491854 Thu Feb 21 08:06:59 -0800 2008 16 31 Home Cooking 0 3420219 I'm choosing a layer cake to make for my sister's birthday. She's not into chocolate. At first I thought a banana cake with cream cheese frosting (from Fannie Farmer Baking Book---i've made this before and it was great), but my bananas are refusing the ripen (three days ago they were partly green, now they are about just ripe but not at all overripe and not very flavorful---I tried one) and I need to make the cake tonight. In the same Fannie Farmer Baking Book, I see a recipe for buttermilk spice cake that sounds good and I've got all the ingredients for it, but I've never made it. A friend suggested a frosting made from just a combination of mascarpone and lemon curd (equal parts, plus adding small amounts of lemon zest and juice). Another recipe (on epicurious) had a lemon-mascarpone frosting that had lemon curd, mascarpone, lemon juice and zest, plus sweetened whipped cream added to fluff it up. I'm not sure how the lemon would go with the clove/allspice/nutmeg combo in the cake. Alternatively, I could go with just a mascarpone frosting, which is made very much like a standard cream cheese frosting (cheese, confectioner's sugar, small amount of butter and possibly a little lemon juice). Any thoughts, or other killer cake recipes that are not complicated? Another aspect is that the cake needs to keep until Saturday (including a two-hour drive). This means I should probably just transport it unfrosted, make the frosting at my sister's place, then assemble cake there. Any tips on transporting unfrosted cake layers? Could I make the frosting ahead, bring it in the car, then assemble at the destination? I'm thinking it may not need to be chilled. Also, I don't have a cake carrier... thanks!! Thu Feb 21 08:06:59 -0800 2008 12377 bella_sarda 1 3420332 If you have your heart set on the buttermilk spice cake, I'd go w/ cream cheese or plain mascarpone frosting but not lemon mascarpone. But, I think an orange mascarpone would go with it. If you can, I'd frost ahead of time because it'll keep the cake moister and you won't have to fuss with it once you get there. I've used rubbermaid storage containers for cake transportation. Turn it upside down, put the cake (on a plate) on the lid w/ non-skid mat below, cover with the base. Thu Feb 21 08:39:12 -0800 2008 3420219 39874 chowser 2 3420342 Oh, if you do frost ahead, I wouldn't do the one with the whipped cream. Just a basic cream cheese type w/ mascarpone. Thu Feb 21 08:40:54 -0800 2008 3420332 39874 chowser 3 3420899 Thanks for the great advice. For the orange-mascarpone frosting---I like the idea---do you think I could just add some orange juice and zest to the standard cream cheese frosting recipe? Or should I use orange curd for thickness? Perhaps I could put orange curd between the layers and then put the mascarpone frosting (with some orange zest in it, perhaps) on top and sides. Thu Feb 21 10:45:54 -0800 2008 3420342 12377 bella_sarda 4 3420978 I love the idea of orange curd in the middle. I'd add zest to the frosting and maybe some orange extract--juice is a good idea but you don't add that much liquid and a tbsp or two of juice won't make a difference (unless it's Grand Marnier which would be good, too). If you're doing orange curd in the middle, I would make the frosting with only a little orange flavor so you don't overwhelm the cake w/ too much orange. Good luck with it! Thu Feb 21 11:03:25 -0800 2008 3420899 39874 chowser 5 3421489 Thanks for more great tips. I'm getting excited now about the cake...I'll let you know how it turns out. Thu Feb 21 12:54:42 -0800 2008 3420978 12377 bella_sarda 6 3421792 I suspect orange oil would overwhelm the delicacy of a spice cake. I normally make my spice cake with subtle, not a WOW amount of spices. A kiss of orange in the frosting would be amazing. Too much orange and you will overpower the cake. Thu Feb 21 14:00:06 -0800 2008 3421489 166570 nliedel 7 3423469 Thanks folks. Last night I successfully made the cake layers---a taste of the batter and a few crumbs of the cooked cake indicate it will be very good; and this morning I just finished making a blood orange curd, which is really yummy. Tonight I will make the subtly-orange-flavored mascarpone frosting (flavored with small amt of orange extract), and assemble the cake by putting blood orange between each of the four layers (two 8 inch layers cut in half) and then frosting top and sides with the mascarpone. I wound up using a recipe from foodandwine.com for a buttermilk-spice cake with orange-curd filling and some other kind of frosting, because of the similarity in ideas. The cake recipe is credited to Flo Braker, but it's very similar to the Fannie Farmer recipe. The only changes I'm making are the blood orange juice for standard OJ and the mascarpone frosting instead of meringue frosting. After assembling tonight I will store in fridge overnight, then pack in cake carrier to take on the drive, then either refrigerate or keep at room temp (it's cold in the house there) for the afternoon, bringing to room temp well before serving. Anyone see anyone issues with the assembly/storage plan? thanks again chow people! Fri Feb 22 06:31:01 -0800 2008 3421792 12377 bella_sarda 8 3423573 Make sure to do a frosting damn to hold in the orange curd so it doesn't leak out, especially with the long drive. I usually make some frosting on the stiffer side for this. I'd almost be tempted to freeze it to make sure it's okay for the drive--I didn't realize you were going to have four layers. Or, maybe bring it on ice--mascarpone frosting might get too soft in the car ride. Bring extra frosting with you so you can touch up on the other end. It might be overkill, but you could also cut straws the height of the cake and insert to hold the layers in place better. This sounds great--let us know how it goes! Fri Feb 22 07:04:16 -0800 2008 3423469 39874 chowser 9 3423819 Hmmm...you're making me nervous. Here's what I think I'll do: leave a 1/2-inch border free of filling on the edge of each layer (as instructed in the recipe), which ought to prevent seepage some, and, perhaps, fill the middle of the cake (between 2nd and 3rd layers) with mascarpone instead of curd, then curd again between 3rd and 4th layers, then mascarpone top and sides. (This could even look and taste cooler than all curd in the middle.) I'll freeze it overnight tonight, then just bring in car (with extra frosting, thanks for the tip), letting it thaw as we drive (only two-plus hours, cold outside and in back of car, so should be no direct heat on the cake there). Does that sound safe? I can't picture what you're talking about with the straws, but I probably won't do it anyway since I don't think I have any straws on hand. Fri Feb 22 08:20:45 -0800 2008 3423573 12377 bella_sarda 10 3423896 Had an idea: store only two layers together at a time, on two separate plates, and then stack the whole thing together at my destination---this will lead to less smushing/oozing along the way! A problem has emerged, however: in my morning haze, in making the curd I used 3 eggs plus 2 egg whites, instead of 3 eggs plus 2 egg YOLKS!!! On my way to work I was wondering why it didn't seem quite as curdlike as the lemon curds I've made in the past, although it did thicken a fair bit and taste quite good. I'm going to go ahead and use it---I'm the only one who'll know the difference, but this will teach me to cook before drinking my morning coffee!!! Funny how I figured it out on the way to work...duh---it should have been yolks you ninny!!! Fri Feb 22 08:38:42 -0800 2008 3423819 12377 bella_sarda 11 3424296 As long as it tastes good, who will notice that you used whites? If you use a frosting dam, you don't need to worry about seepage (assuming the frosting is thick enough not to melt) http://www.baking911.com/decorating/cakes_frostproblems.htm Fri Feb 22 10:19:28 -0800 2008 3423896 39874 chowser 12 3424736 Cool! never seen that before. Fri Feb 22 11:49:32 -0800 2008 3424296 12377 bella_sarda 13 3431981 Just wanted to report that the cake was delicious and it transported beautifully, fully assembled, thanks to the "frosting dam" technique, which was really not that difficult. I adapted the frosting recipe a bit, however, because the combo of just mascarpone with confectioner's sugar (and 1 tsp orange extract) tasted a bit too sweet and unctuous; I added plain whole milk yogurt (about 1/2 cup to 3 cups of the mascarpone mixture) to make it tangy and lighter in texture. It worked great and the cake combo was a huge hit. Mon Feb 25 07:56:10 -0800 2008 3424736 12377 bella_sarda 14 3432131 Sounds delicious. I'll bet the yogurt added a nice tang--great idea. Can you share the cake recipe? I'd love to give it a try. BTW, the frosting dam is important--I was lazy once and didn't do it. It looked fine right after but after sitting, it was not pretty! Mon Feb 25 08:34:02 -0800 2008 3431981 39874 chowser 15 3432954 Recipes for the cake and the orange curd (linked within cake recipe) are here: http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/spice-cake The frosting was a bit improvised. It was about as follows: 12 oz. mascarpone (right out of fridge OK) 1 and 1/4 cup confectioner's sugar, sifted if lumpy 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon orange extract (optional, or to taste) (NOTE: reserve about 1/2 cup frosting at this stage, if you plan to make a frosting dam--see note below for further explanation) 3-5 Tablespoons honey, to taste about 1/2 cup plain, whole-milk yogurt, to taste With hand mixer or standing mixer, mix mascarpone and confect. sugar until fully mixed and fluffy, about 2 minutes; add extracts and beat briefly to blend (reserve small amt for dam if needed); then start adding honey and yogurt (I started with small amounts of each, then added more of each in alternating sequence until I reached the desired sweetness/tartness and consistency I wanted); the proportions can be varied to your taste; the more yogurt you use, the lighter and less sweet it will be (honey can compensate and adds a nice flavor note that sugar alone doesn't provide); if you add too much yogurt I imagine it would become too thin and not "set up" properly. This is why you should add small amounts at a time rather than all at once. My finished frosting had a consistency close to that of a light sour cream; i.e. less dense than a traditional cream cheese frosting, but not as light as whipped cream. It was sufficiently sweet but slightly tangy, with a noticeable but not overwhelming honey-orange flavor. For assembling the cake, I followed the recipe: divided each 8 inch layer into two layers, filled all the interior layers with the orange curd (I used blood orange juice, by the way), then frosted top and sides with mascarpone frosting. I had just about the right amount of frosting to dam each layer and frost top and sides fairly generously (about 1/4 to 1/3 inch frosting thickness when set). NOTE: If you want to make a frosting "dam" to prevent seepage of orange curd during transport/storage of cake, reserve some frosting before adding the yogurt. This thicker consistency will be better for damming purposes!! If something is not clear, let me know! I should have photographed the cake; it looked lovely!! Mon Feb 25 11:50:29 -0800 2008 3432131 12377 bella_sarda 1 3422238 You could also put the layers back in their pans and transport them that way. Thu Feb 21 16:06:06 -0800 2008 3420219 18705 emily