Quick Vanilla Buttercream Frosting with White Vanilla Bean Cake

actually this is a ....

double layer...
WHITE VANILLA BEAN CAKE
DARK CHOCOLATE GANACHE filling
with CANDIED MACADAMIA
and...QUICK WHITE VANILLA BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

whew...that was too much for the heading.

a lovely cake for any occasion. small crumb, similar to a pound cake, but not too heavy.  holds up well and has a nice vanilla bean flavor.  the frosting is key...THIS BUTTERCREAM RECIPE IS FABULOUS.  the first one i ever made and it came together perfectly.   REALLY...this is delicious and EASY.

the dark chocolate ganache counterbalanced the plain whiteness of the over all flavor and appearance.  it slices well and it's fairly easy to put together.  i will add that the chocolate shavings were supposed to be lovely chocolate curls...this is not an easy task.  i think i tried 3 or 4 times before i finally just went with the pile of shavings...i think i'll need a little more practice on the curls. 

WHITE VANILLA BEAN CAKE

found at Bite These Goodies

100g butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 tsp vanilla paste

preheat oven to 360F.  butter a 9 inch cake pan and dust evenly with flour.
in a separate bowl mix the flour baking powder, baking soda, set aside.

in a big bowl place butter and sugar and beat until fluffy.  beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each egg.  when the buttery mixture is creamy, add 1/2 of the flour mixture and mix.  then add the buttermilk, mix again.  finally add the other 1/2 flour mixture and beat until creamy.  beat in vanilla until Incorporated.   this sounds like A LOT of mixing, but try not to over mix.

pour mixture into prepared pan.  bake for approx. 35-40 minutes.  mine took 30 minutes because i used a Fat Daddio's light cake pan.  check with skewer inserted in the middle of cake...should come out "just" clean.  remove from oven, let cool for about 10-15 minutes and remove from pan.  cool completely before frosting.

NOTE...if dividing into 2 layers you might want to refrigerate for just a bit before slicing in half.

ALSO...if you do not have a cake stand...IMPROVISE.  it is much easier to slice a cake in half when it is elevated off the board.  i used an upside down tupperware.  the taped napkin helps the cake stay in place and less likely to slip off.   use a long thin blade and score the outside, then slowly move your knife in towards the middle and around, watching that you are hitting your marks where you scored the cake.

PS...i also frost the cake on this lovely improvised cake stand.

QUICK VANILLA BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

found at foodnetwork.com by Gale Gand

3 cups powdered sugar...sifted, 306 grams total
1 cup butter, cubed, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 to 2 Tbsp whipping cream

in a stand mixer fitted with whisk, mix together sugar and butter.  mix on low speed until well blended, then increase speed to medium and beat for another 3 minutes
add vanilla and cream and continue to beat on medium for 1 minute more, adding a little more cream if necessary for a spreading consistency.  i think i added about 1 Tbsp total.

DARK CHOCOLATE GANACHE FILLING
with candied macadamia
NOTE...  there IS enough frosting to fill the center as well as cover the cake, but i didn't want a plain white on white cake.  this was something i added in at the time of building the cake.  i had some left-over ganache from plain truffles.  i crushed some candied macadamia nuts and added it to the left over ganache to make the filling.

this is approx. what i had.  you will probably not use all of it...get a spoon and finish it off, make a few truffles or use it for "drizzle sauce"
6 oz dark chocolate
6 oz heavy whipping cream

prepare your ganache...put chopped chocolate in a heat proof bowl and set aside.  heat cream to a boil.  remove from heat and pour over chopped chocolate.  let sit for a minute.  begin stirring gently from the center.  you will see the ganache come together.  when it is fully incorporated, refrigerate until good spreadable consistency.  add nuts or whatever.  hmmm, maybe crunchy toffee chips?  you could use just ganache.

Vanilla Ice Cream Cake

So, Titus turned four in May. He insisted on an ice cream cake. Unfortunately, he only likes vanilla ice cream. I figured it might be a bit boring.. but hey, it's his cake. And he loved it. So did all the guests! I served strawberries on the side - the birthday boy didn't have any, though. (And he didn't appreciate the chocolate cookies I used as decoration, either.. sigh.)

Vanilla Ice Cream Cake

200 ml full-fat milk
100 ml sugar (I used home made vanilla sugar)
1 tsp commercial vanilla sugar (or go ahead and use a scraped out vanilla bean if you happen to have one)
pinch of salt
3 egg yolks
300 ml cream (full-fat)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Heat the milk with the sugar, vanilla sugar and salt until steaming hot (but not boiling). Cover with a lid, and remove from the heat, and let it sit to infuse for about 30 minutes.

Whisk the egg yolks in a small bowl. Re-heat the milk mixture, and when it's warm, add a little to the egg yolks and stir well. Pour the now-tempered egg yolks into the saucepan, and heat everything gently until slightly thickened. Stir all the time.

Take a clean bowl that has a lid, and place a sieve on top. Add the cream and the vanilla extract. Then sieve the contents of your saucepan into the bowl as well. Stir to mix, and cover with a lid. Let this cool completely, ideally over night.

Run in your ice cream machine until frozen, then pour into a small springform tin. Place in the freezer for at least four hours.

Decorate as you see fit... or more fun, let your toddler do it!

Martha Graham vs. The Keystone Cops

I am accident prone. I just am. In fact, I always have been. When I was a little girl I skinned my knee and proceeded to fall and hurt that same exact spot countless times. It finally got super gross and mom had to take me to the doctor. On the way to the car heading to the doctor, I tripped over a tree branch and fell on it again. I have a scar to prove it.

Another time, when I was even younger, like a toddler, mom tells me she walked into my room and found me with a coat hanger wedged in my throat (the hook part - go figure). She panicked but very gingerly managed to remove it. I also opened the tremendously heavy front door of our house over my foot, which caused a huge cut. Mom put me up on the kitchen counter and told me I was very brave as she poured peroxide over it. I have a scar to prove it.

A few years ago after some openings and cocktails in Chinatown, a friend and I thought it would be fun to give me a piggy back ride – while running – back to the car. He tripped and I flew over his head and slid down the sidewalk on my face. No scar, thank God, but I do have a picture to prove it. I believe Heather entitled it “Eyeface”.

I have wrecked more bikes, stubbed more toes, and had more concussions than I’d like to count or admit. I bonk into corners of coffee tables, bed frames, door frames, you name it. I sometimes even close my own foot in the car door. I am, simply, a klutz.

But not in the kitchen. I wield large, sharp knives, juggle heavy pots and pans over high flames, I pivot and swirl with all sorts of dangerous kitchen equipment and delicate foods with nary a glitch. Why is this, I wonder? 

On Oscar night, my mom came over to bake bread, and cake and cook dinner and watch the awards with me. It was pretty over the top, the amount of action going on in my little kitchen. We baked a rustic loaf and a Parmesan-black olive loaf of bread. Dinner was a salad of shaved fennel, thinly sliced white mushrooms, Parmesan cheese, over mache, with a dressing of Meyer lemon, walnut oil and sea salt, and slices of pork tenderloin sautéed in ginger, garlic, soy and fish sauce over jasmine rice. For dessert we baked a polenta cake with a citrus glaze and homemade vanilla whipped cream. Everything was perfect.

Then, later in the evening, I was outside, lost my footing and had a colossal wipe out causing my knee, elbow and wrist to eat major concrete. It looked horrifying (and still does), and I have been having a hard time with movement, in general, ever since. And I’m sure I will have the scars to prove it. I guess I’m not surprised. I suppose I was overdue. It had been quite some time since the last incident, as far as I can recall.

How bizarre is it that I am like Martha Graham in the kitchen and then a Keystone Cop once I go out  into the world? 

I don’t have the answer, but I do have the recipe for that polenta cake.

Rosemary-Citrus Polenta Cake with a Rosemary-Citrus Syrup

1 stick unsalted butter

1 ½ cup all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 scant tsp salt

¾ cup polenta

5 eggs (at room temperature)

¾ cup sugar

zest of ½ Meyer lemon

zest of ½ small orange

2 tsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped

Preheat the oven to 360 degrees and prepare a 9-inch spring-form cake pan (buttered and floured).

Melt butter and set aside to cool.

In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt and polenta. In a separate bowl, using an electric mixer, whip together eggs and sugar until they are airy and have more than doubled in volume. Add the lemon and orange zests and rosemary.

Carefully fold in about a third of the dry ingredients and half of the melted butter, and repeat until everything is incorporated. Scrape into the cake pan and bake for 35-40 minutes; the sides should come slightly away from the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean. It will appear dry but moisture will be added soon.

For the syrup:

1 big branch of rosemary, chopped

½ cup water

1/3 cup sugar

zest of ½ Meyer lemon

zest of ½ small orange

Juice of 1 Meyer lemon

Make this syrup while the cake is in the oven. In a small pot, cook water and sugar over medium-high heat until the sugar has dissolved. Add the rosemary and the lemon and orange zests. Bring to a boil, and let it steep, simmering, for 15 minutes, then strain and reserve. Before using, add the lemon juice.

When the cake has cooled for 10 minutes, spoon the syrup evenly over the cake (still in the pan). Let it soak and cool in the pan, then remove. Serve at room temperature, with vanilla whipped cream, either spooned on top or sandwiched in the middle.

 Vanilla whipped cream: 

1 cup chilled heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup chilled crème fraîche
4 teaspoons powdered sugar
1 1 1/2-inch piece vanilla bean, split lengthwise

Combine whipping cream, crème fraîche, and powdered sugar in medium bowl. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; reserve bean. Using electric mixer, beat mixture until soft peaks form. Add reserved vanilla bean to cream mixture; cover and chill at least 2 hours.

DO AHEAD: Can be made 4 hours ahead. Keep chilled. Remove vanilla bean and re-whisk cream mixture until thick before using.