity – I bet coffee was wonderful! Love the pictures as well! 🙂

    • Manggy

      2008/03/30 at 4:24 am Reply

      That looks lovely as always Deeba! Your daughter is so cute for setting up the studio! 🙂

    • Bellini Valli

      2008/03/30 at 1:08 pm Reply

      Your cake looks amazing Deeba! I love the chocolate decorations and all the time you spent on your creation!! As an aside, if you are interested in the Adopt a Blogger Program go to :

      Kirsten started a second round because she had such a huge response:D

    • Purnima

      2008/03/30 at 7:42 am Reply

      Deeba, am stumped at ur web designs, the layers, piping and decoration all perfect!Loved the whipped cream, the coffee beans, all other aspects of decorating u hv incorporated, plus loved the brown layers, which scream coffee to me!! Mmmmm..n tks for Dorie’s excerpt..loved reading it!
      Best Cake!!(Hats off to U under the sun as u hv piped it, without it getting runny!)(Maybe u will see this creation of yours attempted by me in atleast next six month’s time! 😀 )

    • Dharm

      2008/03/30 at 10:14 am Reply

      Deeba!! What a stunning Cake!! Not only does it look so yummy, it looks so professional too! Great job my friend. Now, can you just FedEx some of that cake over here please…. Now!

    • FoodieFroggy

      2008/03/30 at 10:30 am Reply

      I had already seen it on the DB blog, but I am still impressed. The decoration is incredible.

    • familiabencomo

      2008/03/30 at 1:08 pm Reply

      You are an artist, my friend! You paid attention to EVERY detail. I’m so happy I know you – I learn so much from you.

      Tanti baci, Amy

    • Maryann

      2008/03/30 at 1:09 pm Reply

      This is the first coffee flavored db cake I’ve seen. Great idea and your cake looks so pretty 🙂

    • Ben

      2008/03/30 at 1:23 pm Reply

      Deeba, as usual your cake looks stunningly beautiful. Aren’t you glad you joined the daring bakers? I know I am because it is a lot of fun, we are always challenged and we get to see other member’s great creations.

      Nice one 😀

    • L Vanel

      2008/03/30 at 2:23 pm Reply

      Wow, a very pretty cake with such lovely creative use of flavors. I bet it was delicious.

    • glamah16

      2008/03/30 at 2:29 pm Reply

      Your a whiz with cakes. I love your design.Glad you stoped procrastinating and rose to the challenge, Excellent.

    • Rachel

      2008/03/30 at 3:56 pm Reply

      Wow this is a flavour that I must try…am still a beginner..loads to pick up from your creations…I’ll send you the bluberry preserves…mail me…

    • Dhanggit

      2008/03/30 at 4:50 pm Reply

      you are definitely talented artist..how i wish i could bake like that..but i wont refuse a slice of this cake 🙂 great job for this month’s challenge

    • Annemarie

      2008/03/30 at 5:30 pm Reply

      I’m so pleased you’ve included all these pictures – when I saw the initial cake itself on the DB blog, I knew I wanted to see more of it! Very creative and very individual – and very steady hand to have to do that whirl. Mine would have been more of a cake-ruining splodge, I think…

    • RecipeGirl

      2008/03/30 at 5:38 pm Reply

      Wow!! Yours is so very pretty. I would say that you definitely went creative with it 🙂

      I love the swirl instructional pics that put up. I’d love to do that with a cake decor in the future!

    • Proud Italian Cook

      2008/03/30 at 6:38 pm Reply

      Deeba, this is a work of art, from your presentation, flavor and awesome pictures!!!

    • Ivy

      2008/03/30 at 9:10 pm Reply

      Deeba I’ve seen a lot of daring bakers today and all did a great job. Yours looks stunning.

    • mimi

      2008/03/30 at 9:54 pm Reply

      i love that you combine march madness with the daring bakers party cake! and like i said before, your cake is absolutely gorgeous. love the chocolate swirl web.

    • Tartelette

      2008/03/30 at 10:05 pm Reply

      Coffee…*swoon* What a great idea! I love what you did with the decorations, you go girl!

    • PAT A BAKE

      2008/03/31 at 2:13 am Reply

      Hey Deeba,

      Gr8 looking cake… spring is here..or shall I say Aayah Sawan ;). Love your blogs… never miss them. Thanks for being my inspiration.

    • Jenny

      2008/03/31 at 2:58 am Reply

      Yum, coffee flavored cake!!

      Love the anecdotes about Dorie – creative insubordination has to be the best reason to be fired that I have ever heard!

      Here’s to more creative insubordination as the Daring Bakers conquer the world!

    • Miri

      2008/03/31 at 4:26 am Reply

      looks beautiful and perfectly done AND so so “springy”!! 🙂 Tell your daughter that I liked her shot very much!

    • Cakelaw

      2008/03/31 at 6:29 am Reply

      Yummo – I love the idea of coffee flavour through this cake. Also love your decorations – it makes the cake look very festive.

    • Rosa's Yummy Yums

      2008/03/31 at 7:07 am Reply

      A very pretty cake! Great decoration and flavoring! Very well done!

      Cheers,

      Rosa

    • Nina's Kitchen (Nina Timm)

      2008/03/31 at 9:01 am Reply

      I can just imagine that you put this much effort into everything that you do. This is a masterpiece.

    • arundati

      2008/03/31 at 11:18 am Reply

      wowie!! fabulous as always deeba….i am getting kind of tired of sounding rhetoric ….send me some wont you please?? i tried out something from your blog…will post soon…. 🙂

    • coco

      2008/03/31 at 12:38 pm Reply

      Your cake looks positively decadent I can imagine the effort that went into it. Stunning results though. 🙂

    • ruthEbabes

      2008/03/31 at 1:11 pm Reply

      What a fantastically beautiful cake!!!! You put a lot of work into this and I’m sure it payed off!

      Congrats!

    • SaraLynn

      2008/03/31 at 2:52 pm Reply

      you are sweet 😉
      Thank you for your kind words. I have linked your blog to the list of blogs I read daily!
      Have a great day!

    • HoneyB

      2008/03/31 at 3:13 pm Reply

      What a creative idea and a beautiful cake and COFFEE! I’m a coffee fanatic. Thanks for your comments on my blog!

    • Passionate baker...& beyond

      2008/03/31 at 5:49 pm Reply

      I am completely overwhelmed…THANK YOU , you generous folk, for your comments & wonderful words.

    • Passionate baker...& beyond

      2008/03/31 at 5:49 pm Reply

      I am completely overwhelmed…THANK YOU , you generous folk, for your comments & wonderful words.

    • Amy J.

      2008/03/31 at 6:04 pm Reply

      Truly, I am in awe! I believe you could sell that cake at Dean & Deluca for about 160 bucks!! I seriously can’t stop staring at it.

      And coffee flavor — great idea! I think my mom and sister would really like that.

    • Lesley

      2008/03/31 at 8:50 pm Reply

      If I had that cake in my Easter basket I would be more than pleased! That is a lot of fun, and hard work I bet.

    • Zabaione

      2008/03/31 at 9:29 pm Reply

      Hi there, thx for stopping by my blog,and i’m glad you like it:)

      I also would love to have creative hand like your:) must be wonderful
      help!!

      nice to meet you

      zabaione

    • Laurie

      2008/04/01 at 12:09 am Reply

      Oh my gosh..it is absolutely gorgeous!! I would love to take cake decorating classes, I never knew I could enjoy this so much. your cake and desserts make me want to learn even more! 🙂

    • Miss Ifi

      2008/04/01 at 1:51 am Reply

      Your cake is absolutely BEAUTIFUL!! Congratulations on a challenge amazingly well done!!!
      The pictures are just sooo much fun with the flowers and all and the way you decorated that cake.. simply FANTASTIC!!
      I am in awe… you are great!!

    • Gigi

      2008/04/01 at 6:06 am Reply

      You did an amazing job! I love coffee flavored cakes and your cake is dream come true. Just lovely!

    • Astra Libris

      2008/04/01 at 3:24 pm Reply

      Thank you so much for the lovely DB comment on my blog! 🙂

      Your cake is gorgeous! Oh my goodness! Such photos! Your cake is a work of art! I absolutely love your inclusion of coffee… Coffee elevates everything to new heights!

    • KayKat

      2008/04/02 at 8:32 am Reply

      Wow. That’s absolutely brilliant! You really have a handle on this baking thing, don’t you? 🙂

    • Shayne

      2008/04/02 at 12:35 pm Reply

      coffee was the logical choice 🙂 I just wish that I had soaked more coffee into the cake so that it was as dark as yours. looks great.

    • Vaidehi

      2008/04/02 at 4:53 pm Reply

      wow. it looks so amazing ..and i love the decoration too…specially the swirls..great job

    • Sheltie Girl

      2008/04/04 at 12:53 pm Reply

      Your cake is simply fabulous! I love the coffee and the chocolate – scrumptious.

      Natalie @ Gluten A Go Go

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