Sunday

She who dares bakes... Dorie's Party Cake

I just love it when the fates align and for once, in an often higgledy piggledy life, things work out. This month's challenge, hosted by Morven, is Dorie Greenspan's perfect white party cake. Initially I was fazed. A whole party cake and no potential birthdays to take it to, I feared that I would end up eating the whole thing myself. Fortunately my thighs were spared the baking onslaught as I remembered that we would soon be celebrating Mr AB's parents' 30th wedding anniversary. Yes, that's 30 years of happy marriage. What an achievement!

This cake is perfect for a pearl anniversary because of the bright, white icing and the light white crumb. Rules for this challenge were flexible meaning we could tinker with the fillings. In order to balance the richness of the icing, I chose to sandwich the layers with tart lemon curd and fresh raspberries. I liked the idea of the iridescent shell (helped by edible cake glitter) hiding layers of fruit inside.

I was a little concerned about the sponge after hearing reports of 'pancakes' from other Daring Bakers. The recipe uses whisked egg whites and baking powder to produce the rise and as I mixed the batter I did have a few doubts. Luckily, my great friend M has years of experience in calming my tizzes and told me to stop panicking and just put the damn things in the oven. They weren't the highest cakes I've ever seen, but I was able to complete the (very stressful) task of splitting each layer without major causalities.

As the cakes were cooling I made a simple lemon curd to spread between the layers. I did have a bit of a curdtastrophe (haha) as it refused to set to a spreadable consistency but, calmed by M, I added some cornflour and disaster was averted. The meringue-based butter cream was easier to make than I had feared.

Fantastically rich, I think it could have been a bit too much in between the layers and I'm glad I replaced it with the fruit.
I had a few Pisaesque moments as I assembled the cake,

but generally it came together well and the end result was sufficiently pearl-like. I even had time to shower before leaving for the meal so, all in all it was a success. As the cake came out of Marco Pierre White's Criterion kitchen (check me out, serving food in top London restaurants) topped with a sparkler, and delivered to the happy couple I definitely felt that this party cake lived up to its name.


I'm not sure I would use this as my go-to fancy cake recipe as making the batter was a bit of a faff and a standard victoria sponge recipe would probably work as well. That said, it does look very special so, if the occasion warrants it, give it a try.


You can get the full recipe for the cake here. I used whole milk soured with lemon rather than buttermilk. Given that England hasn't woken up to the wonders of cake flour I followed Tartlette's helpful advice of removing 2 tablespoons of plain flour per cup needed and replacing it with 2 tablespoons of cornflour. I also omitted the coconut and sandwiched the cakes with lemon curd and raspberries as discussed.

View all the other marvellous creations here.

39 comments:

pixie said...

your cake looks very interesting with the glitter and the pearls. I'll try that next time!

~Amber~ said...

Beautiful cake!! I bet it was enjoyed by all.

A trick I learned for cutting the layers in half consists of scoring the cake with a knife all the way around and then running a piece of fishing line through the middle. Wala, perfectly even sliced cake.

Pixie said...

ooh there are two pixies in the blogosphere!

Your cake looks absolutely beautiful, I'm certain your inlaws were very impressed!!!

Annemarie said...

What a fabulous occasion to serve your cake on! It certainly came out very glittery and pearlescent, and I like the flavor combination you used. congrats on the added bonus of showering before the do. :)

Proud Italian Cook said...

Floweres, glitter, and pearls, oh my!!! What a pretty cake!

L Vanel said...

Beautiful use of the sugar to add that special glittery festive look to the cake. Well done!

Rosie said...

I just adore the way you have decorated your cake Joy with glitter and pearls! Well done a beautiful bake :)

Rosie x

breadchick said...

What a lovely cake to take to an anniversary and the sparkly sugar on top is indded festive as Lucy points out!

Anonymous said...

Oh! Your cake looks so chic and sophisticated. Well done!

myriam said...

woah, look at this elegant little number. wonderful!

creampuff said...

Just lovely! I adore the rose!

creampuff said...

Just lovely! I adore the rose!

Unknown said...

OH MY! This is gorgeous! I think this is my favorite so far. You did a fantastic job and the lemon and raspberry combo sounds just wonderful!

jasmine said...

This is absolutely lovely! What a great anniversary present.

j

Anonymous said...

Definitely worthy of a very special occasion. Lovely job!

Jessica said...

Your cake turned out great! So pretty!

Namratha said...

Beautiful...very well done!

Amy J. said...

Love the iridescence! Great job!

Katy said...

gorgeous! the berry layer looks just incredibly good!

Julius said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog.

I love what you've done with the cake. It looks scrumptious.

Regarding cake flour, there is a blogger from the UK who has figured out how to make unbleached flour act like cake flour. Here's the link.

Julius from Occasional Baker

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

A rose and sparkles and lovely soft white cake with raspberries! We are in heaven right...
Beautiful Joy!

Miss Ifi said...

Your cake looks beautiful!! and I am glad to hear thighs were spared *laughs*
Congratulations on another challenge!

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful cake! Great job

Karen Baking Soda said...

Congrats on completing the challenge in such elegant way, love the glitter and the pearls, so elegant!

Shaheen said...

Love the glimmering decoration. Very very beautiful cake!

Unknown said...

Beautiful!

Sheltie Girl said...

You did a wonderful job on your cake. I bet it tasted simply wonderful too...with all that lemon curd and fruit soaking into the cake layers...yummmmm.

Natalie @ Gluten A Go Go

Abitofafoodie said...

Beautiful, beautiful cake! Raspberries and lemon curd a delicious combination too. I can imagine that slicing those cakes in two must have been a very stressful moment - rather you than me! You clearly have a very steady hand to do such a great job!

Helene said...

I'll never say it enough but your blog is always such a joy to read! I love the sparkling sugar on top, perfect for a pearl annivedary indeed!

Unknown said...

I really love the glitter on top, it is so simple but elegant! My coconut topped cake seems like a country bumpkin now.

glamah16 said...

Very beautiful. I wish I addded fresh raspberry in addition to my other stuff. Now I may have to try with!

Fran Z said...

Pretty cake! So wonderful you were able to share at at the anniversary!

Joy said...

Thank you so much for all the lovely comments!

Lunch Buckets said...

oh glitter! that's even better than pink sprinkles!

Big Boys Oven said...

oh! this awesomely good! I wish I can get cheaper rasberry here! :(

Silvia - Magnolia Wedding Planner said...

Beautiful cake and wonderful blog!
really interesting.
Brava! You are an artist!

Silvia

Shelby said...

Beautiful cake!

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