The Wedding Cake
I’ve made this cake a total of three times including this most recent time. I’ve never made it as a complete recipe (ie a complete wedding cake). However, the recipe is incredibly helpful—half of it makes enough for either one 12-inch cake or one 9-inch cake and one 6-inch cake. To clarify, what I am providing here is one half recipe; this is really for my own benefit, since I always have trouble finding this recipe when I need it and have to go through halving the recipe each time. Additionally, I've altered some of the order of events for my own benefit.
The process of baking this cake is involved; it contains two fillings: lemon curd and a lemon, white-chocolate mousse. Lemon + white chocolate = heaven. So first up is the lemon curd. This can be made as much as a week in advance; it has enough sugar and lemon juice to preserve it for at least that long.
Lemon Curd
3 cups sugar
1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
1 1/2 cups lemon juice
18 egg yolks (reserve the whites for the cake)
1 1/2 cups butter, chilled and cubed
In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, whisk the sugar and cornstarch together. Add in the lemon juice and whisk until incorporated. Add the egg yolks and half the butter, whisking until combined. Heat over medium heat, whisking continuously, until thick—thanks to the cornstarch it should thicken well before it gets to the boiling stage. In a large pot with plenty of space, it only took about 7 minutes to thicken.
Remove from heat and gradually add the remaining butter to help cool down the curd. Strain it through a sieve to remove any solids. Press some plastic on top, and chill until thickened and delicious.
As a filling, the lemon curd is delicious. It's great on toast as well, heh.
Lemon White Chocolate Mousse
2 cups Lemon Curd
8 oz white chocolate (Lindt continues to be my favorite both for taste and price)
1 1/2 cups whipped cream
This could not be easier. Keep the lemon curd chilled. Melt the white chocolate gently in the top of a double boiler. Do not overheat. In another chilled bowl, with chilled utensils, beat the chilled (get the pattern?) whipped cream until medium peaks form. Fold in the warm white chocolate. Next, fold in the lemon curd in three editions. Cover the bowl and chill for at least one day and up to four days.
See? Easy peasy. Additionally, each of the previous fillings makes excellent desserts in their own right. The lemon curd is such an amazing multi-tasker. Throw it in a pie shell and top it with some blueberries for a quick and easy tart or have it on some toast for a decadent breakfast. The mousse is just ridiculously amazing; there’s no other way to describe it.
The Frosting
8 oz white chocolate (Lindt continues to be my favorite)
2 cups chilled heavy whipping cream
2 1/2 cups packed powdered sugar (yes, packed)
3 8oz packages cream cheese, softened
In the top of a double boiler, melt the white chocolate.
In a mixer, beat the whipping cream and 1 1/4 cups (roughly half) of the powdered sugar until medium-firm peaks form. Transfer to another bowl.
In the mixer bowl, beat the cream cheese until it's light and fluffy. Add in half of the sugar, followed by the white chocolate.
Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture in 4 additions, using the first addition to just lighten the cream cheese. Cover and chill. Because of the use of cream, rather than butter, the frosting is spreadable right from the refrigerator. However, it needs to remain chilled once the cake is frosted.
Orange Buttermilk Cake
5 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
5 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
3 tbsp thawed frozen orange juice concentrate
2 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups egg whites (about 10 large reserved from the lemon curd)
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/4 cups sugar
This is a little involved. Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees and greasing and flouring the 12-inch pan (or the 9 and the 6-inch pans). Either way, your cake pans should have 3-inch-high sides.
Next, sift the cake flour, baking powder, and salt together three times in a bowl.
In a separate bowl, mix the buttermilk, orange juice concentrate, and vanilla.
Beat the egg whites in a mixer with the cream of tarter until medium peaks form. Transfer to another bowl. In the mixer, cream the butter and sugar together. Add the oil, followed by the remaining sugar. Make sure to scrape down the bowl frequently. Once everything is incorporated, mix in the flour alternately with the buttermilk (four additions of the flour, three of the buttermilk).
Finally, stir 1/4 of the egg whites into the batter to lighten and fold in the remaining egg whites in three additions. Bake in the prepared pan or pans of your choice. Bake the cakes as follows, based on the times provided in the original recipe. Note that the cakes will be a dark brown, but in my experience, these times can be reduced because our oven bakes hot.
12-inch pan: 1 hour and 25 minutes
9-inch pan: 1 hour and 18 minutes
6-inch pan: 1 hour and 10 minutes
Cool cakes in their pans for 30 minutes before removing. The original recipe recommends having used cake pans with removable bottoms, but I've had no trouble using regular cake pans since finding these sizes can be tricky.
The Assembly
Separate the cake, regardless of the size used, into three layers. Top the bottom layer with about 1 3/4 cups lemon mouse. Drop the lemon curd onto the cake (about 1/2 to 2/3 cup) and spread evenly. Make sure not to spread either filling to the edge of the cake. The fillings, even chilled, have a tendency to leak out of the sides.
The first layer, topped with both the mousse and the lemon curd. I highly recommend chilling the first layer thoroughly (for about an hour) before proceeding. After the second layer is complete, top with the third layer and chill for at least 30 minutes just to allow the fillings to set and firm up. If the curd leaks out the side at all, it will do so during this time, which is why it's important to let it rest before frosting.
Once the cake and the fillings have had ample time to firm up and set, begin frosting the cake. I've had the best luck by removing the frosting from the fridge and stirring it to loosen it up a few minutes before the cake is ready to be frosted. Start by frosting the sides, making sure to use enough frosting to "cement" the fillings in the cake. Traditionally, you begin by frosting the top of the cake and then work around the side, but by starting on the sides, you're preventing the cake from moving too much while you're frosting the top.
This is obviously the pitcure from the website because I totally fail at taking a picture of the finished result. However, with an offset spatula and a little work, the frosting was incredibly smooth, even, and shiny. Easily one of my better frosting jobs.
This cake is definitely a special, once a year event. It's worked wonderfully every time, but it can be a little tricky. When in doubt, keep everything well chilled. Up next, I need to post some more muffin recipes and I still want to try steaming some salmon in a pouch... after these past few weeks I need to start watching what I eat more closely!
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