Rose's Heavenly Cakes (72 page)

Add the Sugar Syrup to the Egg Whites

If using a stand mixer, with the mixer off, pour a small amount of syrup into the egg whites. Immediately beat on high speed for 5 seconds. Add the remaining syrup the same way in four parts. For the last addition, use a silicone spatula to remove the syrup clinging to the glass measure and scrape it off against the beater. If the syrup has hardened before most of it has been poured, soften it to pouring consistency for a few seconds in the microwave.

If using a handheld mixer, beat the syrup into the egg whites in a steady stream. Don't allow the syrup to fall on the beaters or they will spin it onto the sides of the bowl. Lower the speed to medium and continue beating for up to 2 minutes. Refrigerate the meringue for 20 to 30 minutes, until 70°F/21°C. Lightly whisk every 10 minutes to test and equalize the temperature.

Beat the Meringue into the Butter

Set the mixer bowl containing the butter in the stand and attach the whisk beater that was used for the egg whites (no need to wash it). Beat on medium-high speed for about 3 minutes, or until the butter lightens in color and is no warmer than 70°F/21°C.

With the silicone spatula, scrape the meringue into the butter. Beat on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. At first the mixture will look slightly curdled. If it starts to water out, check the temperature. It should feel cool and be no lower than 65°F/19°C, no higher than 70°F/21°C. If it is too warm, set it in a bowl of ice water (see
Water Baths
), stirring gently to chill it before continuing to whisk. If it is too cool, suspend the bowl over a pan of simmering water and heat very briefly, stirring vigorously when the mixture just starts to melt slightly at the edges. (Don't let the bottom of the container touch the water.) To stop the warming, dip the bottom of the bowl in a larger bowl of ice water for a few seconds to cool it. Remove the bowl from the ice water and beat the mousseline by hand until smooth.

On medium-low speed, beat in the Cognac until incorporated. Add the passion curd and continue beating until smoothly incorporated.

Use the mousseline to fill and frost the cake. The mousseline becomes spongy and fluffy on standing, which is lovely, but not until after it's applied to the cake. If you don't use it right away, whisk it lightly by hand to maintain a silky texture before applying it to the cake. Do not, however, rebeat chilled mousseline until it has reached 70°F/21°C in order to prevent it from breaking down.

Preheat the Oven

Twenty minutes or more before baking, set an oven rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F/160°C.

Toast the Macadamia Nuts

Spread the nuts evenly on a baking sheet and bake for about 12 minutes, or until pale golden. Watch carefully after the first 7 minutes, and stir once or twice to ensure even toasting and to avoid overbrowning. Cool completely. You will have about 4 ounces/113 grams macadamia nuts left over with which to garnish the serving plates.

Apply the Macadamia Nuts

It helps to have a very large bowl for the nuts. Then you can hold a frosted cake layer directly over the bowl, tilt it slightly toward your other hand, and scoop up a handful of nuts. Press them gently into the sides of the cake, allowing any that don't adhere to fall back into the bowl.

Compose the Cake

See the introduction beginning with
Preparing the Layers for Frosting
for filling, frosting, and composing a wedding cake. The nature of banana cake is that most of each cake layer will be 2 inches high, but starting at about 1 inch from the edges, it starts to slope to 1½ inches and at the very edge to 1¼ inches. My preference is to trim and level each layer to 1½ inches and use extra buttercream to fill in the small gap at the edges. You can also opt to leave the layers untrimmed and use more buttercream to fill the larger gaps at the edges (make 1.33 times the mousseline). If an eccentric design is desired, mark the placement and set the support straws so that the top tier is about ½ inch in from the edge of the bottom tier. To pipe the beaded border, see
Decorative Piping
.

Plan Ahead

Bake the cake layers at least 1 day before composing the cake. This gives the syrup a chance to moisten the cake evenly and the crumb to become firm enough to make moving the layers easier. Make the two batches of buttercream at least 6 hours before using.

Special Equipment

A 6-quart stand mixer*    |    Cake pans and cake strips    |    Wire racks for cooling    |    Cardboard rounds    |    A cake presentation base, at least 15 inches    |    Plastic drinking straws for support    |    Gold and silver ribbon lined with parchment and gold and silver dust (optional; see
Gold
)

*If using a 5-quart stand mixer, divide the batters in half and make each in two batches.

Special Equipment

Two 6 by 2-inch round cake pans and two 9 by 2-inch round cake pans, encircled with cake strips (for silicone strips, see
Cake Strips
), bottoms coated with shortening, topped with parchment rounds, then coated with baking spray with flour

Special Equipment

Two 12 by 2-inch round cake pans, encircled with cake strips, bottoms coated with shortening, topped with parchment rounds, and coated with baking spray with flour

Preheat the Oven

Twenty minutes or more before baking, set the oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C.

Toast and Grind the Almonds

Spread the almonds evenly on a baking sheet and bake for about 7 minutes, or until pale golden. Stir once or twice to ensure even toasting and avoid overbrowning. Cool completely. In a food processor, process until fairly fine. Add about 2/3 cup of the sugar and process until very fine.

Mix the Liquid Ingredients

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, the sour cream (2/3 cup for the 6- and 9-inch batter, ¾ cup for the 12-inch batter), the vanilla, and lemon oil just until lightly combined.

Make the Batters

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the flat beater, mix the ground almonds, the remaining sugar, the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest on low speed for 30 seconds. Add the butter and the remaining sour cream. Mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened. Raise the speed to medium and beat for 1½ minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Starting on medium-low speed, gradually add the egg mixture in three parts, beating on medium speed for 20 seconds after each addition to incorporate the ingredients and strengthen the structure. Using a silicone spatula, scrape the batter into the prepared pans and smooth the surfaces with a small offset spatula. Each pan should be about half full.

For the 6- and 9-inch layers, begin by spooning the batter into each 6-inch pan to fill half full (14 ounces/400 grams). Scrape the rest into each 9-inch pan (35.3 ounces/1,000 grams).

For the 12-inch layers, divide the batter evenly between the two pans (60.2 ounces/1,708 grams in each pan).

Bake the Cakes

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes for the 6-inch layers, 45 to 55 minutes for the 9-inch layers, and 50 to 60 minutes for the 12-inch layers, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the centers registers 200° to 205°F/93° to 96°C. The cakes should just begin to come away from the sides of the pan.

While the cakes are baking, prepare the wire racks or clean surfaces for unmolding. You will need a wire rack for each layer. Also, for each set of layers, you will need one cardboard round base of the corresponding size (6, 9, and 12 inches) for the bottom layers and, for inverting and transferring the upper layers, two flat supporting surfaces at least the diameter of the layers, such as additional cardboard rounds, baking sheets with at least one open side, or the loose bottoms of fluted tart pans. In order to prevent sticking and ensure that the upper layer will slide readily off the supporting surface, cover the surface with plastic wrap or aluminum foil that has been coated lightly with nonstick cooking spray.