Read Rose's Heavenly Cakes Online
Authors: Rose Levy Beranbaum
Rose's Heavenly Cakes (16 page)
Plan Ahead
Soak the fruit at least 1 week ahead. Bake the cake at least 12 hours ahead.
about 4 cups/23.7 ounces/670 grams
Volume | Ounce | Gram | |
glacéed mixed fruit, preferably lemon and orange peel | 1½ cups | 7.5 | 210 |
golden raisins | 1½ cups | 7 | 200 |
glacéed red cherries | 1 cup | 5.3 | 150 |
dark rum | ½ cup (4 fluid ounces) | 4 | 110 |
Special Equipment
Quart-size canning jar | One 10-cup wreath mold, coated with baking spray with flour (see
Note
) | Cheesecloth, if planning to store the cake for several weeks or longer
Make the Glacéed fruit Filling
In a quart-size canning jar, combine the glacéed mixed fruit, raisins, glacéed cherries, and rum. Screw the cap on tightly and lay down the jar on one of its sides. Allow it to sit for a week, turning it one-quarter turn every day or so. By the end of the week, almost all the rum will have been absorbed into the fruit. The fruit keeps indefinitely.
Volume | Ounce | Gram | |
pecan halves | 4 cups | 14 | 400 |
walnut halves | 2 cups | 7 | 200 |
unsalted butter | 2½ sticks | 10 | 284 |
dark brown sugar, preferably Muscovado | 1 cup, firmly packed | 8.5 | 239 |
3 large eggs, at room temperature | ½ cup plus 1½ tablespoons (4.7 fluid ounces) | 5.3 | 150 |
unbleached all-purpose flour | 2 cups (sifted into the cup and leveled off) | 8 | 228 |
baking powder | 1 teaspoon | . | . |
baking soda | 1/8 | . | . |
salt | ¾ teaspoon | . | . |
Glacéed Fruit Filling | about 4 cups | 23.5 | 666 |
dark rum (optional) | ½ cup (4 fluid ounces) | 4 | 110 |
Preheat the Oven
Twenty minutes or more before baking, set an oven rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C (325°F/160°C if using a dark pan).
Toast the Pecans and Walnuts
Spread the nuts evenly on a large sheet pan and bake for about 7 minutes to enhance their flavor. Stir once or twice to ensure even toasting and avoid overbrowning. Cool completely.
Make the Batter
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat the batter until smooth and creamy. Add the brown sugar and beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes, or until well combined. With the mixer on, add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating for 15 seconds after each addition.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the batter and beat on low speed until evenly combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the macerated fruit, along with any liquid remaining in the jar, and mix on low speed for about 1 minute. Add the pecans and walnuts and mix for 5 to 10 seconds, or until thoroughly combined. Using a silicone spatula, scrape the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the surface evenly with a small offset spatula. The batter will come almost to the top of the pan.
Bake the Cake
Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean and the cake springs back when pressed lightly in the center. The cake should just barely begin to shrink from the sides of the pan. An instant-read thermometer will register about 190°F/88°C.
Cool and Unmold the Cake
Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. While it is cooling, brush the top evenly with half the rum, if using. Set a serving plate on top of the cake and invert the cake onto the plate. Brush the top and sides of the cake with the remaining rum. Cool completely. Allow it to sit for a minimum of 12 hours so that it is firm enough to cut. It cuts best and crumbles least when well chilled.
Note
You can also use two 9 by 5-inch loaf pans or two 10-cup fluted tube pans, filling each with half the batter. Baking time will be between 65 and 75 minutes in the loaf pans and between 45 and 55 minutes in the fluted tube pans. (Don't be tempted to pour all the batter into one 10-cup fluted tube pan as it is much deeper than the 10-cup wreath pan, and this dense batter will not bake evenly. You can, however, use two 6-cup fluted tube pans. The batter will rise a little past the tops of the pans.) Rotate the loaf pans and tent loosely with foil after the first 45 minutes of baking.
Special Unmolding Instructions for Long Storage
If you are planning to store the cake for several weeks, months, or even years, you will need to drape it in rum-soaked cheesecloth, wrap it in plastic wrap, and then in heavy-duty aluminum foil. It will require a total of 1 cup/8 fluid ounces/8 ounces/220 grams rum. You will also need a 12-inch cardboard round as a base to support it.
Brush the baked cake with ¼ cup rum and allow it to cool completely in the pan. Cut a double layer of cheesecloth large enough to wrap the entire cake, two 36-inch-long strips of plastic wrap, and one 36 by 18-inch sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Before unmolding the cake, soak the cheesecloth with 1/3 to ½ cup rum and drape it over the cake. Then crisscross the plastic wrap over the cheesecloth, allowing it to extend over the sides. Place the cardboard round on top, invert the cake on it, and set the cake on the aluminum foil. Brush the top and sides with the remaining rum. Bring up the sides of the cheesecloth and drape it over the top of the cake. Bring up the strips of plastic wrap to encase the entire cake. Finally, bring up the sides of the aluminum foil, wrapping the cake tightly. Every 3 months, open the aluminum foil and plastic wrap and sprinkle another ¼ cup rum over the cheesecloth before resealing it.
8 to 10
25 to 35 minutes
I long resisted the charms of this cake, believing it to be merely a layer cake tinted red with a bottle of food coloring. But when several people on my blog sang its praises, I decided to investigate it more thoroughly. It turns out that there is more to this cake than its shocking color. This beloved southern cake is traditionally prepared with oil, a mere suspicion of cocoa, and a teaspoon of white vinegar, which raises the acidity of the batter and intensifies its color. The liquid component is usually buttermilk, which is thought to raise the acidity as well, although the baking soda normally used neutralizes most of the acidity and makes the crumb more coarse and the color darker.
So, when I created my version of this classic, I used only baking powder to employ the full acidity of the buttermilk, making vinegar unnecessary. I also used half oil and half butter for the flavor-enhancing qualities of butter and the moist, softening quality of the oil. The resulting cake is as flavorful and tender as you can hope for and stays soft enough to eat even straight from the fridge. A heart-shape pan is perfect for Valentine's Day. And the contrast of the white chocolate cream cheese buttercream against the red cake is alluring.
Volume | Ounce | Gram | |
3 large egg whites, at room temperature | ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons (3 fluid ounces) | 3.2 | 90 |
red food color (1 bottle); see | 2 tablespoons (1 fluid ounce) | 1 | 30 |
pure vanilla extract | 1½ teaspoons | . | . |
cake flour (or bleached all-purpose flour) | 2 cups (or 1¾ cups), sifted into the cup and leveled off | 7 | 200 |
superfine sugar | 1 cup | 7 | 200 |
baking powder | 3 teaspoons | . | . |
unsweetened cocoa powder (see | 1 teaspoon | . | . |
salt | ½ teaspoon | . | . |
canola or safflower oil, at room temperature | ¼ cup (2 fluid ounces) | 2 | 58 |
unsalted butter (65° to 75°F/19° to 23°C) | 4 tablespoons (½ stick) | 2 | 57 |
low-fat buttermilk | ½ cup (4 fluid ounces) | 4.2 | 121 |
Special Equipment
One 9 by 2-inch heart-shape or round cake pan (8 to 8 2/3 cups), encircled with a cake strip, bottom coated with shortening, topped with parchment cut to shape, then coated with baking spray with flour
Preheat the Oven
Twenty minutes or more before baking, set an oven rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C.
Mix the Liquid Ingredients
In a medium bowl, whisk the egg whites, red food color, and vanilla just until lightly combined. (Caution: Be careful with the red food color: it stains effectively, but also unmercifully.)
Mix the Dry Ingredients
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cocoa, and salt.
Make the Batter
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the flat beater, mix the oil and butter on medium speed for 1 minute. It will not be completely smooth. (Before measuring or weighing the buttermilk, shake the container to mix it thoroughly.) Add the flour mixture and buttermilk. Mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened. Raise the speed to medium and beat for 1½ minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Starting on medium-low speed, gradually add the egg mixture to the batter in two parts, beating on medium speed for 30 seconds after each addition to incorporate the ingredients and strengthen the structure. Using a silicone spatula, scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface evenly with a small offset spatula.
Bake the Cake
Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until the wire cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean and the cake springs back when pressed lightly in the center. The cake should start to shrink from the sides of the pan only after removal from the oven.
Cool and Unmold the Cake
Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Run a small metal spatula between the sides of the pan and the cake, pressing firmly against the pan, and invert the cake onto a wire rack that has been coated lightly with nonstick cooking spray. To prevent splitting, reinvert the cake so that the top side is up. Cool completely.
almost 1 cup/7.6 ounces/216 grams