Martha's Birthday Cake
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- Yield Serves 8 to 10
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Ingredients
- 1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, plus more for bowl
- 3 cups cake flour, plus more for bowl
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 cups plus 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 vanilla beans
- 1 cup whole milk
- 8 large egg whites
- Pinch of salt
- Amaretto Simple Syrup
- 2 cups John's Almond Swiss Meringue Buttercream John's Almond Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- John's Almond Swiss Meringue
- 1/2 cup apricot jam
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a stainless-steel bowl that is 10 inches across and 4 1/2 inches deep; set aside. In a medium mixing bowl, sift together flour and baking powder; set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter and 2 cups sugar. Split the vanilla beans lengthwise, and scrape the seeds into the bowl with the butter and sugar, reserving pods for another use. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients, alternating with milk, starting and ending with dry ingredients; scrape down sides twice.
- In the clean bowl of electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites on high with salt until soft peaks form. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar, and continue to beat until stiff glossy peaks form, 3 to 5 minutes. Whisk one-third of the beaten whites into the batter to lighten the mixture. Gently, but thoroughly, fold in remaining whites.
- Pour batter into prepared bowl. Bake until golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center comes clean, 1 hour and 30 minutes to 1 hour and 40 minutes. Remove to a rack to cool for 5 minutes. Invert onto the wire rack to cool completely.
- Place cake on work surface flat-side down. Using a serrated knife, cut cake horizontally into 4 layers. The cake will be assembled in layers of decreasing size. Place the first (largest) layer on a cardboard cake round. Brush with simple syrup. Coat with a 1/4-inch-thick layer, about 1 cup, buttercream. Top with second layer. Brush with simple syrup. Spread apricot jam in an even layer over cake. Top with third layer. Brush with simple syrup. Coat with a 1/4-inch-thick layer, about 1/2 cup, buttercream. Top with remaining layer of cake. Brush the assembled cake with simple syrup. Lightly coat cake with a thin layer, about 1/2 cup, buttercream.
- Pipe meringue onto cake with a medium-large star tip (.375-inch) to completely cover, pulling up as you pipe to form points. Using a small kitchen torch, lightly brown the meringue all over. Let cake stand at room temperature until ready to serve, up to 6 hours.
I was just wondering if I could substitute the kitchen torch for anything else. Any ideas?
mimi, it sounds like your merengue wasn't whisked long enough. Also, did you use an electric mixer?
i did this cake but unfortunately the cake was dense and compact , the meringue started to ooze clear fluid and butter cream became hard. i want to know my mistakes, thanks.
I'm so excited I found this recipe! The amaretto flavor and the meringue will be perfect for my mother's birthday celebration. I'm sure she'll be dazzled. I like the previous member's comment about preparing this for the Christmas holiday, too. The lighter flavors will be excellent contrasted with some of the richer flavors in traditional holiday dessert fare. Thanks again!
This looks like a cake that my husband would simply enjoy. I know that I will make this recipe up once and then find myself making it quite frequently for our guests. I think I might even try this as a Christmas cake and add some food coloring to the meringue to make it look festive. Thanks so much for this recipe.
It looks stunning. I will definitely try this sometime.