Please be sure to measure out all your ingredients before the class begins.
For this class, you will need the following equipment:
For the Vanilla Cake:
- A rubber spatula
- A digital kitchen scale or measuring cups and teaspoons
- 2 medium size mixing bowls
- A KitchenAid stand mixer (optional, can be mixed by hand)
- A whisk
- 3 x 6'' cake pans, or 2 x 6" tall pans
For the Swiss Meringue buttercream:
- A rubber spatula
- A digital kitchen scale or measuring cups and teaspoons
- A KitchenAid stand mixer or hand held blender (this meringue CAN NOT be mixed by hand)
- A medium size metal bowl (for double boiler)
- A medium size pot
For Decorating “The Danie”:
- An offset spatula or flat metal spatula/ medium to large size
- A cake turntable or lazy Susan (optional but strongly recommend)
- A cake board
- A bench scraper or flat cake scraper
- Green gel colour
- A variety of pink and coral gel colours
- 3 piping bags
- Wilton tip number 2D for rosettes
- Wilton tip 352 or 366 'V tip' for leaves
- Small- medium size bowls for mixing buttercream colours
- A Rubber spatula
- 2-3 utensil spoons
Don’t forget to look in the pantry for the following ingredients, or add them to the grocery list:
Ingredients for the vanilla cake:
- 320g or 2 ½ cups of all-purpose flour
- 4 tsp of baking powder
- ½ tsp of salt
- 4 Eggs room temperature
- 240ml or 1 cup of oil
- 300g or 1 ½ cup of granulated sugar
- 3 tsp of vanilla extract
- 300ml or 1 ⅓ cup of milk at room temperature
Ingredients for the buttercream:
- 2 cups or 400g of granulated sugar
- 4 Egg whites or 1/2 cup or 120g of Egg whites
- 2 pounds or 4 cups or 908g of Butter (soft and unsalted)
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla
- Pinch of salt
Cake Baking and Decorating "The Danie" - Recipe
Yield: 3 x 6 inch deep circular cake pans or 2 x 8 inch circular pans
Vanilla Cake Recipe
Ingredients:
- 320g or 2 ½ cups of all-purpose flour
- 4 tsp of baking powder
- ½ tsp of salt
- 4 Eggs room temperature
- 240ml or 1 cup of oil
- 300g or 1 ½ cup of granulated sugar
- 3 tsp of vanilla extract
- 300ml or 1 ⅓ cup of milk at room temperature
Instructions:
- Using the cake pan, trace the bottom onto parchment. Cut 2 parchment circles. Place circles in the pan so that it lines the bottom. Using 1 teaspoon of butter, grease the sides of the pan.
- Move the rack into the middle position of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350F.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt, mix together with a whisk and set aside.
- In a separate mixing bowl, mix together the oil and sugar until it is well combined.
- Whisk in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla.
- Alternate adding the dry ingredients and milk, folding together with a spatula between each addition. Mix the batter until combined. Be careful not to over mix, which will lead to a tough dense cake.
- Bake the cake for approximately 20-25 minutes. Each oven at home is different. Use your oven light to check in on the cake, instead of opening and closing your over door.
- Cakes are done when you test your cake with a toothpick in the center and it comes out clean. Let the cakes cool on the counter in their pans. Once fully cool, you can remove them from the cake pans, wrap in plastic wrap and store in the freezer. Do not stack soft cakes.
Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- 2 cups or 400g of granulated sugar
- 4 Egg whites or 1/2 cup or 120g of Egg whites
- 2 pounds or 4 cups or 908g of Butter (soft and unsalted)
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla
- Pinch of salt
Instructions:
- In a large bowl over a double boiler on medium to high heat, combine egg whites and sugar.
- Slowly whisk the mixture together until sugar begins to melt and egg white becomes frothy. Be careful of hot steam from the double boiler. I like to wear oven mitts while mixing.
- The mixture is ready when the sugar is dissolved (no gritty sugar). The mixture will also be much more runny from when you started the process of cooking.
- Transfer the mixture to a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Starting on medium low, mix until mixture has cooled down.
- Once there's no visible steam coming from the mixture, turn the mixer to medium-high speed and continue mixing.
- The mixture will triple in volume and will become white, fluffy and glossy. You can now add the butter.
- Add softened butter gradually and whip until incorporated, then add the salt and vanilla or the flavours of your choice.
- Flavour the buttercream however you like, whip in extract, melted chocolate, fruit purees or even Oreo crumbs, let your creativity shine!!!
Buttercream Troubleshooting
The number one problem with buttercream is splitting, if this happens try one of the following solutions.
With heat – Warm Buttercream slightly, this can be done by microwaving it of 10 second blasts whisking each time until it comes together. Alternatively, remove a tablespoon of the mixture, melt it completely in the microwave and add it back to the mixture until it comes together.
With friction – Continue to whip buttercream in a stand mixer, sometimes it can take approximately 10 minutes to come back together.
With butter – Add more room temperature butter, do this 1 tablespoon at a time until the mixture comes back together.
Chocolate Ganache (For the Drip)
- 35% Whipping Cream (120g)
- Chocolate Chips (350g)
Method:
- In a pot, bring cream to a simmer
- In a bowl, add chocolate chips
- Pour hot cream over chocolate and let it sit for 2 minutes
- Stir to combine - Strain and use for drip
