Lady in Red Cake with Vintage Vanilla Frosting
This polished up vintage recipe is a celebration of subtle, yet sophisticated flavors and silky textures. It starts with a moist, delicate cocoa cake and is then filled with smooth bittersweet chocolate ganache that contrasts with crunchy dark chocolate pearls. And the finishing touch is an old-fashioned velvety vanilla frosting that complements rather than competes with the flavor profile.
- Yield: Makes two 9-inch cakes or three 6-inch cakes
Ingredients
CAKE
- 1 cup grapeseed oil (227g)
- 2 TBSP unsweetened cocoa (10g) (not Dutch processed)
- 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar (350g)
- 1 tsp salt (6g)
- 2 eggs (100g)
- 1 cup buttermilk (242 g)
- 2 1/4 cups of cake flour (325 g)
- Red food color to preference (I use about one TBSP of powdered food color, but recommend gradually adding color to batter to find your perfect shade.)
- 1/4 cup coffee (50g)
- 1 TBSP white vinegar (10g)
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda (7.5 g)
- 1.5 tsp vanilla paste or extract (6 g)
- About 1 cup of Dark Chocolate Pearls for use during cake assembly.
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter cake pans (original recipe is for two 9-inch pans, but I make three 6-inch layers).
- In a small bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt together and set aside.
- In a standing mixer, combine oil and sugar and mix for about a minute until incorporated.
- Add eggs, buttermilk, vanilla and coffee. Mix for about 30 seconds.
- Gradually add the dry mixture into the bowl of wet ingredients on the lowest setting until a cohesive batter has formed.
- Add the vinegar last and incorporate for about 5 seconds on low speed.
- Gradually add in the food color to your preference.*
- Pour the batter evenly into each pan. Bake in on a middle rack for about 30-40 minutes, depending on your oven and what size pans you selected. Test it with a toothpick for doneness in the center, Cake should look fluffy and dry on top.
- Cool the cake until ready to assemble.
ASSEMBLY
- BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE GANACHE FILLING: You can prepare the ganache in advance, even the day before you make the cake, to decrease day of prep time. Just be sure to take it out of the refrigerator about an hour before you use it and stir it up to make it smooth.
- VINTAGE VANILLA FROSTING: Make this while the cake is baking and set aside.
- Once cake has completely cooled, set the first layer on your plate or a cardboard cake round.
- With a pastry bag, pipe a circle of the frosting around the edge of the cake to create a dam to contain the filling.
- Add a scoop of ganache in the center of your cake and use an angled spatula to smooth it to touch the icing border,
- Sprinkle generously with chocolate pearls ensure that each slice will have some crunch in theirs.
- Add the next cake layer. If you are doing a three layer cake, repeat this step.
- Once you have your final cake layer on top, frost the cake with the vintage vanilla frosting. If you want a very smooth finish, you can do a thin “crumb coat” of frosting and then freeze the cake for about 20 minutes. When you take the cake out you can add another the rest of the frosting for the smoothest possible finish.
Notes
FOOD COLOR: Many recipes call for a whole 2 oz bottle of liquid food color, which creates a very BRIGHT red. I use about 1 TBSP of hyper pigmented powdered food color to achieve a deep red/burgundy color. Which ever type you use, I recommend adding it gradually so you can find the perfect shade to your preference. The color of the cake will darken up somewhat when it is baked.
FLOWERS : I love decorating this cake with fresh flowers. If you would like to try this, just be sure to gently rinse your flowers in water, shake them out and let them dry before using them.