Sunday, March 30, 2008

Perfect Party Cake

I've been haunting the Daring Bakers for a few months now, and finally got the chance to join this March! How lucky for me that my first challenge was a cake, as I'm a big fan of layer cakes! This months challenge was hosted by Morven at Food, Art and Random Thoughts and I'm really thankful to her for choosing a Dorie Greenspan recipe because I hadn't been introduced to Dorie's baking before. I bought the great book Baking From My Home to Yours and have already made pudding and cookies from her along with this cake! 


The recipe uses egg whites only, which produces a really white cake. The cake has lemon extract and juice in the icing and batter, as well as raspberry preserves between the layers. Dorie and Morven both agree that playing around with this cake is a great idea. So since creativity was allowed, I switched it up as many of my fellow Daring Bakers did. 

Yum Yum Kiwi

I decided to use lime instead of lemon in both the icing and batter, and used fresh kiwi as the fruit between the layers. The original recipe also alludes to using fresh whipped cream instead of the meringue buttercream in between the layers so I went with a variation of that as well. 

Have fun in there pans!

I decided to make a mini cake because I didn't want to waste the ingredients on a cake that would loose its deliciousness before it could get finished. So I cut the recipe directly in half and it worked out perfectly. 

Making the meringue buttercream was definitely more involved than any other icing I have made, but it is now officially my favorite frosting. I was expecting it to be heavy, and too sweet, but I loved it and probably could have eaten a bowl full. 

Of course the day I decide to complete the challenge happened to be the day that a family friend and his wife decided to drop by my house. 'How perfect' you might think, someone to feed the lovely cake too! Well, when your family friend happens to be a French born pastry chef who specializes in cakes, the tension level rises a few notches! After I made the meringue buttercream, I gave him a taste, and much to my surprise he was very impressed! He said he was going to change his own recipe to include the lime juice because he liked it so much. What a compliment! 

So after baking the cake and slicing the cooled layers in half I began to assemble my mini masterpiece. I made some homemade whipped cream, and then folded in some yummy lime curd to go along with my lime flavoring in the cake and buttercream. The first layer got topped off with the lime whipped cream, and then the next got a layer of buttercream and lots of kiwi. Another whipped cream filled layer and then the whole cake was iced with the buttercream. 

In hindsight I wish I had put kiwi in between all the layers, and since the whipped cream and buttercream both had a lime flavor, I could have omitted the whipped cream and just used buttercream. But it still tasted delicious! 

I will definitely make this cake again, and again, and I've already thought up several other flavor combinations that I'm going to try out. 





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29 comments:

Anonymous said...

Congrats on your first DB challenge! Your cake looks lovely!

Unknown said...

Welcome to our group! You did such a great job. Never would have thought to use kiwi but the green adds such a great contrast. And what a compliment from your frined!

Renee said...

Lime and kiwi, I love your cake! Oh my gosh, it's so gorgeous. Congratulations on your first challenge!

Anonymous said...

Very clever flavor combinations. I love it for spring! Well done.

Sarah said...

Looks beautiful! I love you use of kiwi! This was also my first challenge . . . looking forward to next month!
Sarah

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

Kiwi!! Well Kate I did lime to but the kiwi wow, wish I'd thought of that!!
Your cake looks marvelous! Great job. Welcome to the gang!

Amy J. said...

Ahhhh, lime and kiwi -- I hadn't thought of that combo! I know it tasted as heavenly as it looks!

Noticed you are writing a book -- I write some, too -- good luck to you!

cookworm said...

I love the idea of lime and kiwi in the cake. It looks great! Welcome to the Daring Bakers!

Kate said...

Thanks everyone! I'm so excited to finally be a Daring Baker, so thanks for the warm welcome! I am big kiwi fan, so I was glad that this combo worked out as well as it did. I wish I had another piece, but I baked it weeks ago :(

Lesley said...

Wow, kiwi! How fun is that! Congrats on your first DB challenge and welcome to you!

T’s Treats said...

Grats on your first Challenge!! IT looks wonderful!! And thanks for stopping by, man I love Kiwi...mmm

~Amber~ said...

Lime and Kiwi sound like a great combo. Way to unleash your inner Daring Baker. Congratulations on a job well done.

Fran Z said...

You exhibited some great creativity with the kiwi! Isnt' Dorie's book great?! So many good things to choose from.

pixie said...

The Kiwi and lime is simply inspired! Congratulations!

Julius said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog.

I love what you've done with the cake. It looks scrumptious.

Julius from Occasional Baker

jasmine said...

Mmmm....lime and kiwi--great flavour choice.

Congratulations on your first DB challenge!

j

Anonymous said...

I love the kiwi idea! Yumyumyum, must've been great.

Ramona said...

I just love the idea of Kiwi and lime. I bet this was really good.

Anonymous said...

Oh yum! kiwi! Welcome to the DB fun and congrats on completing your first month!

mimi said...

welcome to the db, what a beautiful first challenge! i love the flavor combo of lime and kiwi, i bet it tasted delish!

Sheltie Girl said...

You did a fabulous job on your cake. I bet the kiwis tasted wonderful with this buttercream.

Congratulations on finishing your first challenge!

Natalie @ Gluten A Go Go

Jen said...

Hmmm.... now that everyone has written about how good the buttercream was I sort of wish I had given in a try (although I am usually the one complaining about how heavy and sweet it is). I did only whip cream for mine.

P.S. I love the look of the little kiwi slice on top of your cake.

Unknown said...

Welcome to the Daring Bakers. I want to make some other versions of this cake too after having such success - I hope to see some in your blog when I check back next month!

creampuff said...

I like the lime/kiwi combo ... your cake looks great and congrats on your first challenge!

simply said...

Welcome to the group. And well done on your first challenge. You have done really well.

Big Boys Oven said...

oh this is an interesting piece! cool!

Lunch Buckets said...

Great job - the green looks gorgeous. Welcome to the group!

Molly Loves Paris said...

Lime whipped cream and kiwis is positively brilliant! And I'm getting really excited about making a mini butter cream cake. Bien fait.

Gretchen Noelle said...

Kiwi! What a great idea not only for taste but also for color! Looks great and how fun to get compliments from your family friend. Wonderful job on your first DB challenge! Welcome!