I think my first cake-making fever struck sometime in the middle of high school, a result of that heady mix of sexual frustration, boredom, and hormones otherwise known as being a teenager. Though it could have also been pure culinary fascination, I know that I, at the time, was a never-been-kissed 16 year-old with a treasure chest of longing the size of Texas pent up in my heart. And so, like any self-respecting teenage girl, I took matters into my own hands by making cake with friends.
I remember the pages of the magazine we got the recipe from, their glossy black, the way the cake loomed, larger than life, beckoning us. It was a chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream, bittersweet chocolate dipped cherries, and fancy chocolate ribbons. Katrina, Katie and I hovered over the stove, awe-filled almost-not-children experiencing the alchemy of cake-making for the first time. Though I remember being diligently kitchen-bound, Katrina recently informed me that her memory differed slightly: Apparently she and Katie had to exile our friend Andrew and me to the living room because we were giggling too much. I mean. !!
Tessa Huff’s new book Layered: Baking, Building, and Styling Spectacular Cakes explores this endearing, transformative, unitive power of layer cakes with exquisite results. Its pages are filled with sweet (literally) stories of cake bringing people closer together, and closer to themselves. This is the kind of cooking I can always get behind.
But before we start baking, I have some confessions to make.
1. I have never used my stand mixer, though not for lack of wanting to. It sits in my prop closet, gathering dust, because, well, because I have no counter space. It pains me to admit this. Like it also pains me to admit that,
2. My oven is tilted. I’m not a perfectionist in the kitchen, not really, and so I forget about this minor detail of life until I do something like bake cake. And then I remember: Oh yes, my tilted oven. It will bake imperfect things. Which could, I suppose, bring me terror in a situation where I am called upon to make something like a layer cake. Not just a two-layer cake. A multi-layered cake. From Tessa, the inimitable queen of layered cakes.
Which is all to say that, if there is any small part of you that feels fear in your heart at the mere suggestion of busting out a multi-tiered cake in the comfort of your own home, I am living proof that it can be done. From a kitchen with a tilted oven, no counter space, and without a stand mixer. It can be done.
And just to thicken the plot, I decided to change Tessa’s (obviously perfect as is) recipe. Because I’m weird like that.
Here’s what I did:
I used honey in the cake, instead of granulated sugar. Because I prefer less sweet, whenever possible. Because I love honeyed cakes. Because i thought the honey would pair nicely with the goat cheese frosting, and the cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg in the cake. I loved the (probably a bit denser, heavier-crumbed) cake this turned out, and am also certain that Tessa’s original version would be exceptional.
I used 3 8-inch cake pans instead of 4 6-inch cake pans. Because that’s what I had, and the square acreage (inch-age?) of these two options are the same (both yield 24-inches of cake).
I made vanilla candied lemons to top the cake. And i threw some dreamily scented fresh chamomile buds into the mix for good measure. Because spring.
This is the perfect cake for a budding time of year, and one that’s really quite easy to throw together. I could now host a whole YouTube channel on how-to-make-layer-cakes-with-uneven-cake-layers-because-your-oven-is-tilted, but I’m not sure how large of a following I’d amass with such niche subject matter.
Needless to say, have heart. It’s all possible. If I can help you with the process (or direct your question to a more qualified cake professional), please leave a comment below! And then,
LEMONY ZUCCHINI CAKE WITH GOAT CHEESE FROSTING FROM LAYERED.
Ingredients
adapted from Real Simple
- ¾ cup pure water
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 lemon very thinly sliced
zucchini cake
- butter or nonstick cooking spray for the pans
- 2 ½ cups (315 g) all-purpose flour, plus more for the pans
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons (150 ml) grapeseed oil
- **1 ¼ cups honey (original recipe calls for 1 ½ cups (300 g) granulated sugar)
- 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
- 3 large eggs
- 1 ½ cups (225 g) grated zucchini drained
- 3 tablespoons buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
goat cheese frosting
- 4 ounces (115 g) soft goat cheese, at room temperature
- ½ cup (1 stick / 115 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3 cups confectioners’ sugar sifted
- 2 to 3 teaspoons whole milk
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- **2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
lemon glaze
- 1 cup (125 g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
- **fresh chamomile flowers for garnish
Instructions
Make the vanilla candied lemons.
- Place a wire rack over a parchment-lined baking sheet to cool the lemons on once candied.
- In a small sauce pan, bring ¾ cup water and ¾ cup granulated sugar to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir frequently until mixture is translucent, about three minutes. Add very thinly sliced lemon and ½ teaspoon vanilla extract. Stir to incorporate vanilla, and ensure lemon slices are fully coated. Simmer for about 12 minutes, until slices are translucent. Strain out lemons (I reserved the liquid as a lemon-vanilla simple syruand lay flat on the wire rack to cool while you make the cake.
Make the zucchini cake.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF (175ºC). Grease and flour four 6-inch (15 ccake pans and set aside. **I used three 8-inch cake pans instead. I also lined the base of each cake pan with a circle of parchment paper (cut out from a pencil-traced outline of the base of the pan on parchmenthat was then greased and floured as well.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the oil, honey (or sugar), and lemon zest on medium speed for 2 minutes. With the mixer on medium low, add the eggs one at a time. Stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl.
- Turn the mixer to low and add the flour mixture in two batches until incorporated. Add the zucchini, buttermilk, and lemon juice. Mix on medium for no more than 30 seconds.
- Evenly divide the batter among the prepared pans. Bake for 13-16 minutes (if using 6 inch cake pans, bake time will be 24 to 26 minutes), or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean. Let them cool on a wire rack for 10 to 15 minutes before removing the cakes from their pans.
Make the goat cheese frosting.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the goat cheese and butter together until smooth. With the mixer on low, gradually add the confectioners’ sugar, milk, and vanilla until incorporated. Turn the mixer up to medium high and mix until the frosting is fluffy.
Assemble the cake.
- Once the cakes have completely cooled, level them and choose which layer will be at the bottom (**go for the sturdiest or thickest). Place it on a cake plate or serving dish. Spread on one-third of the goat cheese frosting with an offset spatula. Top with the next layer of cake and repeat twice with the frosting, **ending with a thinner layer of frosting on the top.
Make the lemon glaze.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice, and the lemon zest until the sugar has dissolved. Add more lemon juice until the glaze is thick yet able to drip over the sides of the cake. Pour the lemon glaze onto the center of the top of the cake. Spread it with an offset spatula and let it drop over the edges.
- **Top with candied lemon slices and chamomile flowers, or as desired.
