I have chosen this pink champagne cake to celebrate my best friend's birthday as for me she is an image of everything beautiful and tender.
This is a champagne infused cake with a classic Bavarian cream and Swiss meringue buttercream frosting*.
*or at least it supposed to have Swiss meringue buttercream frosting when i suddenly ran out of icing sugar (oops!).
If you like Pink Champagne, you are going love this cake as well, the flavor is unmistakable.
To make this delicious cake for any occasion you will need about 3,5 hours of time and following ingredients for three 20cm tin (which is 8 inches or 12 servings).
For decoration I used one rose, raspberries, white meringue, edible gold glitter spray, golden sugar pearls and gelatin bubble (i will leave instructions how to make it as well).
Pink Champagne Sponge342 g flour
1 Tbsp (15 g) baking powder
0,5 tsp (2g) salt
6 egg whites (194g)
250ml pink champagne
2 tsp (8 g) vanilla
2 Tbsp vegetable oil (18 g)
400 g sugar
226 g soft unsalted butter
pink food color, (small amount for blush pink)
Bavarian cream
2 Tbsp (30g) unflavored gelatin
120ml hot (not boiling) water
4 egg yolks
100g sugar
1 pinch salt
480ml milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
480ml heavy cream
Swiss meringue buttercream
4 egg whites (use large eggs and free-range if possible)
300g caster sugar
400g chopped unsalted butter, soft
1 tsp vanilla extract
Decoration (optional)
Small balloon 2 Tbsp powdered gelatin 1 or 2 drops liquid food color 4 Tbsp hot (not boiling) water Vegetable oil Grid cooling rack
Directions
Sponge:
Preheat the oven to 180C (350F) degrees, grease and flour your tins.
1. Sieve and mix together your dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking powder) and set aside.
2. Separate yolks and whisk your whites with oil, champagne and vanilla.
3. Beat together butter and sugar in the mixer bowl from 3 to 5 minutes until it's pale and fluffy.
4. Start to add approximately 1/3 of your dry ingredients and mix until blended.
5. Add 1/2 of liquid ingredients and continue mixing.
6. Go on alternating dry and wet ingredients. You should end with dry ingredients.
7. Add the pink coloring at any time while mixing.
Distribute evenly into prepared tins and bake 25 to 30 minutes (depends on your oven). Check with a toothpick.
Take out of the oven and let cool completely.
Cream:
IMPORTANT! Make your cream when the sponges are cooled an layered as it will firm very quickly because of gelatin.
1. Stir together gelatin and water in a small bowl. Set aside to let swell and cool.
2. Whisk together egg yolks, sugar, and salt until smooth and paler in color.
3. Bring the milk to a boil in a saucepan. Constantly whisking, pour hot milk into the yolk mixture. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook on a medium heat continuously stirring until the mixture becomes thicker and sticks to the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and pour through a strainer.
4. Stir thoroughly gelatin to the mixture while hot allowing it to melt. Let cool.
5. Whip the heavy cream to medium stiffness and fold it into cooled to the room temperature mixture.
6. Transfer to the cake layers immediately.
7. Let cool in fridge for 1 hour or so.
Frosting:
1. Start by separating eggs, you will only need whites.
2. Put your filled pan in a larger pan and add enough boiling-hot water to reach halfway up the side of the smaller pan. Put your egg whites into filled pan add sugar and using whisk stir it all together until sugar is dissolved.
3. Check by rubbing a little bit of mixture between your fingers. When fine whisk with your mixer for about 10-15 minutes until it's completely cool.
4. Add butter piece by piece and continue to beat until combined.
5. Add vanilla extract and give a little whisk.
Decoration:
1. Fill a balloon with air to the size you need and place it on a dust-free surface.
2. Completely coat the balloon with oil using your fingers. Use a paper towel to wipe off the excess.
3. In a small microwave-safe bowl, quickly whisk together the gelatin, food color and water. It will become thick almost immediately. Let gelatin stand 5 minutes.
4. Heat the gelatin in the microwave until it is completely melted (more or less 10 seconds). Let cool until tepid.
5. Dip a balloon into the gelatin holding by the knot and , rotating it to coat all sides. Hold the balloon with a knot to the bottom and allow the excess to drip back into the bowl. Work fast or you may need to re-heat the gelatin mixture in the microwave for 3-4 seconds. Put the balloon to the grid knot-side down. The balloon will completely dry in 24 hours.
6. Once it is completely dry, remove the balloon. Snip a hole with needle next to the knot. Wait until air escapes. Using the scissors, cut a hole in the bottom of the balloon and pull the balloon out with your fingers. If the gelatin collapses, pop it back into place from the inside with your fingers.
Take the cake out of fridge, cover it with your delicious Swiss meringue buttercream frosting, put on decorations of your choice and enjoy!
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