Dorie?s Perfect Party Cake

If there’s a reason to celebrate, then there’s a reason for me to make a cake. For this occasion, we celebrated my mother in law’s birthday, and I used that as the excuse to try out the perfect party cake in my Dorie Greenspan cookbook. This cake is perfect. It is a light and fluffy white cake with a hint of lemon flavor, and the lemon buttercream is like nothing I’ve ever made before. It is phenomenal. Add the final touch of the rasberry jam between the cake layers and this cake is beautiful and delicious. The recipe calls for rasberry jam, but I think many other flavors would go nicely with the lemon buttercream – strawberry, blueberry, blackberry – there’s quite a bit of room for experimentation. I garnished the top of the cake with shredded coconut. This cake got rave reviews from the family, so I will definitely make it again. It’s very light…not too sweet and not too rich.

Some tips for making sure this cake turns out perfect: don’t use self-rising cake flour; make sure your butter, eggs and buttermilk are at room temperature; use a microplane zester instead of a box grater to grate your zest because large pieces of zest will weigh down your batter; be sure and beat the batter as called for in the recipe to make sure the layers are very aerated so they will be light and fluffy; check the cake at the minimum baking time because it will dry out if you cook it too long; wrap and chill or freeze the layers as soon as they cool because they could also dry out if they are left uncovered at room temperature for a long period of time; if you freeze the layers for about an hour before frosting, it will be easier to slice the layers in half and you won’t have crumb issues when frosting the cake and it will be easier to frost.

Perfect Party Cake

Cake:

2 ¼ cups cake flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 ¼ cups buttermilk

4 large egg whites

1 ½ cups sugar

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature

½ teaspoon pure lemon extract

Buttercream:

1 cup sugar

4 large egg wites

3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

¼ cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 large lemons)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Finishing Touches:

2/3 cup seedless raspberry preserves, stirred vigorously or warmed gently until spreadable

sweetened shredded coconut for garnish

Getting Ready: Center 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 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.

Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the butter, and working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light. 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 will aerated. Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.

Bake for 30 to 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, unmold 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 2 months.)

To Make the Buttercream: Put the sugar and egg whites in a mixer bowl or other large heatproof bowl, fit the bowl over a pan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes. The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like shiny marshmallow cream. Remove the bowl from the heat.

Working with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the meringue on medium speed until it is cool, about 5 minutes. Switch to the paddle attachment if you have one, and add the butter a stick at a time, beating until smooth. Once all the butter is in, beat the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, 6 to 10 minutes. During this time, the buttercream may curdle or separate-just keep beating and it will come together again. On medium speed, gradually beat in the lemon juice, waiting until each addition is absorbed before adding more, and then the vanilla. You should have a shiny, smooth, velvety, pristine white buttercream. Press a piece of plastic against the surface of the buttercream and set aside briefly.

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 preserves. Cover the jam evenly with about one quarter of the buttercream. Top with another layer, spread with preserves and buttercream and then do the same with a third layer (you?ll have used all the jam and have buttercream left over). Place the last layer cut side down on top of the cake and use the remaining buttercream to frost the sides and top. Press the coconut into the frosting, patting it gently all over the sides and top.

Serving: The cake is ready to serve as soon as it is assembled, but I think it?s best to let it sit and set for a couple of hours in a cool room-not the refrigerator. Whether you wait or slice and enjoy it immediately, the cake should be served at room temperature; it loses all its subtlety when it?s cold.

Storing: The cake is best the day it is made, but you can refrigerate it, well covered, for up to 2 days. Bring it to room temperature before serving. If you want to freeze the cake, slice it into the freezer to set, then wrap it really well- it will keep for up to 2 months in the freezer; defrost it, still wrapped, overnight in the refrigerator.

Source: Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

Note: Dorie Greenspan’s cookbook (link above) is the baking bible. I paid $40 for mine, which is something I would rarely do for a cookbook. It was well worth it…the book is substantial and the recipes are fantastic. It will take me years to make all the recipes, and with this cookbook, I actually want to try most of them. When linking to Amazon, I noticed that they now have the book marked down to $26.40. It’s well worth the investment and you would get free super saver shipping since the cookbook is over $25. I highly recommend this book. (I just wish I had gotten mine on sale!)