TANIA AHMED
She’s a certified Pastry Chef from Le Cord on Bleu ,Thailand and is the brains behind ‘ Mint To Be ’ , her cake and dessert brand
With the wedding season in its full swing, what better present to give to your bestie than make her a very special wedding cake! This super easy, 60-serving cake is no rocket science and the finished product looks straight out of a fairytale! You only need a few ingredients for the cake, bake all the layers a day in advance and frost it before the big day. For the decoration, pick a bunch of marigold flowers from your own garden and some whole spices, and go wild with your imagination. After all the world is your oyster – or in this case, it’s your ‘genda-phool’!
Ingredients:
VANILLA CAKE:
• 6 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt • 690 gm butter
• 4 cups sugar • 10 eggs
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 840 ml buttermilk
• 2 cups fresh raspberries (optional)
VANILLA BUTTERCREAM
• 690 gm butter
• 10-12 cups icing sugar
• 150-180 ml cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon salt
• Fresh marigold flowers and whole spices for decoration
INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CAKE:
• Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease two round cake pans (6 inch and 9 inch diameter)
• Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside. Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy. On medium-high speed, add 1 egg at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
• With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, and mixing each addition just until incorporated. Do not overmix this batter.
• Pour batter evenly into prepared cake pans. Bake for around 25-26 minutes or until the cakes are baked through. Allow cakes to cool completely in the pans. The remove and place in airtight containers and rest them in the refrigerator overnight.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR FROSTING:
• Beat the butter on medium speed, using a paddle attachment, until creamy – about 2 minutes. Add 10-11 cups icing sugar, 150 ml cream, the vanilla extract, and salt with the mixer running on low. In-crease to high speed and beat for 5 full minutes.
• Add the remaining icing sugar if frosting is too thin. Or 30 ml cream if frosting is too thick.
ASSEMBLE AND DECORATE:
• Layer each cake in 3 slices and sandwich with buttercream. You can add fresh raspberries in the butter-cream layers, to cut through all that sweet. Once all the tiers are ready, carefully stack them on top of each other and crumb coat the cake with the remaining buttercream. You do not need to aim for neatness here. Naked or semi-naked cakes are all about texture and uneven frosting, adding to the whole look.
• For the decoration, I have used fresh marigold flowers. Please note these flowers are edible flowers, provided they aren’t sprayed with any pesticides. Soak, wash and dry them properly before placing them on your cake. I have also used some macarons, whole spices including cinnamon sticks, star anise and curry leaves to add to the whole winter vibe. The yellow and orange colour palette makes this cake a great addition to the dessert table on a mayun or mehndi ceremony!
PHOTOS: COURTESY TANIA AHMED