The Art.
I'm proud to present this light, summery cake to you, because I think we can all use more orange desserts in our lives. I spent the last couple months developing this recipe, and what it has taught me is that I am an absolute food snob. I tried to get inspiration from other recipes online, but I was horrified at what popped up when I searched for "orange creamsicle cake." All of the recipes were disgusting combinations of instant desserts layered into a pile of Diabetes and Regret. I was not about to feed any of that sludge to anybody. Why do people bother with these things when you can whip up a beautiful whipped cream in 5 minutes? So, instead of Cool Whip, pudding, Jell-O, or any other variety of distasteful fillings, I set out to make a wholesome orange mousse for the cake. I layered this with my newly developed white cake that I debuted with the Cadbury Cupakes as the most moist, fluffy cake in the world. That may be an exaggeration, but you'll see where I'm coming from once you taste it yourself. Besides, who can resist a cake garnished with pretty orange slices?
The Science.
Like most of my recipes, this one took quite a bit of R&D to get it just right. The first time I made the orange mousse, I used a recipe that combined a creamy orange custard with beaten egg whites [1]. This mousse had a wonderful, creamy flavor, but wouldn't hold up at room temperature and slid out the sides of the cake when I cut it. I decided that I needed a fluffier, more sturdy mousse to go between my cake layers. Then I found a recipe from America's Test Kitchen for a Greek yogurt lemon mousse [2]. This recipe seemed promising for two reasons: 1) the egg whites were beaten over a double boiler, making them more stable by forming bonds between the egg proteins, and 2) it used more gelatin. I replaced the Greek yogurt with whipped cream and the lemon flavor with orange, and it was almost perfect. The next time I made it, I whipped some cornstarch into the whipped cream to hold things together. Corn starch interacts with both the water and the fat in the cream, holding them in suspension and preventing a watery separation from forming. I also added more gelatin, bloomed in the orange juice, to give the mousse a firmer texture and help it stand up to the cake layers.
The Recipe.
Orange Creme Mousse:1/3 cup juice from 1 orange
1 1/2 teaspoons gelatin
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 egg whites, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 tablespoons grated orange zest
Combine orange juice and gelatin in a small bowl to bloom. Beat the cream on medium speed in a large bowl. To keep the cream cold, set the bowl over an ice bath, and use chilled beaters. When soft peaks form, beat in the cornstarch and continue to whip until stiff peaks form. Place whipped cream in fridge.
In another bowl, combine salt, egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar, and vanilla. Add orange juice/gelatin mixture. Set over a saucepan with 1 inch of simmering water to create a double boiler, so you can gently cook the egg whites as you whip them. Beat mixture over the double boiler for 5 minutes, then remove from heat and beat until cool, about 2 minutes. Fold in orange zest and the whipped cream, then refrigerate while making the cake.
6 egg whites, divided
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
2 1/4 cups cake flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup salted butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/3 cup buttermilk
Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat 3 8-inch round pans with baking spray and line with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, beat three egg whites on medium speed until frothy. Gradually beat in 1/2 cup sugar and continue to beat until soft peaks form. Set aside. Sift together flour and baking powder in another bowl. In a large bowl, beat together remaining cup sugar, butter, remaining egg whites, and vanilla. Alternately add one third of the flour mixture and buttermilk, beating between each addition just until combined. Fold in beaten egg whites with a spatula. Spoon batter into pans and smooth the tops with a spatula. Bake on center rack for 20 minutes, or until tester comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan, then invert onto wire racks to cool completely.
Stabilized Whipped Icing:
Make a half batch of the whipped icing from the Oreo Ice Cream Cake post.
Assembly:
Place one cake layer upside down on a cardboard cake round. Cover with 1/2 of the orange mousse, spreading to the edges with a spatula. Place the second cake layer on top, then cover with the rest of the mousse. Top with the last cake layer, and spread the whipped icing on top. Run a spatula around the edges of the cake to smooth out the mousse. Garnish with an orange slice and refrigerate until serving.
1. http://press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/470269_recipe4.html
2. Editors at America's Test Kitchen. The Best of America's Test Kitchen, 2011. Brookline, MA: America's Test Kitchen, 2010.
No comments:
Post a Comment