Vanilla Chocolate Birthday Cake

You know you start to grow up when you make your own birthday cake. And it`s for the first time you use Swiss Meringue Buttercream. Yep, that`s me. Wake up in the morning and go shopping for ingredients before you even had breakfast. This pretty much summed up the day before I turned sixteen. 

After having searched for the perfect birthday cake recipe on the internet ( http://sweetapolita.com/ was my source of inspiration and I recommend you check out Rosies`s amazing recipes and tutorials) I gathered my ideas and this is what I came up with. 

I am a chocoholic and nr.#1 fan of vanilla, so I couldn`t make up my mind whether to bake a chocolate overloaded rich cake or a fluffy vanilla delicacy. So I made a 2 in 1 layer cake. Two vanilla layers sandwiched together with a smooth, silky custard cream. Do you think there is chocolate cream in the middle? Think again. That`s a Genoese( or Genoise?! whatever) Chocolate Sponge Cake. Sounds fancy, huh? It`s easier than it sounds, believe me.

Actually, it`s no big deal. The Swiss Meringue Buttercream was the hardest part. I`ll talk about that after you`ve finished staring at these pictures:

Now, about the cream (or frosting or icing, however you want to call it): unless you don`t have a KitchenAid mixer or anything like that, I must let you know that it takes a good 40 minutes from start to finish. Thanks to my dearest Phillips hand mixer, I managed to get a perfect result. And because it was my first time making it, I had to make the victory dance at the end. :D I don`t have a picture to show you that. =)

There are a few (of,maybe more) things you should know before making a Swiss Meringue Buttercream.
First of all, if you are a beginner and don`t get on well with whipping whites for a long time...don`t do it. Just make a plain, sugary buttercream and spread it on the cake. But I like being adventurous in the kitchen.
The most important ingredient is the butter (after all, this is why we call it "a buttercream"). It has to have a high fat content, about 80%-82%. Also, don`t forget to check if the whites are expired (put an egg in a glass of cold water and if it sinks, it`s good, if it swims to the surface...throw the damn thing away). 
The cream will go through different "changes" through the process of mixing and adding butter. 
You`ll notice that it the meringue will deflate once you start mixing it with the fat, maybe it will thin out and it will look curdled/grainy. Don`t panic! Take a deep breath and beat continuously until it stiffens and turns into a buttery, delicious, airy cream. 
Swiss Meringue Buttercream acts just like butter: if kept cold, it hardens, if kept warm, it gets soft. I kept my cream in the basement, where there`s a low temperature even in the summer. You can store yours in the fridge and if you find it too stiff to spread it on the cake, pop it 5-7 seconds (not more, or the butter will melt) into the microwave.

Here`s a before&after picture. Notice how the texture of the cream changed from curdled(if you have a good sight, than you`ll see that the sides of the bowl on the left show a cream that looks rather like split mayo) to a smooth, creamy frosting.

That being said, you need a bit of experience with baking and everything before making this recipe. And I`ll say this again: use a butter with high fat content to make sure you get the best results, both in taste and texture.

I mentioned that the chocolate layer is a Genoese Sponge Cake. What that is? It is the easiest and best method for making a high, fluffy sponge cake without whipping egg whites from egg yolk. What you basically do is dump the sugar and the eggs in a heat-safe bowl and whisk a couple o` minutes until you get a fluffy, pale (lemon-like color). Then, remove the bowl from heat and beat with the mixer for 3-4 minutes until the mixture leaves a "trail" behind the whisk. 

After that, you dump your dry ingredients and bake. That`s it!

That is "a trail" behind the whisk. When you run your whisk or whatever, then you`ll see there are traces...well, you get the idea. It gets paler in color and thicker.

What else could I tell you? Really nothing. This cake looks fancy but the whole process is not that time-consuming like a sassy birthday cake should be. Just make sure your beaters and bowls are grease-free in order to be able to whip the egg whites, they are extremely sensitive to fat. Just soak a paper napking in some lemon juice and rub your bowl: that gets rid of any dirty spots.

Here`s the recipe for a 18 cm/7 inch round cake pan. If you want to use a larger diameter pan than you`d better increase the amount of ingredients unless you want a thin, short cake.

Ingredients:

For the Vanilla Sponge Cake (makes 2 layers):

185 gr butter-room temperature

4 eggs-room temperature

275 g white  sugar-caster sugar works best but you could use granulated

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp baking soda

10 gr baking powder

210 gr sifted flour-25 cornstarch and 185 flour works best for a fluffy cake

1 tsp salt

5 T buttermilk

200 g dark chocolate-chopped-

1. Preheat your oven to 180 Celsius/375 F, grease the bottom of 2 round 7inch/18 cm round cake pans. Line them with parchment paper to make sure nothing sticks. Set aside.

2. Separate the egg whites from the egg yolks. In a medium bowl, beat the soft butter with 175 gr sugar for 5 minutes or until airy and light. Add the yolk, one at a time, beating a couple of seconds after each addition. Pour in the buttermilk and vanilla extract. Set aside.

3.In a grease-proof, large bowl, beat the egg whites until frothy. Add the salt and beat until soft peaks form. Add 1 Tablespoon of the remaining sugar (100 gr) and continue until stiff peaks form (when you lift the beaters up, the egg whites should stay firm).

4. Incorporate a dollop of the egg white mixture into the yolk mixture to loosen it a bit. Then, in 4 batches, slowly and carefully incorporate the yolk mixture into the white mixture. Work carefully and gentle, you don`t want to deflate the whites.

5. Fold in your flour, baking powder, baking soda and chopped chocolate, again, incorporating gently. 

6. Divide the mixture into the prepared cake pans and insert them into the oven. Bake somewhere around 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean(with no wet batter on it) if inserted in the center of the cake.

Remove from the oven, let them rest in the pans for 5-7 minutes and invert them onto a cooling rack and leave them to cool completely.

For the Genoese Chocolate Sponge Cake:

2 eggs

3 T. cocoa powder

90 gr sugar

80 gr flour

2 T oil

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp instant espresso powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

1.Start by preheating your oven to 150 Celsius/325 F, grease the bottom of 1 round 7 inch/18 cm cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.

2. Over a pot of simmering water, place a heat-safe bowl (don`t let the water come in contact with the bottom of the bowl or else you`ll end up cooking the eggs, which you don`t want!). 

The picture on the left is what you are looking for. Maybe you already own a double-boiler so go ahead and use that. I know I already showed you what "a trail" behind the whisk looks like, but well...I want you to understand the recipe, not only read it.

At this point, you will have to constantly whisk. You don`t have to stir like crazy, but keep moving that tool in the mixture. After a couple of minutes (3-4) it will start to produce a slightly foam on the surface. However, don`t stop until you notice the change in color and texture. You`ll be able to notice, don`t worry about that.

5.Remove the bowl form the double-boiler and put it on your counter. Now that you`ve done this, I strongly suggest you use the electric mixer. Whether you have a KitchenAid or a hand mixer, put on the beaters and beat until the egg-sugar mixture starts to cool a bit and thicken up. Again, 3-4 minutes was the amount of time it took me. Just stay there and baby-sit it.

6. Pour in the vegetable oil and the sifted flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder and vanilla extract at the end. Carefully fold everything in.

7. Put cake batter in pan. In the oven it goes, folks! Now bake it for somewhere around 30 minutes. Check with the classic toothpick test (insert a toothpick or a spaghetti in the middle of the cake and if it comes out clean, with no wet batter on in, it`s done). Take it our of the oven and let it cool in the pan for a good 10 minutes. Remove it from the cake pan after such time and let it cool on a rack.

Vanilla&Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream:

6 egg whites

216 gr full fat butter (82%)-try to have some more on hand in case you need 

250 gr sugar-granulated, white

1 Vanilla bean or 3 teaspoons extract

100 gr. dark chocolate, melted and cooled. 

1. Prepare your butter: take it out of the refrigerator and cut it in cubes. Place it in a slightly cold place (I put mine in the microwave, obviously with the microwave turned off). You don`t want your butter to room temperature or else it will be too soft and it will liquify your cream. It has to have a slight chill to it.

2. Over a pot of simmering water/double-boiler/bain marie, fit a heat-safe, grease-free bowl and put the egg whites and the sugar. Keep whisking until the sugar granules dissolve and whites are hot. You`ll know this when you take some mixture and rub it between your fingers. Don`t fell any sugar granules in there and whites are hot to the touch? If the answer is yes, remove the bowl from stove and place it on your counter.

This is how the mixture should look like when it is ready for the next step. I don`t know if you can see, but there are no sugar granules on the sides of the bowl. 

3. With the electric mixer on low speed, beat the egg whites until thick, glossy and volume increases and the bottom of the bowl will feel room temperature to the touch. This will take about 12-15 or more minutes. 

When your meringue looks like in the picture above, you are ready to add the butter. Don`t add more than 1 cube at a time! Mix until each piece is incorporated and add the next.

This will take another 15 minutes or so. Don`t get scared if the mixture loses it`s volume (it`s ok) and it thins out (it`s ok again). Keep mixing until you have a smooth, spreadable cream. Add the vanilla bean or extract. This is your vanilla Buttercream.

4. Put 1/4 of the Swiss Meringue buttercream in a smaller bowl and add the cooled, melted chocolate. This is your Chocolate Buttercream.

Store them in a cold room or in the refrigerator until you are ready to frost the cake. 

Note* If you find your cream is too stiff to easily frost the cake, pop it in the microwave 5-7 seconds (no more!) and mix thoroughly.

Vanilla Custard/Pastry Cream:

2 egg yolks

10 tsp sugar

300 ml milk

2 heaping tsp. cornstarch (or 4 if flour is used)

pinch od salt

1 Tsp. soft butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Pour the milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Let it come to a small boil.

2. In a bowl, put the egg yolk together with the sugar and mix until thicker and pale in color. Mix the cornstarch in.

3. Take 1/4 cup of the hot milk and pour it in a thin stream in the yolk-sugar mixture, whisking constantly to avoid cooking the eggs. 

Put this mixture back into the pot of milk and stir constantly over low heat until thickened and the consistency is that of a pudding.

Transfer to a shallow bowl, cover with plastic wrap (let the wrap touch the surface of the custard to avoid a dry skin forming as it cools) and let it cool completely.

Assemble the Cake:

 Place 1 Vanilla cake layer on a platter. Spread 4 heaping tablespoons of the Vanilla custard over it and cover with the Genoese Chocolate Sponge Cake. Put another few dollops of Vanilla Custard over it and spread, leaving a 1 inch/2.5 cm border. Place the second Vanilla cake layer on top, applying  a small pressure with the palm of your hand.

Take a few tablespoons of the Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream and spread on top, smoothing everything so that it is evenly. It doesn`t have to be perfect.

Spread a thick layer  of the Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream along the bottom third of the entire cake. Work your way upwards until you reach the middle layer. 

Do the same with the Vanilla Buttercream, starting from the top layer of the cake. Smooth out the cream with a straight spatula and fill any gaps if there are.

Keep in the refrigerator 2 hours before serving. Bring at room temperature for easy cutting a slice.

Enjoy! :D

And because I made this delicious cake for my birthday, I want to share a little photo of me when i was still fifteen.