Italian Layered Continental Cake

If you're Italian or if you've been brought up around Italians, this kind of cake should be very familiar to you. To be honest, I actually hated this cake growing up, but it was one I had to cross off the list and make for myself, well it was actually for my Nonna. It was really yummy, moist and light and had the perfect balance of flavours. It's sponge, crema di pasticceria, vermouth, frosting, almonds, chocolate and strawberries, LOADS of yummy flavours going on. There are three main components to this cake and I highly recommend making the Crema di Pasticceria first, this wasn't a quick cake by any means, but it was a labor of love, and the whole family enjoyed it! Happy Baking!

Crema di Pasticceria

1/3 cup cornflour

1/3 cup of custard powder

1/4 cup caster sugar

2 cups milk

2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or essence

300ml cream

1 egg yolk (beaten)

2 tbls of liquor (only if you like)

(150g of mixed dark/milk cooking chocolate for half the mixture to be chocolate flavoured)

1. Sift cornflour, custard powder, and caster sugar into a pot and stir to combine.

2. Gradually add milk and whisk until smooth and free from lumps.

3. Add vanilla bean and cream and continue whisking until combined.

4. Turn heat on. Whisk over a low heat until mixture begins to thicken and simmer.

5. Remove pot from heat and allow to cool slightly before adding the beaten egg yolk. Mix well.

6. Separate mixture evenly into two bowls.

7. Pour in melted chocolate into one of the bowls to make a chocolate version of the crema di pasticceria.

8. Cover bowls with cling film and refrigerate either over night or for several hours. Don't worry if mixture is slightly lumpy at this point.

9. Remove from fridge and place mixture into an electric mixing bowl and beat for a few minutes. This will remove any lumps from the cream and will make the mixture smooth and easy to pipe.

Chiffon Sponge Cake

1 ½ cups plain flour

½ cup corn flour

1 ½ cups caster sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ cup vegetable oil

7 eggs separated

¾ cup cold water

2 ½ teaspoons vanilla bean paste

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1. Preheat oven to 165°C, and grease and line your cake tin/s with baking paper.

2. Sift flour, sugar and baking powder into a large mixing bowl and make a well.

3. Add oil, egg yolks, water and vanilla to the well, fold mixture until smooth. Set aside.

4. In an electric mixer beat egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff.

5. Gradually add egg white mixture, to the other ingredients, carefully folding in with a spatula. (It is crucial to fold rather than mix to ensure the air is left in the cake batter.)

6. Pour mixture into cake tin/s and bake until a skewer comes back clean or when cake springs back. 

Swiss Meringue Buttercream

250 grams unsalted butter (room temperature)

120 grams caster sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste / vanilla extract

2 egg whites

1. Add caster sugar and egg whites to a heatproof bowl over simmering water.

2. Whisk until sugar has dissolved into the egg and the mixture has been warmed to an approximate temperature of 60C or 140F.

3. Transfer mixture to electric mixing bowl and fit with the whisk attachment and beat for around 3-4 minutes. The mixture should be bright white in colour and quite stiff.

4. Ensure the bowl has cooled down enough before proceeding. Divide the butter into 8 small blocks and ensure mixer is on medium speed.

5. Gradually add the butter, one block at a time, ensure each block has been thoroughly mixed through before adding the next.

6. NOTE, mixture will begin to look curdled and that is completely normal by around block number 5 of butter.

7. Once all the butter has been included, add the vanilla (or desired flavouring) and leave to mix for 4-6 minutes. The buttercream will gradually go from curdled and chunky, to glossy and smooth, just keep mixing!

8. Once complete add desired colourings and flavour.

9. SMB is a great frosting to pipe with and smooth and I used it in between the layers of the cake for a subtle creamy flavour.

(Please note SMB is best served at room temperature and not refrigerated)

Assembly

Start by putting the first sponge down and generously brush or sprinkle the cake with vermouth. Layer with crema, then repeat with the rest of the cake and the crema. Then coat the cake in Swiss Meringue Buttercream and decorate as desired. As you can see I made some dark chocolate fans simply by sprinkling melted chocolate over some baking paper and leaving to set and I also used flaked almonds and strawberries to accentuate. 

Chiffon Cake with Meringue Frosting

Hello cakelets! This week I bring to you maybe my favourite recipe ever! Until a few weeks ago I had never even heard of a chiffon cake until I watched "The Great British Bake Off" so I thought it would have to be the next cake on my agenda. Now part of my caking and baking is to look at a standard base recipe and either change quantities, add or remove things to make it my own and hopefully better, so I can pass it on for all to enjoy. Chiffon cake is the lightest and fluffiest cake I have ever made and it worked perfectly with the fluffy meringue frosting. It is one of those cakes which when you cut into it leaves no crumbs behind and when you bite into it, and it practically dissolves when you eat it, it's like eating a big fluffy vanillery cloud... if one could ha!

Chefette's Chiffon Cake & Meringue Frosting

1 ½ cups plain flour

½ cup corn flour

1 ½ cups caster sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ cup vegetable oil

7 eggs separated

¾ cup cold water

2 ½ teaspoons vanilla bean paste

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

1. Preheat oven to 165°C, and grease and line your cake tin/s with baking paper.

2. Sift flour, sugar and baking powder into a large mixing bowl and make a well.

3. Add oil, egg yolks, water and vanilla to the well, fold mixture until smooth. Set aside.

4. In an electric mixer beat egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff.

5. Gradually add egg white mixture, to the other ingredients, carefully folding in with a spatula. (It is crucial to fold rather than mix to ensure the air is left in the cake batter.)

6. Pour mixture into cake tin/s and bake until a skewer comes back clean or when cake springs back. 

(The timing will depend on the size of your cake tin, for example, I divided my mixture into 6 small portions for baking in sandwich tins and each took only 10 minutes or so.)

Meringue Frosting

(This is the first time I have used Meringue Frosting and credits to my cousin from Back In G-Town for the recipe. It is a difficult frosting to pipe with because it is so soft, which is why the piping looks a bit shabby. I think this kind of frosting is best with a “rustic effect”)

2 cups caster sugar
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
6 egg whites

1. Place the sugar, water and ½ teaspoon of cream of tartar into a saucepan over high heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 3 mins.

2. Place egg whites into an electric mixer with the remaining ½ teaspoon of cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form.

3. With the motor running gradually add the sugar mixture and beat until thick and glossy (Keep beating until it is fairly thick.)

(Frosting is best used right before serving and should be kept at room temperature)

Now if you want to make a rainbow version of this cake like I did, please see this post for assembly instructions!

Meringue Frosting in action!

Layer upon layer upon layer...

Voila.... Finished product!

Silly me forgot to take a photo of the inside with the SLR until the day after. So this is the day after, following a very windy car trip which is why it is a little bit wonky and melted haha! I just wanted to show the inside colours really.

Happy Caking! xxx