Love Cake

Vanilla Cake recipe: 'Confetti Cakes' by Elisa Strauss.
Ingredients: (halve this! it is enough to make three 9-inch cakes!)
- 2 cups cake flour *
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 tespoons salt
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup egg whites or pasteurized (7 eggs)
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
* If you don't have cake flour, mix 3/4 cup all-purpose flour with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch to make 1 cup cake flour.
Instrucions:
- Preheat the oven to 350F/180C. Brush the bottoms and sides of the pans with melted butter and line the bottoms with parchment paper. (just buttering the bottom of the pan will do just fine)
- In a large bowl, sift together the cake flour, all-purpose flour and baking powder. Set aside.
- In a regular bowl, combine the butter and sugar by mixing it with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.
- Add the salt and vanilla.
- Set the mixer to low speed and gradually add the egg whites, scraping often.
- Alternately add the flour mixture and milk to the butter mixture in 2 batches, starting with the flour mixture. Scrape down the bowl between each addition and beat until thoroughly combined. Set the mixer to medium-high speed for 20 seconds, then stop and scrape the sides of the bowl.
- Divide the batter evenly between the cake pans or muffin tins.
- For an 9-inch pan bake 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean. (mine was ready in 45 min) For half-sheet pans, bake 45 minutes. For cupcakes, bake 20 to 25 minutes.
- Allow the cake to cool for 20 minutes before releasing it from its pan.
Meringue icing recipe: 'Feast' by Nigella Lawson
Ingredients:
- 2 egg whites
- 4 tablespoons golden syrup (I used 2 tablespoons, golden syrup has a strong taste)
- 6 tablespoons sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 drops of red food coloring
Instructions:
- Make a doubleboiler with a bowl that will fit snugly (such an English word) over a saucepan of barely simmering water. (I did not do this! I just did everything in a bowl, not heating anything)
- Put all the ingredients, except for the vanilla, into the bowl.
- Whisk everything with an electric mixer until the icing becomes thick and holds peaks like meringue. This will take for about 5 mnutes, so be patient.
- Take the bowl off the saucepan on to a cool surface and keep whisking while you add the vanilla and food coloring.
- Then keep whisking until the mixture cools a little.
Divide the cake in 2 by cutting it with a sharp knife.
Let the seperate cakes cool for 10 minutes.
Add the strawberry jam, doesn't matter how much, just as much as you like it.





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