Strawberries and Pink Champagne Cake Recipe

Pink Champagne Cake 
*Adapted from Cooks Illustrated
view printable recipe

2 ½ cups cake flour

1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¾ teaspoon table salt

2 ¼ cups sugar

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

1 cup pink champagne, flattened

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

6 large egg yolks, room temperature

3 large egg whites, room temperature
Americolor Deep Pink food color gel

Instructions:

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 340 degrees.  Grease two 8” round cake pans and line bottoms with parchment paper.  Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and 2 cups sugar together in large bowl.  Stir the 1 cup of pink champagne in a measuring cup to rid it of all bubbles.  In 4-cup liquid measuring cup or medium bowl, whisk together melted butter, champagne, oil, vanilla, and yolks. 

In clean bowl of stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat egg whites at medium-high speed until foamy, about 30 seconds.  With machine running, gradually add remaining ¼ cup sugar; continue to beat until stiff peaks just form.  Transfer to bowl and set aside. 

Add flour mixture to now empty mixing bowl fitted with whisk attachment. With mixer running at low speed, gradually pour in butter mixture and mix until almost incorporated (a few streaks of dry flour will remain), about 15 seconds.  Stop mixer and scrape whisk and sides of bowl.  Return mixer to medium-low speed and beat until smooth and fully incorporated, 10-15 seconds.  Add food coloring until you get the perfect shade of pink.

Fold the egg whites into the batter, pour evenly into pans and bake for approximately 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Champagne Simple Syrup

¼ cup champagne

¼ cup water

¼ cup sugar

In a medium saucepan combine sugar, water and champagne. Bring to a boil, stirring, until sugar has dissolved. Allow to cool.

Strawberry Champagne Buttercream

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup shortening

2 lbs powdered sugar

3 tablespoons strawberry puree

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon popcorn salt

¼ cup pink champagne, flattened (stir to release bubbles)

Instructions:

In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream the butter and shortening.  Slowly add the powdered sugar until the sugar has been incorporated with the butter and shortening.  Add vanilla, flat pink champagne, strawberry puree and popcorn salt.

Special Banana's Foster Cake Recipe

MY FAVORITE CAKE RECIPE!  Shouty capitals on a Monday, you ask?  YES!  This one is worth screaming about.

Banana's Foster Cake...  let me tell you about it.  Four moist layers of rum soaked cake, one layer of thick caramel sauce and 2 layers of sweet buttercream frosting.  It's so good it's like the Easter Bunny and Santa all rolled into one!

Start by making your caramel filling.    

Bring butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and sweetened condensed milk to a boil while stirring. 

Continue to stir until the caramel reaches 238 degrees F, or the soft ball stage.

This caramel recipe makes way too much for what we need in this cake, but that is never a problem for me because it freezes well too.

I always forget to get pictures of the simple syrup making.  It's simple.  Happy place - go there.

Prepare the cake recipe and divide batter evenly into two 8" round cake pans.  

While the cakes are cooling, make your buttercream.  My two favorite buttercreams are posted here. 

Torte and soak the cakes in the rum simple syrup.

Don't forget to make a buttercream dam before adding the caramel filling or else it will spill out the sides of the cake. 

Frost the cake as you see fit.  I topped mine with a chopped pecans.

Now GO, make this cake, or I will start shouting at you again.

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Thick Caramel Sauce

From Cake Central Magazine

Printable

1 cup unsalted butter

2 cups packed brown sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

2 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 teaspoon salt

In a heavy saucepan, bring butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and sweetened condensed milk to a boil over medium heat, stirring.

Carefully stir in heavy whipping cream.

Attach a candy thermometer to your pan.  Continue to stir until the caramel reaches 238 degrees F, or the soft ball stage.  Remove from heat and add vanilla and salt. 

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Rum Simple Syrup

Adapted from Confetti Cakes Cookbook

Printable

½ cup water

½ cup granulated sugar

2 Tablespoons dark rum

Combine the sugar and water in a medium saucepan, stirring.  Bring to a boil over high heat.  When the syrup comes to a boil, remove it from the heat, add dark rum and allow to cool.  When cool, simple syrup can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

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Banana Cake

Adapted from Food.com

Printable

1 1/2 cups bananas, mashed, ripe

2 teaspoons lemon juice 

3 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup butter, softened

2 1/8 cups sugar

3 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

Garnish

chopped walnuts or pecans

Preheat oven to 325°.  Line two 8” round cake pans with parchment paper and spray with pan spray. 

In a small bowl, mix mashed banana with the lemon juice; set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachments, cream 3/4 cup butter and 2 1/8 cups sugar until light and fluffy.

Beat in eggs, one at a time, then add 2 tsp vanilla.

Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk.

Stir in banana mixture.

Pour batter into prepared pans and bake in preheated oven until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

How to Make Special Carrot Cake

It is the time for baking cake. I am glad to show you one of the very delicious cake recept :-). So enjoy for do it and you can see what is the result. Good luck! 

Carrot cake:  /8-12 pieces/

 Ingredients: 

- 3 (about 200g) carrots

- 0.7 ml (about 50 g) almonds

- 2 eggs 

- 2 cups granulated sugar or raw sugar

- 1 teaspoon cinnamon

- 0.5 tsp ginger 1 teaspoon vanilla

- 0.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda

- 1 teaspoon baking powder

- 2 cups flour

- 1 cup cooking oil 

Glaze:

- 100 g cream cheese plain

- 0.5-1 cups powdered sugar

- 1 tsp lemon juice or lime juice  

Just do this: 

First you gonna need to chop carrots like almonds.

Add the eggs and sugar. Drive about 30 seconds with the food processor or use an electric mixer or regular whisk. Pour the oil into the batter. Prepare a bowl and mix cinnamon, if any. ginger, vanilla sugar, baking soda, baking powder and flour. Pour over the oil. Use food processor pulse button to mix gently or elvispens low speed or a spoon to stir until it becomes a smooth batter. Pour batter into greased and Broad round shape, about 1 ½ liters.

 

Bake carrot cake in the bottom of the oven at 175 degrees for about 45 minutes. Let stand for 5-10 minutes form. Turn out then up carrot cake on a serving plate. Place the mold on top and let the carrot cake to cool. 

  

Make the glaze. Mix cream cheese and powdered sugar and possibly. lemon or lime juice. Spread glaze over carrot cake with a knife.