Well hello there. Yes, it’s been over a year since I last posted a recipe and I apologize. But now I’m back. Let me fill you in on my year of non-blogging adventures.
- Got a job at at a company that imports Italian food and wine. WIN!
- Tried a new type of dance and loved it
- Finally went wine tasting in Napa
- Watched Lord of the Rings more than 30 times (can you tell I’m a fan?)
- Became a regular at a dumpling restaurant
- Ate my weight in tacos
Now that you know these things, lets get to the important stuff, THE CAKE!
I’ve developed quite a reputation at work for my baking and I love it! It means I get to bake all kinds of cool things and people will actually eat it all. Major win. When my boss asked me to make “one of my cakes” for a longtime employee who was retiring, I immediately started brainstorming cake ideas. After consulting with a co-working, I decided on a celebratory Champagne cake. But remember, this is an Italian company, run by really awesome Italian people. I can’t go using FRENCH sparkling wine in my cake. Quick fix? Prosecco! And thus, the Prosecco Cake was born!
Here is the recipe for the Prosecco Cake with Whipped Buttercream and Raspberry Filling.
Yield: two 9 inch cakes
Prosecco Cake
Ingredients:
- 2 cups cake flour
- 2/3 T baking powder
- 1/3 teaspoon salt
- 4 egg whites
- 2/3 cup Prosecco (not too dry)
- 1 1/3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 T vegetable oil
- 1 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2/3 cup unsalted butter
Method
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, grease and flour 2 (9 inch) pans.
- In a medium size bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside
- In another bowl combine the egg whites, champagne, vanilla and vegetable oil. Whisk until blended and set aside.
- In the bowl of your mixer, cream the butter and sugar 3 to 5 minutes. When it is light and fluffy add approximately 1/3 of the dry ingredients and mix until blended. Slowly add 1/2 of the liquid ingredients and mix until blended. Continue alternating dry and wet ingredients ending with dry and mix until blended. Add the pink color at this time.
- Pour into prepared pans and bake 15-20 minutes. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted the center comes out clean. Cool in baking pans 10 min. then turn out.
(recipe adapted from http://www.mycakeschool.com/recipes/pink-champagne-cake/)
Whipped Buttercream
Ingredients:
- 1 cup milk
- 5 tablespoons flour
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar (not powdered sugar)
- zest of one lemon (optional)
Method
- In a medium saucepan, whisk one cup of milk with 5 tablespoons of flour. Heat over medium until the mixture begins to sputter, whisking constantly. Continue to stir as the mixture thickens. You will know it’s done when it reaches the consistency of thick cake batter, after about 7 minutes of heating and whisking. Stir in 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and set aside to cool COMPLETELY.
- Now, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, or using a hand held mixer, beat 2 sticks of softened butter (1 cup) with 1 1/4 cups of granulated sugar until light, fluffy, and white in color, about 3 solid minutes of beating on medium-high speed. You want the sugar to be totally incorporated into the butter. NOTE: the sugar will not be dissolved. The graininess will go away in the next step when the milk mixture is added.
- Be sure that the milk/flour mixture has completely cooled, and add it to the butter/sugar mixture. Beat all ingredients for about 1 minute on high speed, scraping down the bowl halfway, until they are smooth and well blended. The frosting should be as light and fluffy as whipped cream.
(recipe courtesy of http://www.andiemitchell.com/the-best-whipped-frosting/)
Raspberry Filling
Ingredients:
- 2 cups raspberries
- 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons water
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
Method
- In a saucepan, combine the raspberries, 3/4 cup of water and the sugar. Bring to boil.
- Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until the raspberries have broken down.
- Remove the mixture from the heat and strain in a fine-mesh sieve. Return the strained mixture to the heat.
- Dissolve the cornstarch in the remaining 2 tablespoons of water. Whisk the slurry into the raspberry mixture.
- Bring the mixture back to a boil and simmer for 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and cool completely.
(Recipe adapted from http://emerils.com/120077/raspberry-filling)
I chose to decorate this cake with fruit and powdered sugar, which was a nice, simple, and fresh presentation. Everyone absolutely loved it and are now dropping hints that I should open a bakery. I call that a win.
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did!