When I first tried to assemble a cake I was really worried that it would look horrible. Relax. Putting a cake together is fun. And remember, it’s just a cake. No one is going to refuse a serving if it looks a little odd.
If there’s a bakery near you, go on a field trip and watch them in action. Watching someone do it in person is really the best way to get the feel for how to assemble a cake. Observe how the decorators work with the cake turntable, how they hold their spatulas, and the consistency of their buttercream. Don’t be intimidated by how quickly they work, just focus on their movements. I took a class on cake decorating, which taught me a lot, but I also picked up a good deal by watching the pros.
The following step-by-step guide covers the basics of assembly.
CLEAN THE SPONGE
A layer cake is made up of three components: the sponge, the filling, and the buttercream. Before beginning assembly of a layer cake, most of the time the sponge has to be cleaned—especially if it’s yellow butter cake. Trimming helps to level the cake, prepares the sponge for syrup, and makes it uniform in color. All of this improves the professional image of the cake when it’s cut and served.
Usually all that is required is lightly trimming off the browned parts on the outer surface of the cake with a serrated knife. The browned parts are sugars in the batter that caramelized due to their exposure to hot oven air and hot metal pans during baking. Sugars in the batter darken during the baking process. Lightly browned parts are not a sign that the cake is burned, but very dark brown and blackened portions are. By all means avoid using a cake sponge that is overbaked or burned.
If you’ve baked ahead of time, remove the plastic from the cake and look for metal shavings that may have come loose from lightweight cake pans in depanning. Drape the plastic over the cake turntable to use as a drop cloth for crumbs. Using very little pressure and keeping the blade slightly angled away from the cake, cut off all brown parts on the top, bottom, and sides of the cake. Any hardened parts on the cake edges, particularly the top perimeter, or crown, should be gently sawed away with the serrated knife. Discard the crumbs.
SLICE INTO LAYERS
Using the serrated knife, gently slice horizontally, parallel to the countertop. I’ve tried many of the gadgets and methods recommended for easy cake leveling, including dental floss, wire cutters, and cake saws. In the end, I find the serrated knife to be the quickest and most effective tool for the job. It’s also versatile and can be used for other jobs in your kitchen. One tip is to get a knife that’s longer than the diameter of the cake you want to slice.
Each 9-x-2-inch cake should yield two layers, each measuring ½- to ¾-inch high. Use a sawing motion as you slice through the cake from one side to the other. It takes practice to slice the cake evenly. It’s easier for me to just move through the cake rather than to move the cake around on the turntable, but I’ve seen it done both ways.
Rest assured that while a layer may appear shallow and unimpressive on its own, when it’s combined with layers of buttercream, filling, and more cake, the height will add up.
Handle with Care
Try not to touch the cake layers once they’re cut. Cake warms up quickly and can break easily if it’s grabbed with the fingers. Support the layers with cardboard cake circles when applying a flavoring syrup or placing them onto the cake.
Slice cake round into layers
Set aside layers not used
Dab on flavoring syrup
Apply buttercream, about 1 cup
Spread buttercream with a spatula
ASSEMBLE THE LAYERS
Begin assembly with the base layer of cake. Apply a generous amount of flavored sugar syrup to the entire surface of the cake using a 1- or 2-inch pastry brush, using a dabbing motion rather than a painting motion. The painting stroke drags the brush across the cake which rakes off crumbs and can break the edge of the cake.
Check the consistency of the buttercream each time you scoop it out of the mixer. It’s best to use freshly made, thoroughly whipped buttercream that gives no resistance to the offset spatula when spreading it onto the cake. But even freshly made buttercream can settle, so whip on high speed for 5 to 10 seconds to lighten it up before scooping any out.
Scoop about 1 cup of buttercream onto the base layer. Using a metal offset spatula, spread the buttercream onto the cake in an even layer. I like to keep the spatula at a slight (10 to 15°) angle with the tip in the center of the cake as I turn the cake layer on the turntable. Keep the spatula relatively still and let the buttercream glide across the cake layer to its edges. If you’ll be using a wet filling such as lemon curd or sugared strawberries, try to create a wall around the edge to hold the liquid.
Holding a cardboard cake circle supporting another trimmed layer, dab the syrup on with the pastry brush. Invert the layer onto the cake so the moistened side comes in contact with the buttercream. If the cake has fruit or toasted nuts between the layers, then it’s best to sandwich them in buttercream. Spread buttercream on the layer held in your hand and invert that side onto the cake so the buttercream will come directly in contact with the fruit or toasted nuts. Sandwiching solid objects between layers of buttercream eliminates gaps and air pockets that dry out the cake.
Repeat the steps until you have three or four layers of cake. Anything larger might be a little hard to handle later on.
Carefully line up the layers
Begin crumb coat with protruding buttercream
Coating
Apply the final coat of buttercream
Set the cake in place, slide spatula between the cake and the cake circle
Slightly lift the cake away off the circle and remove the circle
Lower the cake to the platter; press the spatula against the platter when removing
Next apply a crumb coat, a thin layer of buttercream that will trap the crumbs against the cake. Usually I smooth out the buttercream that oozes out the sides of the cake, then scoop ¼ – ½ cup on top of the cake, if necessary, and work that around. Less is more when it comes to the crumb coat. Refrigerate the cake for 5 to 10 minutes to let the buttercream set.
APPLY THE FINAL COAT OF BUTTERCREAM
Applying the second and final coat of buttercream is the time when you can relax and have fun. You can call in the cavalry to help you decorate or add your own signature look to the cake, so don’t hold back. My preference is for a casual, homemade look. It’s fast, easy, and lets a cake be a cake. If you prefer something more elaborate and advanced with piped borders, the Italian Meringue Buttercream is suitable for making those designs.
TRANSFER TO A CAKE PLATTER
Position the frosted cake on the cardboard circle over a cake platter. Insert an offset spatula between the cake and the cardboard. Gently lift the cake about 1 inch off the cardboard and rotate the circle away from the cake (the cake stays put, the cardboard moves). Lower the cake onto the platter once the cardboard circle has been removed. Press the spatula firmly against the platter, taking pressure off the cake, to remove it.
My style of decorating is all natural and without a lot of fuss. I love to accent a cake with elements that are already part of the cake. I’ll use lemon zest for a lemon cake, candied almonds for an almond cake, cocoa powder or dots of chocolate for a chocolate cake. Anything that gives a hint of the flavor in the cake is enough for me.
Writing with Chocolate
Writing inscriptions with melted chocolate is an elegant way to personalize your efforts. Anyone with neat penmanship will be able to write well with a little practice. It’s best to write on a cake that is cold, so place your finished cake in the fridge for at least 10 minutes before writing.
1. Melt ¼ cup of chocolate in a double boiler.
2. Fold a parchment triangle as shown.
3. Pour the melted chocolate into the cone and fold down the top of the cone.
4. Carefully cut off the tip of the triangle and practice a few strokes to read how the chocolate is flowing.
5. Carefully holding the triangle in place over the cake, begin writing the inscription.
The keys to writing successfully are to make the cone correctly, keep the chocolate well heated so it flows easily, and apply light but consistent pressure to the cone as you write. The chocolate shouldn’t burn you through the parchment paper, but it will need to be very warm to flow easily.
After you’ve filled the parchment cone and snipped off the tip, squeeze out a test line to check the consistency and the breadth of the flow. Begin inscribing by bringing the parchment cone within millimeters of the cake’s surface and squeeze the cone lightly, allowing the chocolate to pool slightly underneath the tip of the cone. Once the chocolate begins to flow, raise the tip away from the cake by about 2 inches and move steadily to make the pattern or letters of the inscription. Loopy letters look good on a cake, so don’t be afraid to exaggerate a bit. When you need to stop the inscription or design, stop squeezing the cone and lower it to rest within millimeters of the cake. Release all your pressure on the cone and when the flow of chocolate stops, move the cone away from the cake to prevent any drips.
If you run into a problem while writing and have a few unsightly drips of chocolate on your cake, refrigerate the cake for 5 minutes to solidify the chocolate. Take a sharp paring knife and gently lift the drips off of the cake.
The ingredients and recipes in this section—whether folded into batter, brushed onto pound cake, mixed into buttercream, or used as decorative flourishes—will add color, texture, and flavor to your creations. While suggestions are provided for particularly good pairings, these elements can be combined in any number of ways. Be creative, and enjoy exploring the possibilities!
Citrus fruits are natural flavor enhancers, and working their essential parts into a cake is not difficult. Zesting and segmenting are two common techniques that often go hand in hand.
Rasps or plane zesters do a good job at taking only the flavorful part of the citrus peel. I usually want a little more crunch in my zest so I like to use a traditional zester that yields long strips of zest.
Zesting is easy to get the hang of, just don’t press too hard and go too deep. Stay shallow to get the most flavorful, oil-rich outer layer. If you go deep you’ll hit the bitter white part of the rind. No matter what tool you’re using for zesting, be careful! They’re all extremely sharp and they’ll take off your skin very easily. I’ve had a few gnarly mishaps with zesters.
Segmenting takes some time to master but it’s well worth the effort. It allows you to capture the juiciest part of the fruit for your baking and adds an engaging visual effect. Each segment is comprised of bunches and bunches of individual vesicles. The tiny vesicles of fruit are perfect little pouches that hold the fruit’s juice and prevent the batter or buttercream from becoming watery.
1. Using a sharp paring knife, cut the peel down to the juicy flesh of each fruit.
2. Slide the blade of the paring knife just inside the lines of the white membranes that divide the segments.
3. When the knife is at the center, gently twist the blade toward the segment you’re removing and it will come free.
4. Peel the segment away from the fruit and continue separating the others from the membrane.
These are perfect for decorating the sides or tops of cakes and cupcakes. Toasting them with just a touch of Sugar Syrup adds a delicate crunch that contrasts nicely with the softness of cake or buttercream. The first “birthday” cake I ever made featured toasted almonds pressed into orange buttercream over a rich yellow cake. It was an easy decoration, but that didn’t make it any less special. That cake sums up everything I love about cakes: flavor, texture, and simplicity.
Watch your timing very carefully when toasting nuts. They have a tendency to look underdone when really they’re just right. My rule is to take them out when the nuts around the edge of the sheet pan appear brown just around the edges. The recommended baking time is 5 minutes, and you’ll probably never need to bake them for longer than 7 minutes.
EQUIPMENT: mixing bowl
YIELD: 1 cup
INGREDIENTS
sliced almonds, 4½ ounces (1 cup)
Sugar Syrup, ¼ cup
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (conventional) or 335°F (convection). Set the rack in the middle of the oven.
2. Line a sheet pan with parchment and spray with a nonstick spray if you want the nuts to release more easily from the parchment after baking.
3. Combine the nuts and Sugar Syrup in a large bowl and toss well with a rubber spatula for about 1 minute, or until the almonds are thoroughly coated with the Sugar Syrup. Using slightly exaggerated folding motions works well.
4. Spread the sugar-coated nuts in an even layer on the parchment–lined sheet pan. Bake for 4 minutes.
5. Check for browning almonds around the sides of the sheet pan. It may be necessary to stir the nuts to redistribute them if there are spots where the nuts aren’t browning at all. If you’ve had to stir them, bake for 2 to 3 minutes longer.
6. When the nuts are slightly browned on the edges remove the sheet pan from the oven and set it on a heat-resistant surface or wire rack to cool.
7. Transfer the cooled nuts to a bowl for immediate use or label, date, and store in an airtight container at room temperature.
There is nothing worse than baking a beautiful cake from scratch only to accent it with something that has a decidedly manufactured look or taste. Commercially sweetened coconut is one of those common accompaniments that gets pushed to the side of the plate and stays there. I never enjoyed coconut until we began toasting unsweetened coconut with our own Sugar Syrup. The difference is astounding and helped me understand why people love coconut so much. Pair toasted coconut with Coconut Buttercream as a filling between layers, or use it as an accent decor on the outside of the cake. Coconut also pairs well Yellow Butter Cake with Lemon Curd filling.
Toasting coconut correctly requires careful attention, as it turns from not baked to hopelessly burned within seconds. Timing is critical, so please turn on the oven light, grab a chair, and watch this closely the first time it’s baked. With the oven set at 350°F you’ll probably never need to bake the coconut for longer than 7 minutes.
EQUIPMENT: mixing bowl
YIELD: 1 cup
INGREDIENTS
unsweetened coconut flakes, 4 ounces (1 cup)
Sugar Syrup, ¼ cup
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (conventional) or 335°F (convection). Set the rack in the middle of the oven.
2. Line a sheet pan with parchment and spray with a nonstick spray if you want the coconut to release more easily from the parchment after baking.
3. Combine the coconut and Sugar Syrup in a large bowl and toss well with a rubber spatula for about 1 minute, or until the coconut is thoroughly covered with the Sugar Syrup. Using slightly exaggerated folding motions works well.
4. Spread the sugar-coated coconut in an even layer on the parchment–lined sheet pan. Bake for 4 minutes.
5. Check for browning coconut around the sides of the sheet pan. It may be necessary to stir the coconut to redistribute it if there are spots where the coconut isn’t browning at all. If you’ve had to stir them, bake for 2 to 3 minutes longer.
6. When the coconut is slightly browned on the edges remove the sheet pan from the oven and set it on a heat-resistant surface or wire rack to cool.
7. Transfer the cooled coconut to a bowl for immediate use or label, date, and store in an airtight container at room temperature.
I don’t like using a simple syrup, a one-to-one ratio of sugar to water, because it’s too thin. Whether it’s used for brushing onto cake layers or sweetening toasted nuts, simple syrup makes the components a little too wet. This sugar syrup has almost double the amount of sugar.
EQUIPMENT: 2-quart, heavy-bottomed saucepan
YIELD: 1½ cups
INGREDIENTS
extra-fine granulated sugar, 16 ounces (2 cups)
water, 1¼ cups
Combine the sugar and water in a 2-quart, heavy-bottomed saucepan and stir thoroughly. Bring the mixture to a light simmer over medium-high heat to dissolve the sugar. Do not bring to a rolling boil. Immediately remove the mixture from the heat and set aside to cool completely. Label, date, and refrigerate in an airtight container.
VARIATIONS
You can flavor this syrup with liqueurs of your choice, using 1 to 2 tablespoons per ½ cup of syrup. For alcohol-free variations, cook the syrup with up to 2 tablespoons of orange, lemon, or lime zest.
Put the pedal to the metal for any coffee-flavored cake with a heavy soaking of an espresso syrup. The steps below imitate the espresso machine process but at a very basic level. If you don’t have an espresso machine at home, now you can make espresso—this method will work without fail.
EQUIPMENT: electric coffee grinder, fine-mesh sieve, mixing bowl
YIELD: about ½ cup
INGREDIENTS
cold water, 1 cup
espresso beans, ¼ cup
Sugar Syrup, ½ cup
1. Bring the water to a boil.
2. Meanwhile, grind the espresso beans to the finest grain possible, about a full minute, and place the ground espresso into a fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl and level with your finger.
3. Slowly drizzle the boiling water over the ground espresso in a circular motion. Notice the bubbles that come off the grinds and the froth in the middle—that’s the signal that we’re taking the good flavor from the beans and not the bitterness. Keep drizzling the water slowly around the bowl of the strainer until the bubbles disappear, about 30 seconds.
4. Remove the sieve and add the sugar syrup. Allow to cool to room temperature, then label, date, and refrigerate in an airtight container.
This is a natural way to harness the powerful flavor of raspberries. It’s also a great way to dye buttercream pink!
EQUIPMENT: 2-quart, heavy-bottomed saucepan, fine-mesh sieve, mixing bowl
YIELD: about 2 cups
INGREDIENTS
frozen raspberries, thawed, 12 to 16 ounces
extra-fine granulated sugar, 4 ounces (½ cup)
1. Thaw a package of frozen raspberries in the bag. Do not strain the juice.
2. Combine the raspberries and their juice with the sugar in a 2-quart, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Gently bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat and promptly remove from the heat.
3. Scrape the puree from the bowl using a rubber spatula and carefully strain through a fine-mesh sieve set over a large bowl. Try to capture all of the raspberry seeds in the strainer.
4. Scrape the underside of the strainer—a lot of great puree won’t drop into the bowl without some help.
5. Transfer the puree to an airtight container. Label, date, and store it in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.
Raspberry Puree being added to Sugar Syrup
Slightly soured, meaty, plump, and dark, these reconstituted cherries are great substitutes when fresh cherries aren’t available. If it’s cherry season and you can tolerate pitting them, fresh cherries will taste even better. Use the reserved liquid as a soaking syrup for whatever cake you’re pairing with the cherries to bring out even more cherry flavor.
EQUIPMENT: 2-quart, heavy-bottomed saucepan, fine-mesh sieve
YIELD: 2 cups (enough for one 9-inch-round cake)
INGREDIENTS
dried cherries, or pitted fresh cherries, 8 ounces
extra-fine granulated sugar, 4 ounces (½ cup)
apple cider vinegar, ¼ cup
1. Combine the ingredients in a 2-quart, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Bring to simmer over medium heat, then remove from the heat and let the cherries steep in the syrup for 30 minutes.
2. Allow to cool to room temperature, then transfer to an airtight container. Label, date, and refrigerate.
3. Strain the cherries prior to use, reserving the liquid for another use.
I can remember my Grandma Sallie telling me that the best way to eat strawberries was to cut them up, put some sugar on them, and leave them in the refrigerator overnight. For best results, use fresh, ripe strawberries when they’re in season, but frozen berries can be substituted in a pinch. Sugared Strawberries can be layered with Yellow or Chocolate Butter Cake, or any No-Mixer Cake. When paired with “LCD” Vanilla Pound Cake and Whipped Cream, they make for an absolutely delicious strawberry shortcake.
EQUIPMENT: colander, mixing bowl
YIELD: about 2 cups
INGREDIENTS
fresh strawberries, or frozen strawberries, thawed, 2 pints
extra-fine granulated sugar, 4 ounces (½ cup)
1. Wash the berries in a colander and let them drain.
2. Hull (cut the leafy tops off) the berries and quarter them with a paring knife.
3. Combine the berries and sugar in a large bowl and toss well with a rubber spatula for about 30 seconds, or until the berries are thoroughly coated with the sugar.
4. Refrigerate the berries for 4 to 12 hours—the longer the better.
5. Strain the liquid and reserve for another use. (It tastes terrific in fresh-squeezed lemonade.)
6. Use the berries right away or transfer the berries to an airtight container. Label, date, and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
“LCD” Vanilla Pound Cake with Whipped Cream and Sugared Strawberries
