Ingredient
- 250 g Cake Flour
- 230 g Superfine sugar
- 1 1/4 tbsp Baking powder
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 250 g Unsalted Butter
- 5 Large eggs
- 60 g Whole Milk
- 1 tsp Vanilla Bean paste or extract
- 60 g strawberry puree
- 60 g Bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
Few drops of Pink gel food Coloring
- Preheat oven to 325°F / 160°C . Grease and flour three round 5 x 3.5 inch / 12 x 9 cm cake pans.
- In a medium bowl, stir the eggs , milk and the vanilla just until lightly combined.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the flat beater, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt on low speed for 30 seconds. Add the butter and half of the eggs mixture and beat on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened. Raise the speed to medium and beat for 1½ minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Starting on medium-low speed, gradually add the remaining egg mixture to the batter in two batches, beating on medium speed for 20 seconds after each addition to incorporate the ingredients. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Divide mix in 3 equal batches. Pour first batch in a cake pan. Add strawberry puree and some drops of Pink gel food coloring to the second batch and mix to combine. Then, add melted chocolate to the third batch and mix too, pour them in different cake pans and smooth the surfaces evenly.
- Bake 30-35 minutes or until a cake tester comes clean when inserted into the center. Be so careful to not over-bake.
- Let cool on racks for 10 minutes before loosening the sides with a small metal spatula, and invert onto greased wire racks. Gently turn cakes back up, so the tops are up and cool.
Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream
(Recipe from Linda Lomelino’s Blog)150 g Egg whites (about 5 large egg whites. It is important to weight them)
250 g Butter, softened
200 g White sugar
1/2 tsp Vanilla bean paste or extract
- Mix egg whites with sugar in a small saucepan and put it over a saucepan with simmering water a few minutes until sugar dissolves or using a thermometer until it gets 65°C exactly. Whisk constantly. Sift the mix through a small sieve if you get any lumps.
- Using a stand mixer, whisk for about 10 minutes or until Swiss meringue is firm and bowl feels cool.
- Once meringue is ready start adding soften butter slowly until it is fully incorporated. Whip 10 minutes at medium- hight speed.
- Add some drops of food coloring and whisk to incorporate. I used yellow and Electric Pink of Americolor Gel Food coloring.
Chocolate Glaze
- 50 g Dark Chocolate
- 30 g Butter
In a small saucepan mix both ingredients. Bring pan over medium heat until both ingredients dissolves completely. Let cool and use it at 30 ° C / 86 ° F. If you don’t have a thermometer, make sure the glaze is at room temperature before using it, in this way the Chocolate will not melt buttercream and you will get a more interesting thickness.
To Assemble and decorate Cake
- If cakes are domed on top, even out with a knife (Frozen cakes work better here). You can cut both cakes in half so you get 6 evenly layers.
- Place the first layer on a cake board and using a pastry bag, pipe french buttercream around top, starting in the center of the cake. Repeat the process using all the cake layers.
- Spread buttercream all over the cake and then remove any excess with the icing smoother and place it in the refrigerator about 15 minutes.
- Bring the cake from the refrigerator and using the offset spatula cover with buttercream.
- Begin cover coating cake and smoothing slowly. Be patient. Pay attention to get smooth surfaces and straight edges. Refrigerate once more.Bring the cake from the refrigerator. Make sure chocolate glaze is at room temperature before using it, in this way the Chocolate will not melt frosting and you will get a more interesting thickness. Drip it over the edges of the cake.
- Use the remaining buttercream to pipe on the top of the cake. I used Wilton 1M tip.
- Decorate with some Chocolates.
- Enjoy.
