Ruhlman's Twenty (26 page)
Authors: Michael Ruhlman
8
/Gently fold half of the whites into the yolks.
9
/Fold in half of the flour.
10
/Alternately fold in the remaining whites and flour.
11
/Immediately pour the batter into the cake pans.
12
/Fill the pans three-quarters full.
13
/Cool the cakes on a rack for 10 minutes, then peel off the paper.
14
/Frost with a thin layer of buttercream, called the crumb coat.
Fold a square of parchment/baking paper in half. Fold it in half again to make a square. Working from either crease, fold the paper over as if making a paper airplane, with the tip being where the two creases meet (if you were to open the paper, the tip would be the paper’s center). Continue to make the triangular fold until you reach the other edge. Place the tip of the triangle in the center of the cake pan/tin and hold a finger on the other end of the triangle where it meets the side of the pan. Cut the triangle off at the side of the pan with a knife or scissors. Unfold the paper, and behold your parchment round. To cut the parchment for a tube pan, before unfolding it, hold the point in the center and make a second cut at the edge of the tube to create a hole in the center of the round.
/MAKES
5 CUPS/1.2
LITERS BUTTERCREAM
When you try this awesome concoction, it will forever shame you for having been tempted to buy the artificially flavored icing from the store. French buttercream is distinguished from Italian buttercream by the use of yolks rather than whites. Italian buttercream is the supremely white icing you see on fancy cakes. German buttercream uses pastry cream, which is thickened vanilla sauce. They’re all good, but I like the richness of the yolks in this icing.
¾ cup/150 grams sugar
6 large egg yolks
1 large egg
2 cups/455 grams butter, at room temperature, cut into about 30 pieces
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 ounces/170 grams semisweet/plain or bittersweet chocolate, melted, and slightly cooled
In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and ½ cup/ 120 milliliters water. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook for 3 to 5 minutes. (The sugar syrup should register between 230° and 240°F/ 112° and 115°C on a candy thermometer if you have one.)
While the sugar syrup cooks, combine the egg yolks and whole egg in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip the eggs on high speed until tripled in volume. This will take about as long as needed to cook the sugar syrup.
Continuing to whip the eggs, pour the sugar syrup slowly into beaten eggs. Continue to whip until the outside of the bowl has cooled, 8 to 10 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium and add one piece of the butter. After it begins to become incorporated, add the remaining butter, one piece at a time. The butter may look as if it’s breaking, but keep whipping it, and the mixture will come together.
When all the butter is incorporated, add the vanilla and chocolate, return the speed to high, and beat until the icing comes together (it will change from visibly grainy and unappetizing to smooth and luscious).
Ice the cake while the buttercream is at room temperature.
/MAKES ABOUT
3/4 CUP 180/MILLILITERS
GLAZE
3 ounces/85 grams butter, cut into 3 pieces
3 ounces/85 grams semisweet/plain chocolate, melted
Stir the butter into the chocolate until it is completely incorporated. Cool to room temperature. Spoon over the top of the cake, allowing the excess to run down the sides.
1
/Boil your sugar syrup for 3 to 5 minutes.
2
/Whip the egg yolks until they triple in volume.
3
/Whip the sugar syrup into the egg yolks.
4
/Ready the final ingredients while the syrup-egg mixture cools.