Ultimate Cook Book_ 900 New Recipes, Thousands of Ideas - Bruce Weinstein [354]
Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
Beat the egg whites in a large bowl until foamy with an electric mixer at high speed. Slowly pour in 1/3 cup sugar in a thin, steady stream, beating all the while. Continue beating until the turned-off beaters will make droopy, satiny, soft peaks in the mixture when they’re dabbed into it, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
Clean and dry the beaters. Beat the egg yolks and the remaining 2/3 cup sugar in a second large bowl at medium speed until very thick and pale yellow, about 3 minutes. Beat in the milk, vanilla, and almond extract until smooth. Scrape down and remove the beaters.
Fold in the ground almonds with a rubber spatula, then fold in the flour mixture just until there are no more white streaks in the batter.
Fold in half the beaten egg whites, then gently fold in the remainder of the beaten egg whites, using long, slow strokes so as not to deflate them. There may be a few white streaks of egg white still in the mixture. Pour and scrape the mixture evenly between the two prepared pans.
Bake until a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the middle of the cakes comes out clean, about 22 minutes. Cool completely before filling.
To cool and unmold: Transfer to a wire rack and cool for 10 minutes. Unmold the cakes by running a knife around the pans’ inner edge, inverting them onto a cutting board, removing the pan, and then reinverting the cakes onto the wire rack. Cool completely, at least 45 minutes.
To store: Wrap the cooled layers individually in plastic and set aside at room temperature for up to 2 days.
To fill: Place one cake layer top side down on a serving platter or cake stand. Spoon the jam into the center of the cake and then spread it out to the edges with an offset spatula or the back of a soup spoon occasionally dipped into hot water. Set the other cake layer top side up on the jam. Place the confectioners’ sugar in a fine-mesh sieve and dust it over the cake.
Variation: Substitute any flavor of jam you like for the raspberry—or use orange marmalade or another citrus marmalade.
Inside-Out Black Forest Layer Cake
Here’s an American take on a Bavarian classic: a cherry layer cake with a chocolate whipped cream frosting. Makes one 9-inch two-layer cake
10 tablespoons (1 stick plus 2 tablespoons) cool unsalted butter, cut into chunks, plus additional for greasing the pan
3 cups cake flour, plus additional for dusting the pans
4 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup sugar
1 cup sour cherry jam
3 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¾ cup milk (regular, low-fat, or fat-free)
Chocolate Whipped Cream (recipe follows)
2 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly butter two 9-inch cake pans; dust thoroughly with flour, shaking out the excess.
Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until light, creamy, and smooth, about 4 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat in the sour cherry jam.
Beat in the eggs one at a time, making sure each has been thoroughly incorporated without any visible eggy bits. Beat in the vanilla until smooth, then beat in ¼ cup milk.
Turn the beaters off, add a third of the flour mixture, and beat at low speed just until moistened. Beat in another ¼ cup milk, then beat in half the remaining flour mixture, again just until moistened. Finally, beat in the remaining ¼ cup milk, then beat in the remaining flour for just a few seconds, just to pull the flour into the batter.
Scrape down the beaters and remove them. Turn the batter a few times with a rubber spatula to make sure that there are no white streaks of undissolved flour, then scrape the batter evenly into the two pans. Rap the pans a few times