O.k…well maybe not a mile high.

This is a three layer cake that is moist and has a unique flavor that you can’t put your finger on…It is the buttermilk of course. Delicately tangy. Very vanilla. Moist, rich, delicious. I love it. I think it is my favorite white cake.

I found it in one of my vintage Farm Journal cookbooks, Blue Ribbon Recipes . I have changed it a bit but this is a fabulous recipe and would make a great wedding cake.

Since the cookbook is circa 1969 I am going to use this as my entry in Carla’s Cookbook Challenge.

The layers were thick and so the cake was very tall. I used straws to keep it upright, and the layers from slipping sideways. I used four straws, as here, and then pushed them into the cake so they did not show. See? I am stripping the pocket doors in the background..I haven’t gotten far…I feel like standing on a corner holding a sign that says “Will trade baked goods for restoration work”

I am pretty sure that the cake would stay moist for several days but this cake lasted all of …uh… thirty minutes…The benefit was that the family was totally quiet during the ceremonial eating of the cake…other than a few sighs, and mmmmmm’s….and lip smacking sounds there were twelve very quiet people at my table.

I filled it with a delicately tangy orange curd, and frosted with the Perfect Party Cake Buttercream, but using orange juice rather than the lemon.

Be sure to use whole buttermilk and not the skim or low fat types.

Mile High Buttermilk Cake

3- 8″ layers

4 c cake flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 c unsalted butter

3 c sugar

2 TBS vanilla

1 inch of vanilla bean, seeds scraped into the batter pod set aside (add the pod to the sugar bowl)

2 c buttermilk

6 egg whites, unbeaten

Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.

Cream butter and sugar unitl light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla and vanilla scrapings.

Add dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk, beating well after each addition. Add egg whites and beat at medium speed for two minutes. Divide equally between 3 greased adn wax paper lined 8″ round pans.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, reduce heat to 325 and bake for 25 minutes more, or until the cake tests done. Cool in pans 10 minutes, then turn out and finish cooling on racks.

Images: (c)Marye Audet 2008, Apron Strings and Simmering Things

Content (c) Marye Audet 2007-2008 Baking Delights

Post from: Baking Delights

Ha! I bet you thought I missed it!

Between the flood and then one of my horses getting sick with colic, and various other things, I put my back out last week and was pretty much on bedrest until we left Friday afternoon. I will update about our weekend later…but we watched food network and hgtv…which we do not get at the house..anyway..it was wonderful and relaxing but my back required me to hit the bed as soon as I got home. So I have been popping advil all day waiting for my back to get in the mood to stand up long enough to finish the Daring Bakers Challenge.

Finally I gave up on my back and did it anyway..which should tell you how fantastically easy the impressive cake is.

The cake lends itself to alot of different flavor variations…and is quite simple. But the buttercream….

Let me say that I have never created a buttercream I have been happy with….until today, bad back and all.

I flavored the buttercream with lime and vanilla bean (which I had recieved in my blog exchange stuff) and it is so light that you feel the silkiness before you actually taste the frosting. Exquisite.

I used the buttermilk rather than the milk.

I flavored the cake with almond and lime, filled with raspberry, and finished with lime-vanilla bean flavored buttercream…again, so silky that it melts in your mouth. Now I want to try some variations on it!

This is from Dorie Greenspan, by the way…Really, try it! And if you want to see more of the Daring Bakers Challenges for this month check out the Daring Bakers Blogroll.

For the Cake

2 1/4 cups cake flour

1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups whole milk or buttermilk (I prefer buttermilk with the lemon)
4 large egg whites
1 ½ cups sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 stick (8 tablespoons or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ teaspoon pure lemon extract

For the Buttercream
1 cup sugar
4 large egg whites
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¼ cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 large lemons)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For Finishing
2/3 cup seedless raspberry preserves stirred vigorously or warmed gently until spreadable
About 1 ½ cups sweetened shredded coconut

Getting Ready
Centre a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9 x 2 inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each pan with a round of buttered parchment or wax paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet.

To Make the Cake
Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl.
Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant.
Add the butter and working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light.
Beat in the extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed.
Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated.
Add the rest of the milk and eggs beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients.
Finally, give the batter a good 2- minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated.
Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and springy to the touch – a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean
Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unfold them and peel off the paper liners.
Invert and cool to room temperature, right side up (the cooled cake layers can be wrapped airtight and stored at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to two months).

To Make the Buttercream
Put the sugar and egg whites in a mixer bowl or another large heatproof bowl, fit the bowl over a plan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes.
The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like shiny marshmallow cream.
Remove the bowl from the heat.
Working with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the meringue on medium speed until it is cool, about 5 minutes.
Switch to the paddle attachment if you have one, and add the butter a stick at a time, beating until smooth.
Once all the butter is in, beat in the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, 6-10 minutes.
During this time the buttercream may curdle or separate – just keep beating and it will come together again.
On medium speed, gradually beat in the lemon juice, waiting until each addition is absorbed before adding more, and then the vanilla.
You should have a shiny smooth, velvety, pristine white buttercream. Press a piece of plastic against the surface of the buttercream and set aside briefly.

To Assemble the Cake
Using a sharp serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion, slice each layer horizontally in half.
Put one layer cut side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper.
Spread it with one third of the preserves.
Cover the jam evenly with about one quarter of the buttercream.
Top with another layer, spread with preserves and buttercream and then do the same with a third layer (you’ll have used all the jam and have buttercream leftover).
Place the last layer cut side down on top of the cake and use the remaining buttercream to frost the sides and top.
Press the coconut into the frosting, patting it gently all over the sides and top.

Serving
The cake is ready to serve as soon as it is assembled, but I think it’s best to let it sit and set for a couple of hours in a cool room – not the refrigerator. Whether you wait or slice and enjoy it immediately, the cake should be served at room temperature; it loses all its subtlety when it’s cold. Depending on your audience you can serve the cake with just about anything from milk to sweet or bubbly wine.

Storing
The cake is best the day it is made, but you can refrigerate it, well covered, for up to two days. Bring it to room temperature before serving. If you want to freeze the cake, slide it into the freezer to set, then wrap it really well – it will keep for up to 2 months in the freezer; defrost it, still wrapped overnight in the refrigerator.

Post from: Baking Delights