Our Wedding: the Cake(s)

I had big dreams for my wedding cake. It was going to be tiered, we would have different flavors, and obviously I would get it at Strangas, my favorite cake place in the city. Right! Wrong. Reality kicked in and I wrote a bit about it here. As much as I love sweet treats, I just couldn't see us spending so much money on a wedding cake, as delicious as it would have been.

I thought of different options, other wedding cake companies, little cupcake businesses,  making out own cupcakes, but ultimately, we went with buying six different cakes from Andersen Bakery.

I think most people know that when you mention that something is for a wedding, things go up in price. So for us, we went to Andersen Bakery a week before the wedding and ordered one of every flavor of cake they had without mentioning our wedding. We bought a few slices of a few of the cakes to sample before ordering them and they all tasted lovely. We ordered some mousse cakes, some cheesecakes, and a gluten free Gateau Marcel. Andersen's cakes change with the season so it was nice that they used ingredients that were available at that time. We had an elderflower mousse cake which I loved, we also had a cherry cheesecake as well as a mango licorice cake. We cut our cake(s) during the cocktail hour/reception and Olsen +3 took care of setting out all the cakes and cutting and serving it to our guests.

Our cake table was quite simple. We asked my father-in-law to cut some round plates out of some logs that they had up at their summer house to use as cake plates. Like our seating chart, I hand stamped the name of each cake onto a small manila tag and wrote a little description of what the cake was. I also made a very simple cake topper to use on our cutting cake. I bought some pink fimo clay and rolled it out. I cut out three heart shapes with a cookie cutter and baked them. After baking and cooling the little hearts, I hand wrote the first letter or our names onto them with a gold paint pen and glued them onto some white lollipop sticks. And that was it!

We were really happy with the cakes we got for our wedding. People could try different flavors and there was more than enough cake for everyone. The cakes were affordable, they looked pretty, and they tasted great! Maybe if we do a vow renewal 5 or 10 years from now I can get a tiered cake, but for our actual wedding day, the cake table was perfect!

Red Wine Chocolate Cake

I think a lot of people are going to like this recipe! Red wine and chocolate...in cake form. It's like three awesome things in one! Says the person who isn't a huge fan of red wine. But in this cake, I love it! The wine does not fully cook out, but the flavor and depth that the wine brings combined with the dark cocoa powder is amazing and so delicious. And topping the cake with some mascarpone whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream (like I've shown here) just takes everything to an even more amazing level! Seriously, you need to try this. Maybe something to bake for the weekend?

Red Wine Chocolate Cake (barely from Smitten Kitchen)
Makes 1 (thin) 8 or 9-inch cake

6 tbsp or 85g unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
3/4 cup red wine, use something you enjoy drinking
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup + 1 tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 cup Dutch processed cocoa powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

For the mascarpone cream
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp white sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat your oven to 325F or 160C. Line the bottom of your round cake pan with parchment paper and lightly grease the sides of the pan with some butter or neutral tasting oil.

In a large bowl and on the medium speed of your mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the brown and white sugar and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and the yolk and beat well before adding the wine and the vanilla. The batter will look curdled and uneven so don't worry!

Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt together in another bowl. Pour 3/4 of the dry mixture into the wet ingredients and mix on low until just combined. Add the rest of the flour mixture and fold it into the batter with a spatula.

Spread the batter in your prepared pan and bake for 25-35 minutes, depending on the size of your pan. When the cake is ready, a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake should come out clean. Cool the cake in the pan for awhile before flipping it out and letting it finish cooling on a rack. Store the cake in an airtight container at room temperature or in the fridge.

If serving with the mascarpone cream, simply whip the cheese, cream, sugar and vanilla together until soft peaks form. Dollop generously on each slice of cake. (The cream should only be made right before serving the cake!)

Writing about this cake makes me wish it was the weekend already! Hope you've been having a great week so far!

A Naked Chocolate Cake with Summer Berries

It had been awhile since I've baked a cake with buttercream frosting. Sometimes you just want a really good piece of chocolate cake (or sometimes your pavlova layers get burnt in the oven and you need a quick go to recipe to whip up a birthday cake for a friend that evening)!

I turned to my trusty chocolate cupcake recipe for this cake. I doubled Sweetapolita's Classic (One Bowl) Chocolate Cupcake recipe to make two 8-inch cake layers. I wanted the naked cake look so I just made one batch of Sweetapolita's Chocolate Cloud Frosting. I frosted the top of the bottom layer with a thick layer of buttercream before scattering some fresh raspberries and little Danish strawberries over the frosting. I then stacked the top layer of the cake on and spread the rest of the frosting and piled on more berries. This cake stayed moist for days. I stored it in the fridge after serving it on Monday night because it has been so hot here and the frosting would not have held up in the heat. The cake was still moist when I enjoyed the last slice today! This recipe is one of my favorites and super easy to whip up. Definitely save this one for that day when your chocolate cake craving strikes!

A Delightful Raspberry Mousse Cake topped with Crunchy Meringues

I invited some of my girl friends over for dinner last night and had prepared a menu of chicken caesar salad (will share that recipe next!) followed by this wonderful raspberry mousse cake. I made this cake with another friend the other week in Helsingør but this time I made the cake a day earlier so it had even longer to set, I topped it off with a drizzle of melted chocolate and a handful of crispy vanilla meringues too!

I have made several of Maja of Chocolat's recipes before and I've always had success with them. She is a lovely Danish dessert blogger and her Gateau Marcel is my favorite! She shares a lot of gluten free recipes as well which I really appreciate and is perfect for when I have gluten free guests over.

Anyways, let's get to the cake shall we?

Raspberry Mousse Cake topped with Crunchy Meringues (slightly adapted from Chocolat)
Fills a 17-19cm spring form pan, enough for 6 to 8 people depending on portion size

For the chocolate cake base:

100 g chopped chocolate, 70% cacao and up
50 g unsalted butter
100 g or 1/2 cup sugar (raw or white sugar works)
2 large eggs

For the raspberry mousse:

300 g raspberries (fresh or frozen)
2 tbsp to just under 1/4 cup sugar (I went towards the higher amount)
1 tbsp vanilla extract, or seeds from 1 vanilla bean
1 to 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
3 gelatin sheets
120 ml or 1/2 cup heavy cream
120 g or 1/2 cup skyr (can substitute with greek yogurt if skyr isn't available for you)

For the meringues (didn't really follow a recipe, basic meringue making guide):

2 large egg whites, at room temperature
100 g or 1/2 cup of white granulated sugar
1 tbsp of vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 175C or 350F. Start with making the chocolate cake base by melting the chocolate with the unsalted better. Maja suggests doing it over a double broiler but I just melt it directly on the stove (over low heat) in a small saucepan, or you can melt it in the microwave as well. When the chocolate and butter has melted and combined, pour the mixture into a medium sized mixing bowl and add the sugar and mix. Crack the two eggs directly into the chocolate cake mixture and beat with a whisk until you get a smooth and glossy batter.  Pour the chocolate batter into your springform, line it with a parchment circle if you wish, and bake for 25 minutes. Let the cake cool completely.

To make the raspberry mousse, make a raspberry puree by pouring your berries, sugar, vanilla extract, and lemon juice into a small sauce pan. Cook the mixture on medium low, until it starts to boil gently. Prepare your gelatin sheets as well by placing them in a bowl of cold water for about 5 minutes. When your raspberry mixture starts to boil, take it off the stove and strain it through a sieve to get rid of the seeds. Pour the liquid from the puree back into the saucepan and warm it up again, until it reaches a slight boil. Wring out your gelatin sheets and stir them into the raspberry sauce. Place the mixture in the fridge for a few minutes while you prepare the rest of the mousse. Whip the heavy cream in a large mixing bowl until you get strong peaks or until you can turn the bowl upside down without anything falling out. Fold in the skyr before pouring the raspberry sauce into the cream mixture and folding again, until everything is combined. Pour the raspberry mousse over the chocolate cake layer and place in the fridge for at least 4 hours and overnight if you have the time.

The meringues can be made before or after the cake has been made. You can store them in an airtight container for up to a week. Simply beat the egg whites with a mixer on high until you reach soft peaks before adding the 1/2 cup of sugar and vanilla extract. Beat for a few more minutes until you get a glossy meringue with stiff peaks. Pipe your meringues onto a lined baking sheet. Bake in a preheated oven at about 80C or 175F for 1 hour and 40 minutes, or until the meringues are firm and dry to the touch and can easily come off the baking sheet. Turn off the oven when the meringues are ready, and cool them in there with the oven door cracked open. Store them in an airtight container until ready to be used or eaten.

To serve the cake, feel free to drizzle some chocolate on top (I used about 50 g of melted semisweet chocolate here). Place in the fridge to set. I didn't place my meringues onto the cake until I was ready to serve it as the moisture in the fridge would have ruined them. Before serving, I dipped the bottoms of my meringues in some melted white chocolate (again, about 50 g) and placed them on top of the cake. I finally topped it off with a dusting of dehydrated raspberries which I crushed into a powder in my mortar.

And that is how you make this delightful raspberry mousse cake! A beautiful, light and refreshing dessert that everyone will enjoy. I mean, the four of us girls finished this whole cake last night! Well, we were nice and saved the fiance a slice, but otherwise, we absolutely devoured it!

Lemon Yogurt Chia Seed Cake

I have had this Lemon Yogurt Cake from Smitten Kitchen on my mind for awhile now. We had five lemons sitting in the fridge this week and they weren't for anything in particular so I thought, why not use them for some cake! I love lemon desserts. Lemon meringue pie, lemon blueberry scones, lemon buttercream frosting, you name it. I just love the contrast between sweet and sour. So, if you like lemony things, this cake is for you!

Lemon Yogurt Chia Seed Cake (slightly adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

Fills one 8 x 8 square pan, or a regular loaf pan as well

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup skyr (or plain yogurt)

3/4 cup sugar

3 large eggs

2 tsp lemon zest, from approximately two organic lemons

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/3 cup olive oil 

1/4 cup chia seeds

1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tbsp sugar

Preheat the oven to 350F or 175C and line your square or loaf pan with parchment paper. 

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium sized bowl. In a larger bowl, whisk together the skyr or yogurt, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, vanilla extract, and olive oil. 

Slowly stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until no streaks of flour remain before folding the chia seeds into the batter. Pour the batter into your prepared tray. If you will be baking your cake in an 8 x 8 square pan like I did, you will only need to bake the cake for 25 to 30 minutes. Your cake will probably need more time in the oven if you use a loaf pan (approximately 50 minutes according to Deb).

While the cake is baking, warm up the 1/3 cup lemon juice and remaining 1 tbsp of sugar in a small pot until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside for later.

Test to see if the cake is done by inserting a toothpick into its center. If it comes out clean, your cake is ready. Take your cake out of the oven and let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes before flipping it out onto a cooling rack. Poke some holes in your cake with a toothpick or with a fork before pouring or carefully spreading the lemon syrup over the cake and allowing it to soak in. (You can use a pastry brush or you can just use a spoon like me and carefully pour and spread the syrup all over the cake.) Let the cake cool completely before digging in! Yum! 

This recipe is really adaptable. On her post, Deb makes a list of ways you could change this cake. For example using different citrus fruits or adding berries or chocolate for example. Do refer to her post for more ideas! 

This little cake went a long way. We shared some with two different friends on Saturday and then we enjoyed another piece on Sunday with the fiance's parents. I really like this cake. I also feel as if it is a bit healthier with the skyr, olive oil, and chia seeds in it. Although who am I kidding, there's still quite a bit of sugar in it! All in all, it is a quick cake to throw together and its bright lemony flavor is perfect for this sunny weather! 

Happy Tuesday!

A Baby Shower + A Chocolate Fudge Cake

I mentioned in my last post that I hosted a baby shower for my friend S on Saturday afternoon. The last two weeks our dining table has been baby shower central. I didn't decorate so much besides making a few washi tape garlands and hanging some paper honeycombs. What I did spend some time on was making a diaper cake! When I first told the fiance that I was going to make a diaper cake he thought I was going to make a cake shaped like a diaper. Nope! But I do think the "cake" turned out really well if i do say so myself!

I didn't have too much planned for the baby shower besides decorating some onesies and having two little activities for the guests. I printed out a February calendar from here for guests to write their predictions as to when the baby will be born. I had also seen some templates online for people to write out some of their hopes, wishes and advice for the baby as they get older so I reworked one for the shower. If you would like to use the one I put together, you can get it here. 

And then there was the food! Since the shower started at 3pm, I kept the food pretty simple and the menu pretty small. I asked two friends to bring some carrot and cucumber sticks and some hummus and I made some chili popcorn for people to snack on. For the sweets I made some coconut macaroon tartlets which I filled with a berry sauce and topped with a small dollop of skyr whipped cream and a blueberry. I also baked two batches of peanut butter cookies and mixed in M&Ms instead of chocolate chunks like in this recipe. 

But best of all was this chocolate fudge cake. I did a trial run of this gluten free chocolate fudge cake last week and shared it with the fiance and some of our friends and everyone enjoyed it. For someone who has had their share of chocolate cake, I thought this gluten free chocolate fudge cake tasted amazing. It has the texture that I'm used to, it was moist and full of chocolate flavor. Seriously, I've had like 4 slices of this cake this weekend. It is also the first recipe where I thought Jeanne's All-Purpose Gluten Free flour was perfect. In other recipes where I've used her flour I thought the mochi flavor was too strong but here it was masked with the cocoa powder. I paired the cake with a chocolate buttercream and it was basically chocolate heaven. This is a wonderful chocolate cake but if you aren't on a gluten free diet, this Devil's Food Cake recipe is my favorite. 

Chocolate Fudge Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting 

(slightly adapted from Art of Gluten Free Baking and Savory Sweet Life)

Makes a two layer 8-inch cake

Chocolate Fudge Cake

2 cups Jeanne's Gluten Free All-Purpose Flour

3/4 cup natural cocoa powder, sifted (not Dutch-processed)

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup or 230g unsalted butter, melted

2 1/2 cups packed brown sugar

4 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup hot coffee

Preheat oven to 350F or 175C. Grease the bottom of your spring form with a little bit of butter and line the bottom of the pan with a round of parchment paper. 

In a medium sized mixing bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. 

In a large bowl, beat the eggs with a mixer until they are pale in color and fluffy, this took me about 5 minutes. Add the brown sugar and beat for 2 minutes until it is well combined with the eggs. Carefully add the melted butter and beat on low while you incorporate it into the egg mixture. Beat for another minute before mixing in the vanilla extract.

Pour the dry ingredients into the egg mixture and stir it a few times with a spatula before using the mixture to combine the dry and the wet ingredients. When there are no more streaks of flour, slowly pour in the hot coffee and beat the cake batter on low until just combined. Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake in the middle of the oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. 

When the cake is baked, let it cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes before removing the sides of the spring form and sliding the cake off the bottom of the pan. Remove the parchment paper when the cake has cooled. Let the layers cool completely before frosting the cake. 

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

1 1/2 cup or 340g unsalted butter, softened

5 1/4 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp vanilla extract

7 tbsp heavy cream

Sift together the powdered sugar and cocoa powder in a medium mixing bowl.

Cream the butter on low for a few minutes with your mixer until it becomes really creamy and paler in color. Add 1/3 of the sugar and cocoa powder mixture into the butter and beat until combined. Add the rest of the sugar and cocoa powder and beat on low until all of the dry ingredients have been absorbed by the butter. With the mixer on medium speed, add the vanilla extract, salt and cream and beat for 3 minutes. 

If you would like to frost the cake the way I did for the baby shower, refer to this scalloped cake tutorial on Oh Happy Day. 

Yum! I hope you enjoy this cake as much as I do!

*A few of the pictures in this post are from S!

Birthday in Photos + A Crepe Cake Recipe

From cocktails on Saturday evening to brunch on Sunday morning, my birthday weekend was wonderful. It was full of yummy drinks, a crepe cake, macaroni and cheese, and most of all I got to spend it with my favorite people here.

Instead of serving a cake at brunch, I made a crepe cake! It was delicious and I can't wait to make it again. I've been wanting to make this berry filled crepe cake after seeing this recipe on Pastry Affair. I use a different crepe recipe normally but I thought I would just follow the recipe on Pastry Affair. Unfortunately, the buttermilk pancake/crepe recipe just didn't work for me. The batter was thick on the pan and it didn't cook properly. It was difficult to flip and the texture just seemed off. So I threw out that batter and turned to my usual crepe recipe instead. After my crepe crisis, everything turned out beautifully! I absolutely loved the addition of skyr to the whipped cream. It gave it more body and the cream held nicely in the cake. Yum!

Crepe Cake with Forest Berries and Cream (adapted from A Tasty Love Story's recipe on Pastry Affair and Cakies)
Enough cake for about 8 people

Crepes (slightly adapted from Sweet and Savory Tooth)

Makes about 10 large crepes

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/3 cup water

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 tbsp sugar (I used homemade vanilla sugar)

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp butter, melted

With a blender or with a whisk, blend or mix all the ingredients until smooth. The batter should be the thickness of heavy cream. 

Heat a non-stick pan or skillet on medium high heat until hot and grease the pan with a little bit of butter. Take the pan away from the stove top and pour in about 1/3 cup of batter. Tilt and rotate the pan so that the batter coats the surface. Cook until almost dry on top and lightly browned on the edges, about 1 minute. Loosen the edges with a spatula and flip the crepe over. Cook the other side for another 30 seconds or so until it is lightly browned. Place the crepe on a plate to cool. Continue with the rest of the batter remembering to grease the pan after each crepe. (I placed a sheet of baking paper between each crepe to ensure that they wouldn't stick together.) Allow the crepes to completely cool on the counter or in the fridge before putting your crepe cake together.

Berry Compote

2 1/2 cups (300g) mixed forest berries (blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, red currants, etc.), fresh or frozen

2 tbsp sugar (I used homemade vanilla sugar)

Place the berries in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the sugar and gently mash the berries with a potato masher. Allow the berry sauce to simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, until it is not runny but also not as thick as jam. Fully cool before using. This can be made a day or two in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge.

Topping and Layers

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup greek yogurt or skyr

2 tbsp sugar

fresh berries (I used strawberries and pomegranate seeds)

Whip the heavy cream and when it starts to thicken up, add the sugar. Continue to whip the cream until you get soft peaks. Gently fold in the skyr or whipped cream. 

Assembling the Cake

Place a crepe on a plate or a cake stand. Add a layer of cream or the berry compote or both and top with another crepe. Continue with this until you reach the last crepe. Top with the rest of the cream and pile some fresh berries on top and voila! 

I know this crepe cake sounds like a lot of work, but it is really tasty, perfect for brunch, and it is a great alternative to a birthday cake! What do you think? 

Tea at Tante T

On Friday I met up with my lovely friend S at Tante T in Vesterbro. I have bought tea from Tante T's shop at Torvehallerne but had never been to their tea salon before. It is a lovely little cafe. It is very quaint and a great place to chat and catch up with friends and not so serious or fancy as other places I've been to for high tea. It's more low key and I really liked that.

At the Tante T tea salon you can choose from over 150 varieties of tea, as well as coffee and tea lattes. They serve brunch, cakes, and offer a variety of baked goods as well. Take a look at their menu here. I chose to have a sweet matcha tea latte and a delicious piece of chocolate cake while S chose to have a white hot chocolate.

I had a great time at the Tante T tea salon with S that afternoon and I am definitely planning on visiting them again soon!

Tante T Thesalon
Viktoriagade 6
1655 Copenhagen V

They are open from:
10am to 10pm Monday to Friday
10am to 7pm on Saturdays
10am to 6pm on Sundays

Strawberry Summer Cake

Summer and strawberries go hand in hand! My sister made this cake for Father's Day a few weeks back and it has been on the back of my mind ever since. I picked up two boxes of Danish strawberries at the grocery store yesterday and although the boyfriend and I like strawberries, it would take us a few days to finish all of them. So, why not bake a cake with them! I just made this cake this morning and I've already had two slices! The cake is buttery and moist and the strawberries turn all gooey and taste like an amazing jam. It's so good! This really is summer in the form of a cake.

Strawberry Summer Cake (slightly adapted from Smitten Kitchen)
Makes 1 9-inch cake

6 tbsp or 85g unsalted butter, softened
11/2 cups all purpose flour
11/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
just under 1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 pound or 450g strawberries hulled and halved
2 tbsp vanilla sugar (or white sugar)

Preheat the oven to 350F or 180C and butter a 9-inch springform pan.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a small bowl. In a larger bowl, beat butter and 1 cup sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Mix in the egg, milk and vanilla extract and beat until combined. Add dry mixture gradually and mix until smooth.

Pour batter into the prepared pan. Arrange strawberries, cut side down, on top of the batter and as close together as possible in a single layer. Sprinkle the 2 tablespoons of vanilla sugar over the strawberries.

Bake cake for 10 minutes and then reduce heat to 325F or 160C. Continue to bake until the cake is a golden brown and a tester comes out free of wet batter, this can take anywhere from 40 to 60 minutes. Check the cake at 40 minutes to decide whether or not it needs more time in the oven. Let cool on a rack before serving.

Cheesecake at Bertels Kager

We were planning on going for a walk tonight and well, a walk turned into going down the street to try a new cake place! I love living close to the center of our neighborhood because we live no more than 3 minutes away from many different cafes, restaurants, and ice cream shops. We noticed Bertels Kager on Falkoner Allé a few weeks ago. Their exterior stood out from other stores on the street, catching our attention, and although we've walked past it a few times and have looked in their window, we just hadn't found time to try it yet. Until tonight that is!

Bertels Kager specializes in gourmet New York style cheesecakes. Tonight they had five different types of cheesecakes including Oreo, peanut butter, chocolate, mixed berries, and strawberry. Besides cheesecakes, they serve breakfast in the morning and tapas in the evening. They have a variety of drinks available as well from coffee to wine to this amazing Fresh Ginger Ginger Ale. (I also had a pomegranate ginger ale from this brand on the weekend at Maude's - another great cafe in Frederiksberg).

Now, I know I write and post recipes for a lot of cakes, desserts, and sweets on here so one may naturally assume that I like cheesecake. But actually, I've never liked cheesecake. My mom and sisters love it, but I've always passed on it. It's just that I'm not a huge fan of cream cheese (or many cheeses at that), especially in large amounts. I've grown to like cream cheese frosting, but it is definitely not my go-to. However, the boyfriend and I did share a slice of Bertel's Oreo cheesecake tonight and I actually enjoyed it! The cake had a Oreo crust, a heavier cheesecake layer on the bottom with crushed cookies in it, and a lighter whipped layer on top. I'm a little bit afraid to try their other cheesecakes because they didn't have this whipped layer on them but if you love a good cheesecake, I would definitely recommend going there! If not for the cheesecake then for the cozy atmosphere! 

Bertels Kager

Falkoner Allé 54

2000 Frederiksberg

P.S. They're open until 10pm every night! That's pretty rare for cake and coffee places in Copenhagen.

2000 + Chocolate Cake with Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Two weeks ago, I reached 2000 hits on my blog. Compared to others, that's nothing, but for me it was a big deal! So thank you for following me on this little adventure of mine!

And to celebrate, I baked a cake! I made a mini 3-layer chocolate cake and tried out a new frosting recipe and technique. I started my cupcake posts with a chocolate cupcake topped with strawberry frosting but I wasn't very happy with the frosting then so I didn't write about it. I thought I would try it again now and although it is good, it's still not amazing to me. However, it is good. I just don't think I'm used to the swiss meringue buttercream texture yet compared to normal buttercream. It is very smooth but the texture feels a little "slippery" to me, and actually feels and tastes more buttery than a regular buttercream. Swiss meringue buttercream is loved by many bakers so I will have to try it out some more! I baked this mini cake with my 4 inch spring form pan. A recipe for a standard 12 cupcakes will be enough batter for the 3 layers.

Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream (adapted from Sweetapolita)
Enough to lightly frost 12 cupcakes

2.5 large egg whites
3/4 cup sugar
170g unsalted butter, cut into cubes and cool
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped strawberries, pureed
pinch of salt
a few drops of red food coloring (optional)

Puree strawberries in a blender until smooth and set aside. You can add more puree, all of this is to taste.

Whisk egg whites and sugar in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water (not boiling). Whisk constantly but gently until the temperature of the mixture reaches 160F or 71C on a candy thermometer.

Pour the egg white and sugar mixture into your mixing bowl and start whipping until the meringue is thick, glossy, and the bottom of the mixing bowl is not longer warm but neutral. This can take from 5 to 10 minutes.

When the bowl is neutral to the touch, begin to add one cube of butter at a time on low speed, fully incorporating after each addition. Mix until reaching a smooth silky texture. If it curdles, just keep mixing and if it is too soupy, place it in the fridge for 15 minutes before whipping again.

Add vanilla and salt, continuing to beat until everything is well combined.

Lastly, add strawberry puree and food coloring until everything is silky smooth.

Thanks again for reading this little blog of mine. I had a great time making (and eating) this cake in honor of all you who are reading and following me on here!