Whipped Cream Cake
Jan 22, 2010 | From the kitchen of Rose
Maybe I should have called this cake "Where's the Butter?" because at first glance there appears to be no butter in it. In reality, the butterfat contained in the heavy cream is more than the butter usually added separately!
As this seems to be, perhaps, the most popular of all the cakes in my newest book Rose's Heavenly Cakes I've decided to list the recipe on this blog for easy access.
Whipped Cream Cake
Serves: 8 to 10
Baking Time: 25 to 35 minutes
This unusual old-time recipe was sent to me by chef Anthony Stella, a restaurateur in Delaware, who asked if I could perform a makeover on it. What intrigued both of us about the recipe was that at first glace it seemed to contain no butter or oil. But on closer analysis, I discovered that the butterfat contained in the cream was more than equal to the usual amount of butter added. My makeover involved a nip and tuck, decreasing the sugar and baking powder and increasing the salt to compensate for the saltiness previously provided by a higher amount of baking powder. I also increased the overall yield by one and a half times and baked the cake in a fluted tube pan to give it an attractive appearance and more center support. The result is a perfectly even and exceptionally moist and tender cake.
Batter Ingredients
Cake Flour or bleached all-purpose flour, sifted (2 1/4 cups cake flour or 2 cups all purpose--measured by sifting into the cup and leveling it off: 8 ounces/225 grams)
Baking powder (2 teaspoons)
Salt (3/4 teaspooon)
Heavy cream, cold (1-1/2 cups/12.3 ounces/348 grams)
3 large eggs, at room temperature (1/2 cup plus 1-1/2 tablespoons/5.3 ounces/150 grams)
Pure vanilla extract (1 teaspoon)
Superfine sugar (1 cup plus 2 tablespoons/8 ounces/225 grams)
Special Equipment
One 10-cup fluted metal tube pan, coated with baking spray with flour
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 375°F/190°C (350°F/175°C if using a dark pan).
Mix the Dry Ingredients
In a medium bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt and then sift them together to make the mixture easier to incorporate.
Mix the Liquid Ingredients
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk beater, whip the cream, starting on low speed, gradually raising the speed to medium-high as it thickens, until stiff peaks form when the beater is raised.
In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs and vanilla just until lightly combined. On medium-high speed, gradually beat the egg mixture into the whipped cream. The mixture will thicken into mayonnaise consistency (unless high-butterfat cream is used). Gradually beat in the sugar. It should take about 30 seconds to incorporate it. [Here's a slight change in how I now incorporate the flour thanks to both Marie Wolf and Hector Wong commenting on the difficulty with a rubber or silicone spatula] Detach the bowl and whisk beater from the stand.
Make the Batter
Add half the flour mixture to the cream mixture and, with the whisk attachment stir and fold in the flour until most of it disappears. Add the rest of the flour mixture and continue folding and mixing until all traces of flour have disappeared. Using a silicone spatula or spoon, scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Run a small metal spatula or dull knife blade through the batter to prevent large air bubbles, avoiding the bottom of the pan. Smooth the surface evenly with a small metal spatula.
Bake the Cake
Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted between the tube and the side comes out completely clean and the cake springs back when pressed lightly in the center. The cake should start to shrink from the sides of the pan only after removal from the oven.
Cool and Unmold the Cake
Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. With a small metal spatula, loosen the top edges of the cake and invert the cake onto a wire rack that has been coated lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Cool completely. The cake requires no adornment, but I love to serve it with a light dusting of powdered sugar or a large dollop of lightly sweetened Whipped Cream (page 115).
Notes: Do not chill the bowl and beaters for the heavy cream because the eggs will not emulsify as readily if the whipped cream is too cold.
High-butterfat (40 percent) heavy cream produces a finer, more tender crumb. This cream is generally available only to bakeries and restaurants, but it is certainly worth asking your local baker to sell you a container.
Special Note: I'm sending this to Kate for Sugar High Friday #61!
Print
Post/Read Comments (15)
Digg
de.licio.us
Facebook
StumbleUpon
hector in reply to comment from Susan
01/25/2010 05:02 PM
when i line every shelf with tiles is because i want to bake on each shelf many cakes at the same time, if i only need to use one shelf, i only line the most top shelf and the bottom shelf or oven floor.
i make sure the side spacing between pans and between pan and oven walls is at least 2", but the space above the pans and the tile lined shelf above can be as minimum as 1/2". when i am using each oven shelf, each shelf lined with tiles, i keep convection turned on. all the tiles seem to lower the strength of the air circulation just right so to not affect cake baking negatively with convection.
REPLY
Susan in reply to comment from hector
01/25/2010 04:07 PM
Hector,
When you fully lined all the shelves did you leave some space on the sides to help air circulation? And I assume you place the cake pans directly on the tiles to cook the cake.
REPLY
hector in reply to comment from Lola LB
01/25/2010 11:14 AM
Made le succes yesterday at friends house, spent 7 hours in great company with friends there. The first thing I did was turn on the oven and had to set the dial to 320oF instead of 350oF, glad I brought my little oven thermometer. I also lined many quarry tiles, indeed as many as 18 tiles, on every oven shelf. Cake baked beautifully even and at the exact time as indicated on the book. Was a bit of a workout carrying all those tiles though...
Oven was gas, and we preheated for 3 hours!
REPLY
Lola LB
01/25/2010 06:35 AM
Yep . . . always check the oven temperature. Our stove is the standard housing developer "go cheap and get the cheapest electric stove possible" issue and temperature is always at least 15 degrees below where it should be. We always use the oven temperature.
REPLY
Kathleen
01/24/2010 12:59 PM
To insure cake success, I'm using all the fail-safe tools:
Oven thermometer. I have a very good stove, a Bosch, but still verify the temperature setting with an additional thermometer.
Instant-read thermometer. This lets me know that all the ingredients are at the proper temp. Butter between 65-75 deg. F, all other ingreds. at cool room temp. I put ingreds. back in the fridge if they are too warm.
Digital kitchen scale. I weigh everything but salt, baking powder, baking soda and vanilla.
Fresh baking powder.
Maybe try it the next time in one pan? Using two smaller pans shouldn't make a difference, but it always helps to follow a recipe exactly.
This is such a great cake, that I hope you try it again. Good luck and let us know if you do.
REPLY
hector in reply to comment from patbagg
01/24/2010 12:29 PM
Pls check oven temp and also cake temp with an instant read digital thermometer. Mines took the same time to bake as written on the book, longer or shorter usually means the oven is too cold or too hot respectivelly. You can't tell this cake is done by the color of the top crust because it tends to always be very pale. When overbaked, this cake tends to shrink.
REPLY
patbagg
01/24/2010 12:11 PM
just had a spectacular failure with the whipped cream cake. i have checked and double checked the ingredients/method/oven temp (my usual gaggenau oven). i baked in 2 5c kugelhof pans (old faithfuls). they rose up nicely but never browned. finally after about 30 minutes, they collapsed. i let them bake an additional 10 or so min (hoping for a miracle). then i removed them from oven. still very pale. let rest for about 10 min then attempted tp remove from pans. one ok but very tender. the 2nd completely fell apart. delicious crumbs. does not taste raw. any ideas?
REPLY
ButterYum
01/24/2010 12:34 AM
We really loved this cake! Served it on day 1 with a little raspberry puree and meyer lemon curd; day 2 with just a simple sprinkling of powdered sugar - both were excellent!
http://butteryum.blogspot.com/2010/01/whipped-cream-cake.html
REPLY
Kathleen
01/23/2010 10:01 PM
Thanks, Hector. If it works just as well, I will continue using it instead of a balloon whisk. I like multi-tasking implements -- tools that do more jobs than they were built to do. Plus I have such a small kitchen, I hardly have room for anything else!
REPLY
hector in reply to comment from Kathleen
01/23/2010 05:36 PM
As written on the book, using a spatula works. It is just easier if you use the mixer's whisk, detached, or a giant ballon whisk.
Using the mixer's whisk, detached, is recommended throught the book. Works just as good as a giant ballon whisk, but if you do this often, I am certain, you will go get one!
REPLY
Kathleen
01/23/2010 05:11 PM
I have meant to ask before if the detached whisk would be a good substitute for a balloon whisk, which I do not own. After reading Hector's note, I think the answer is yes. Hector, do you agree that whenever a recipe calls for folding in flour with a balloon whisk, the detached standing mixer whisk would work just as well?
REPLY
Phyllis in reply to comment from hector
01/23/2010 12:37 PM
And we wonder why Hector tells his kids...read the whole recipe "before" anything else! LOL
REPLY
Phyllis in reply to comment from hector
01/23/2010 12:35 PM
Well, thanks Hector...a day late and a dollar short, though. I used a spatula and did observe the batter's resistance to smoothing out nicely. I'm off to check the book; how could I have missed this? Scary.
REPLY
evilcakelady
01/22/2010 02:15 PM
Oh! I didn't even notice that, Hector. I saw the phrase "fold in" and immediately went for my favorite silicone spatula. Funny!
REPLY
hector
01/22/2010 02:04 PM
do note that this recipe indicates using the mixer's whisk attachment, but NOT operated by the mixer. fold by hand with the whisk instead of a spatula. more on this later.
REPLY
Happy National Pie Day
Luca's Gâteau Breton