Berries and Cream Cake

Okay, time for a new blog that will be purely on cake.  I get a lot of inspirations for cake, there is simply so much you can do with it.  This blog will be a collection of my original recipes, the good ones anyway.

A short while ago while I was on vacation in Sonoma County I stopped at a bakery and, of course, had to try the cake.  The cake I had consisted of yellow cake with whipped cream and strawberries in the middle and buttercream icing on the outside.  It was topped with blueberries and strawberries.  I found the concept interesting, putting whipped cream in the middle and buttercream on the outside.  Of course, fresh fruit always goes well with whipped cream.

This was also another chance to improve my white cake recipe.  This version was amazing.  The sour cream in the cake provides a great flavor.  The egg foam allows it to hold more liquid without losing it's structure, increasing the moistness.  It also makes it lighter and fluffier and makes it taste and feel just slightly like an angel food cake.  This is the best white cake I've ever had and it will take a lot to improve on it.  Of course, all kinds of berries and fruit can be used with this cake, I just chose blueberries and strawberries.  Only thing I regret when doing this recipe is that I did not get good quality cream. The next time I get cream for a cake I'm going to make a trip to Whole Foods or Fresh Market and see if that makes a difference.

This time I felt like making a 2 tier cake to practice a little bit, but this recipe can easily be used to make a 6 inch round or 9 inch round cake(which is the most common).  You need 2 pans for this, to get 4 layers you will cut both layers in half.

*Click the + character for extra information

*Notes

This recipe was done by me with U.S. measurements by weight.^[+]

For the most part, I only use weight when measuring ingredients. The exception is in small measurements where I use teaspoons/tablespoons. Gram measurements are estimations in small measurements. All volumetric measurements are estimations. Flour, confectioner's sugar, and anything else powdered can vary greatly in weight if sifted or not sifted. A cup of flour can actually weigh between 3 and 6 ounces. So you could potentially use twice or half as much flour as the person doing the recipe used! If you ever had a recipe completely fail on you, there is one possible explanation. Using weight is the only way to consistently get the same product. I've noticed the traditional cup measures don't get exactly 8 ounces, you can fill them up very high before the water overflows. Little difference like this can make a big difference in the finished product. Get a decent digital scale. You don't have to get one *too* expensive. $20 range should be fine. Do not use cheap spring scales since they are usually highly inaccurate.
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This recipe uses creaming method, with a sponge variation.^[+]

The creaming method is the most common cake mixing method by far, it is traditionally done something like what you see below:

1. Sift dry ingredients together.

2. Blend liquid ingredients, except for eggs, together.

3. Cream butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy(3-10 minutes depending on desired effect).

4. Blend together egg yolk and egg white and add the eggs in a slow stream into the butter and sugar. Cream on medium speed(I go up to 5 minutes).

5. With mixer on low speed, add 1/4th of the dry ingredients, then 1/3 of the wet ingredients. Scrape and then repeat the process finishing with the dry ingredients.

6. Mix until just combined.

White cake contains no egg yolk, so normally you would just add it to the creamed butter and sugar. However, whites without yolks don't mix so well with butter. I found out that you can instead beat the egg whites to medium to stiff peaks and fold them into the batter and give the cake a great texture and structure. Sponge cakes are made with egg foam.

Mix times vary with the creaming method depending on which textbook you read. I'll specify in recipes the exact time instead of saying "light and fluffy" or "smooth and creamy".
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It is possible to do this recipe with a hand mixer^[+]

You can do this recipe without a standing mixer if you want, though it will take longer. You can get away with creaming the butter for 5 minutes with a hand mixer. The hard part is the icing because of the long mix time. Just keep the mix times about the same or a little longer and you should be okay. It may not be as fluffy but it will work.
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Ingredients

Use this recipe for 2 9 inch layers.  Cut recipe in half for 6 inch, and increase by 50% for 2 tier.

White cake
115g    - 4 oz        - 1 stick             - unsalted butter^[+]

Butter is one of three fats commonly used in cake, the others being shortening and oil. All fats provide moistness, tenderness, and volume. Butter actually does not excel at any of these, however. The reason for it's use comes down to flavor and mouthfeel. Butter melts at a temperature lower than the temperature of a persons mouth, as opposed to shortening. Some people get an unpleasant mouthfeel from shortening.
When butter is use in cake it is typically creamed with sugar in the first stage of mixing(known as the creaming method). The butter being mashed agaisnt the side of the bowl with sugar causes air to be incorporated into the butter. During baking the air in the butter will expand, resulting in volume. Butter should ideally be 65 degrees degrees when creamed. In a few cases, a recipe may use melted butter
which will be added via the one-stage method(involves pouring liquid ingredients into dry) as if it was oil. It is rarely used with the two-stage method(involves blending the flour with fat and adding liquid in two-stages), as that method was designed more for hi-ratio shortenings.
You should always use unsalted butter in baking. For one, you want full control over how much salt goes into the baked good. Also, salt allows
butter to store for longer, so salted butter may be older than unsalted and not as good quality.
Butter is about 15% water, so if you ever want to substitute butter and shortening, you need to account for this.

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455g    - 16 oz      - 2 and 1/4 cups - granulated sugar^[+]

Granulated sugar consists of a unit of fructose and glucose bound together chemically. It is the most common type of sugar. Sugar serves many purposes in baked goods. First of all, sugar acts as the sweetener in baked goods. If a recipe is not sweet enough you can usually up the sugar content a little bit without causing a huge change in the recipe.
Sugar is a tenderizer. When dissolved it interferes with gluten formation, protein coagulation, and starch gelatinization. Sugar is hygroscopic, meaning it binds to water. Starch and gluten require water to form structure, by binding to the water, sugar reduces the structure. In cake you want to minimize the structure created by gluten. Sugar is a moisturizer because of its tendency to bind to water.
Sugar causes browning in baked goods, because of its tendency to caramelize. Caramel is basically burnt sugar. You don't want the outside of cake layers to darken too much, so it is important not to over-bake them. I tell you on this site the desirable finished temperatures for baked goods, something that is often neglected. Sugar also leavens because air bubbles get trapped between the sugar crystal during mixing. Creaming butter and sugar at the beginning of a recipe is very common. This is called the creaming method, and is one of the most common mixing methods for cakes.
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230g    - 8 oz        - 1 cup               - sour cream^[+]

Sour cream is made by adding bacteria to cream to produce lactic acid. The lactic acid causes the proteins to coagulate into a gelled consistency. I've noticed sour cream being added to a few popular recipes. I've seen it in cheesecake, key lime pie, and some other things. The idea for adding sour cream to this cake comes from this recipe here called the White Almond Sour Cream Cake. In this case, I believe it is mainly added for flavor, but I imagine the liquid in the sour cream could serve as a moisturizer.
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390g    - 13.75 oz - 3 and 1/4 cups - cake flour*^[+]

Flour is an important component in cakes, though there are flourless cakes which use only egg foam. Flour is usually the main source of structure in a cake. The most commonly used flour in baking is wheat flour, the standard white flour. There are two main types of flour. Hard wheat and soft wheat. These can be used to make a wide variety of flours. While professional bakers have access to many different kinds of flours, home bakers will usually only have 3 types of flour readily available to them. These are cake flour, all-purpose flour, and bread flour. Cake flour is made from soft wheat, bread flour from hard wheat, and all-purpose from a combination of the two.


I will constantly refer to the gluten in flour, and indeed this is one of the most important things to pay attention to in mixing. Different types of flour have different protein content. Cake flour has a 6%-8% protein content, all-purpose 9%-11%, and bread 12%-13%. The two proteins which are important to bakers are glutenin and gliadin. The reason these are important is that during the mixing process they will bind together to form molecular gluten strands. In the bread-making process you want gluten to develop. Dough will become more and more elastic the more it is kneaded--usually by using the dough hook attachment on a standing mixer. Eventually it will become so elastic that you can pull it and it will form a thin translucent membrane. In bread you want the gluten to be developed to this stage as it is what gives it it's unique structure. As a result, you normally use bread flour to make bread as its high protein content allows more gluten to form. However, in most baked goods you do not want the gluten to develop, so you would use all-purpose or cake flour.


There are various ways to prevent gluten development. Minimal mixing is the most effective way. Most mixing methods involving flour involve minimal mixing. Another way is to blend the flour with fat. Coating the protein strands in fat prevents them from sticking together. Controlling water is another way, as gluten can not actually form until water is mixed in with the flour. The two-stage mixing method uses both of these concepts to prevent gluten development. Another way to prevent gluten development is to increase the sugar. The sugar molecules attach themselves to the protein, preventing them from forming gluten.


Flour can either be bleached or unbleached. Cake flour is always bleached. This makes makes it slightly acidic, which prevents gluten from forming. For lighter, more tender baked goods, particularly cakes, this is the flour you want. Interestingly enough, bleaching has a different effect on bread flour because of the starch content and can be desirable for breads as well. It strengthens gluten and allows bubbles of air and carbon dioxide to become better trapped in the webs of gluten, thereby reducing the amount of time that bread needs to ferment, or "rise." It is important to note that bleaching can take away from the nutritional value of bread by destroying vitamin E.


In addition to protein, flour contains a large amount of starch. Starch is one way in which plants store sugar. It is important in bread, because yeast break down the starch to form alcohol(flavor) and carbon dioxide(leavening). Starch also allows flour to be used as a thickening agent. Generally pies have flour added to the filling. As the fruit heats up it releases water which boils, causing the starch to absorb the water and swell up, resulting in thickening.

Most recipes call for you to sift the flour. This mainly serves to aerate the flour, in addition to breaking up any clumps contained in the flour. The aeration helps in the rising process. Alton Brown came up with idea of sifting flour using a food processor. I sometimes use this technique, particularly in one-stage method or muffin method pastries. The way you do this is to place all of the ingredients in a food processor and pulse it 10 times. The downside is it's fairly annoying to clean a food processor. Any sifting device will work for sifting flour.


I'll say this over and over again, but you should measure flour by weight, rather than by volume. A cup of flour could weigh anything between 3 and 5 ounces. I will provide you with weight measurements for flour. The volumetric measurements are estimations. Some recipes are nice and will tell you to use a cup of sifted flour, which has a much more consistent volume. Unfortunately most recipes don't. I prefer to stick to recipes that do. Many cookbooks will tell you how to measure out a cup of flour for their own recipes.
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5g        -                - 3/4 tsp             - salt^[+]

Salt(or sodium chloride) serves as a flavor enhancer in cake, be sure you don't forget it! As a general rule, do not use kosher salt unless a recipe specifically calls for it. There is a difference in volume.
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15g      -                - 1 tbs                - baking powder^[+]

Baking powder is a combination of baking soda(sodium bicarbonate) and acid salts. The acid salts dissolve in water and trigger a chemical reaction with the sodium bicarbonate which releases carbon dioxide gas and produces salt. You can actually make baking powder with 1 part cornstarch, one part baking soda, and two parts cream of tartar done by volume. In addition to leavening, chemical leaveners like baking powder will tenderize the cake. They also decrease the pH which can effect flavor, texture, and color of the finished product. Generally, to replace baking soda with baking powder you would use twice as much baking powder. Typically, you want somewhere in the range of 1 tsp of baking powder per cup of flour in a recipe.
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340g    - 12 oz      - 1 and 1/2 cups - milk^[+]

Milk serves several purposes in cake. It modifies the flavor of baked goods adding a richness. It also reduces saltiness. Milk contributes to the moisture of a baked good, being around 88 percent water. It does not contribute as much moisture as water, and milk solids act as a drier. Milk also reduces staling because the proteins, lactose, and milk fat prevent starch from breaking down. Since the amount of fat in milk is very low regardless of whether it is whole, 2% or skim, I usually just use skim, since that's what I keep in my home. Unless a recipe specifically calls for it, I wouldn't worry too much about the fat content of the milk. If you are concerned, I would say use whole milk because it has a richer flavor.
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13g      -               - 1 tbs                - vanilla^[+]

Vanilla extract is basically made by allowing vanilla beans to sit in alcohol. Unfortunately, vanilla is very expensive these days. However, you can buy it at Costco for about 7 dollars a pint. Since I go through vanilla extremely fast, this is my best option. There is imitation vanilla extract which is very cheap. You can get away with that, but I would say try to avoid it. While it's hard to notice vanilla in a cake, you definitely will notice if it's missing. So don't omit it.
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4 or 8g -               - 1 or 2 tsp        - almond extract**^[+]

Much like vanilla extract, almond extract is made with almonds and alcohol. I prefer a teaspoon of almond extract so the cake doesn't taste almond flavored, but you can use more if you want. You can buy it in 2 ounce bottles in arts and crafts stores in the cake decorating section sometimes. At $4 for 2 ounces, this is much more cost efficient than buying it in 1 ounce bottles for $3.50 which is about what McCormick extract costs. I buy it in 8 ounce bottles off the internet.
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4 large egg whites^[+]

This cake uses egg foam rather than liquid eggs, so it's partly leavened by the egg whites, though not nearly as much as a traditional sponge, chiffon, or angel food cake. I got the idea from a rather unusual recipe, and also because there is a mixing method known as the creaming/sponge or combination method. Traditionally, though, the creaming/sponge method doesn't have liquid ingredients. So this cake is quite unconventional. Still it tastes great, so this time I'll break away from the rules.

In the traditional creaming method it helps to blend the egg whites with the egg yolks since the yolks act as an emulsifier. Egg whites and butter can have trouble forming an emulsion. Of course, this recipe solves that problem. The same thing can be said of the two-stage method where fat is initially blended with the flour.

While I've never had any problems with the pasteurized egg whites in commercial bakeries, I find the ones that you get off store shelves to be terrible. They don't whip up with the volume that they should. It can really mess you up if you're trying to make Italian meringue(a meringue made by whipping boiling sugar syrup into egg whites). Try to find pasteurized whole eggs if you need pasteurized egg whites for a meringue.
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Assorted Berries(recommended blueberries and strawberries)^[+]

Feel free to use any kind of berry or fruit that you want for this recipe. I just chose blueberries and strawberries. The amount you need depends on how much you want to use. I used a package of each, and had leftover blueberries.
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*If measuring by volume, it needs to be sifted before measuring.
**If you only want the almond to accent the flavor of the cake, use 4g/1 tsp.  If you want the cake almond flavored, then use more.

-Have all ingredients at 70 degrees.  Leaving them sitting out is the easiest, and also the slowest way to do this.  Putting them in a bowl that's in a larger bowl filled with hot water and stirring is another method.  Usually, though, I'm in a hurry and just heat them up in the microwave a few seconds at a time until the ingredients measure 70 degrees.  Doing this will help form a proper emulsion of ingredients, which will prevent lumps and improve the texture and quality of your cake.

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Sometimes ovens are inaccurate, an oven thermometer will ensure accurate results.
-Prepare pans

-You'll use two 9 inch cake pans for this recipe. There are several ways to grease and flour a cake pan. There are only two that I use, though. The first is to use a combination of shortening and flour mashed together. The other is to use a product called Baker's Joy, something found at your local Wal-mart. Unless I'm out of Baker's Joy then that's what I use. As a general rule you should always line the bottom of a cake pan with either wax or parchment paper. Nothing is more disheartening than trying to get a cake out of the pan and having it break on you. This is a very common mistake that beginning bakers make. I start by tracing the cake pan with a pencil



Then cut it out and place it in the pan and proceed to grease it.

 -Cream butter and sugar for 5 minutes.  A lot of recipes say cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  There is unfortunately no standard definition for light and fluffy.  My research has come up with anything from 3-10 minutes.  A long creaming time does get you a fluffier cake, but it could come at a cost of strength and can supposedly produce a course texture.  In this case I think 5 minutes is appropriate.

Proceed to add the sour cream and cream for an additional minute. This just seems to me the most appropriate time to add the sour cream, since it counts a lot towards the fat content of the recipe.

-Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together.  Mix milk, vanilla, and almond extract.  While mixing on the lowest speed add 1/4 of the dry ingredients, followed by 1/3 of the wet ingredients. Scrape the bowl.  Repeat process alternating between dry and liquid ingredients.  Finish with the dry ingredients.  Alternating between the ingredients allows a proper emulsion to form and prevents lumps.  Each time give the ingredients enough time to dissolve.  If your batter contains no lumps then you mixed perfectly.  I was kind of being lazy this time and my batter had some lumps.  I'm used to using a beater blade attachment so I don't have to scrape the bowl.

-Beat the egg whites until stiff.  You want the egg whites to hold their shape when you pull the paddle out of the bowl.  Note that it might be easier for you to just use a hand mixer so you don't have to clean your mixing bowl first.

 

Fold the egg whites into the batter.  Learning how to fold egg whites is an important step in baking.  This is something you will need to master if you ever try to make a souffle.  Go down with the spatula from the center, go up and around the side of the bowl in a half circle, and then go back into the center.  Rotate the bowl a little bit, and repeat until the egg white is thoroughly mixed in.  Do not stir or you will deflate the egg whites.

 

Pour batter into cake pans.  You can weigh the cake pans with the batter in them to determine if they contain the same amount of batter, this is provided your cake pans weigh the same.

Place cake pans in the oven.  Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  To ensure even cooking, make sure there is as much space between the pans as possible.  You want to try to have them on the same rack if possible.

 

I tried something new this time.  A cake is done when the internal temperature reaches 190-210.  In this case I think it may need to go closer to 200.  What I have here is a special thermometer that can measure the temperature of something while it is in the oven.  So you can actually set an alarm to tell you exactly when your cake is done.  That said, it's quite a hassle to get it positioned exactly right in the oven, plus it only measures the temperature of one layer, which means the other one might cook faster.  It's an interesting technique, though not one that is entirely necessary.  If you're always burning your baked goods, though, who knows?  This might save you.

Aside from measuring the temperature, the most popular way to check for doneness is the toothpick test. When a toothpick or something similar is stuck in the cake, it should come out clean.  The fastest way is to just touch the cake. If it feels firm and springs back lightly when pressed down, it's done. Measuring the temperature even with a really fast thermometer can cause too much heat to leave the oven. It's best to take the temperature of the cake after you take it out and record how long it was in the oven just so you know for future reference. Learning your oven and the speed in which it bakes things will help you in the future.  The photo below didn't show the temperature on the thermometer unfortunately, but it was around 198 I believe.  I tried this recipe prior to this in a 325 degree oven.  It was clearly not done at 190 degrees, which was the first time I'd seen that.  Usually it's done at exactly 190.  I don't know if this is due to the sour cream, or if it was just the low temperature.  Either way, it will be done between 190-210.  If your cake goes over 210 degrees then you're overcooking it, and you could dry it out and potentially burn the edges.

Let the cakes cool in the pans on wire racks for about 15 minutes.  After that dump the cake pans out onto wire racks and allow to cool.  Here's a  place to make a common newbie mistake. I hold one of my hands under the cake while flipping it, take the pan off(if you followed my advice earlier, this should be effortless), and then flip it right-side up onto my other hand, then put it down and take my hand out from under it so it's right-side-up on the wire rack. I realize this could be difficult for people with small hands. You can just let it cool upside down if necessary.  I was able to buy a pack of 3 small cooling racks for 9 dollars at Wal-mart. You can easily use the racks themselves to get the cake out if you are not yet confident with your cake-handling abilities. Just hold a rack on top of the pan while you flip it, and then put another rack on the bottom, and flip it over, it will now be right-side up on the second rack. Allow to cool completely to room temperature before doing anything else to them. Cool cakes are easier to handle. If your cakes are really soft you can always refrigerate them a bit before handling them AFTER they have cooled to room temperature. Cakes can even be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and frozen. If for some reason you have a soft cake(probably due to you using a bad recipe), this is the sure-fire way to handle them and slice them without breaking them.

Buttercream

This is a lot like the Publix buttercream recipe.  If you like that, you'll like this.  It's still being tweaked a little.


170g  - 6 oz     - 1.5 sticks - unsalted butter^[+]

Butter is almost always used in buttercream icing, although there is something called Decorator's buttercream, which is made purely with shortening. I find making buttercream with part shortening and part butter improves the texture of it. The downside is that some people don't like the mouthfeel of shortening. Still, I don't like the way buttercream made purely with butter tastes or looks. A way to compensate for using less butter is imitation butter flavor. It actually works quite well.

Do not try to substitute butter with margarine. Buttercream just isn't a healthy icing, that's a reality. There are healthier things you can do though. One I've tried is folding sugar-free cool whip together with sugar-free pudding that has had the liquid halved. I see on the internet you can mix non-fat cream cheese with cool whip for an icing as well.
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14g    - .5 oz    - 1 tbs         - hot tap water
9g                    - 2 tbs         - dry milk powder^[+]

Dry milk powder is used instead of milk in this recipe so that it does not need to be refrigerated. My research hasn't shown the effect of milk in buttercream, I've just heard it makes it creamier. Ideally you should use dry milk powder that is fine ground, but I realize most stuff you find off the shelf has chunks in it. For this reason I suggested mixing it with hot tap water to dissolve it, prior to adding it to this recipe. Nothing worse that getting a large chunk of dry milk powder when you're trying to make roses.
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170g  - 6 oz     - 1 cup        - shortening^[+]

Shortening, usually vegetable oil, is oil which has been hydrogenated to make it solid. There can be issues with store brand shortenings, so it is best to use Crisco usually. It is used to lighten buttercream and improve the texture. The downside is some people get an unpleasant mouthfeel from it, the result of it not melting in their mouths like butter. Still, I always use shortening in buttercream.
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340g  - 15 oz   - 3.75 cups  - confectioner's sugar*^[+]

Confectioner's sugar is one of two popular ways to make buttercream, the other being to use whipped egg whites or egg yolks. I find one disadvantage confectioner's sugar has over meringue buttercreams is the graininess of the sugar. I do use Italian meringue buttercream sometime, though it is quite a hassle--which is probably why people avoid it. I don't like a lot of confectioner's sugar buttercreams, but I do like this one.
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12g    - 1 tbs + 1 tsp Wilton™ meringue powder(look for it in arts and crafts stores/departments or buy it online) mixed with 28g - 1 oz - 2 tbs water(alternatively use 28g - 1 oz - 2 tbs of pasteurized egg whites)^[+]

You'll instantly be able to see the effect of egg whites in buttercream. They give it a smooth, glossy look. One of the main reasons I use meringue powder is I don't feel like paying $3.00 for a carton of pasteurized egg whites every time I make buttercream, since they have a shelf life of 7 days. Using pasteurized whole eggs is an option, though. Also, meringue powder is completely safe to leave unrefrigerated, whereas pasteurized eggs say to refrigerate after opening.
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4g                     -1 tsp          - vanilla^[+]

Vanilla is once again something that you don't notice if it's there, but you might notice if it's missing. It's help to just add a little note of flavor to the buttercream.
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8g                     -2 tsp          - imitation butter flavor^[+]

This is just to add a little bit of butter taste back to the recipe because it contains 50% shortening as the fat. Like imitation vanilla, I don't think you really have to worry too much about an artificial taste if it's only a small amount like in this recipe.
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simple syrup, as needed(recipe follows)^[+]

Simple syrup consists of boiled sugar water, a little bit of it thins out the buttercream and makes it fluffier, just be careful not to overdo it!
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*If measuring by volume, it needs to be sifted before measuring.


-Mix 1 tbs hot tap water with 2 tbs dry milk powder.  If it doesn't dissolve, you can up the water or reduce the milk powder.

 

Blend the milk with the butter in a mixer.  The reason for not using fresh milk is that it goes sour at room temperature.  Dry milk powder does not.  Milk evidently creates a creamier, smoother icing.

Add the confectioner's sugar about 1/2 cup to 1 cup at a time.  Most recipes call for gradual adding of the confectioner's sugar.  I'm not exactly sure what the purpose is other than to prevent a mess, but I'll just go with it.

Add shortening and blend on medium speed for 10 minutes.  10 minutes may seem like a long time, but that's how you get it so fluffy.  Medium speed is, of course, speed 5 on a KitchenAid.

After 10 minutes, add the egg whites(or meringue powder and water) and mix on the lowest speed for another 10 minutes.  Egg whites significantly change the look of the buttercream, more so than meringue powder.

When that's done, switch to whisk attachment and thin out with a little simple syrup, if necessary.  Whip for 10 more minutes at medium speed.  I only used 2 tsps this time.

Simple Syrup

200g    - 7 oz - 1 cup sugar
115 oz - 4 oz  - 1/2 cup water

Add ingredients to a saucepan.  Boil to 220 degrees.   Allow to cool.  When combined with sugar, water can go above 212 degrees(boiling point).  You can make different things with sugar water depending on the temperature you boil it to.  220 is ideal for simple syrup.  If you're in a hurry to cool it, you can use an ice water bath.  Put the syrup in a bowl and place that bowl in ice water and stir until the syrup cools.

Whipped Cream

155g - 5.5  oz - 2/3 cup - heavy whipping cream^[+]

Though it varies from country to country, heavy whipping cream in the U.S. contains a minimum of 36% fat by law and regular whipping cream contains 30%. Usually all you see is heavy whipping cream. You won't find anything on the shelves in the U.S. called "cream", just light cream. And I've never seen light cream on shelves, to be honest. If a recipe calls for just regular cream, feel free to use heavy whipping cream or regular whipping cream.

Whipping cream is homogenized, meaning the milk is put under pressure to break the fat particles in the milk into small droplets which do not settle. Homogenization does make whipping harder, but companies add emulisifiers and stabilizing gums to it to compensate for this.
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21g   - .75 oz     - 2 tbs - confectioner's sugar^[+]

Confectioner's sugar is fine grained so it should dissolve better. Although I have made whipped cream with regular sugar many times with no problems. If you're out of confectioner's you can use regular sugar. Feel free to add more sugar if you want a sweeter whipped cream, it won't hurt it.
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4g                      -1 tsp vanilla^[+]

Vanilla isn't always added to whipped cream, but I find it adds a nice touch in this case.
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Add all ingredients to a mixing bowl.  You can always adjust the sugar during the mix time if you feel it's not sweet enough.  Remember to use good tasting cream!

Mix, start slow, and increase your speed to high until cream is stiff.  I tends be done before it really looks done, if that makes sense.  For this reason you need to be careful not to overmix or it will start to turn into butter.

Assembly

Cut off the dome of the cake.  The size of the dome varies.  There are so many different things that can cause a cake to dome, that there's really no way to tell what causes it.  It's not a big deal, really.  Your cake is always going to be at least somewhat uneven on top.  Just cut it off.  This is a good chance to taste the cake to make sure you did it right.  This white cake also tastes so good you'll probably be grateful for the domes :Þ.

Cut the cake layer in half.  This is tricky.  To start off, you really should have a cake knife that is longer than 9 inches.  One thing I do to help is slightly cut around the side of the cake with a cake knife to sort of trace a line on where I'm going to cut.  I read that when one pastry chef started off baking, she went to the store, bought 3 yardsticks, cut them into thirds, and just used the yardsticks to level the knife until she had the process mastered.  This sounds like a pretty good method to me.  I did alright slicing it in half this time, it actually was better than it appears to be in the photograph.

Brush layers with simple syrup, if desired.  This is just a little trick to keep the cake moist.

Arrange berries on the layer.

Spread whipped cream over berries

 Repeat until all 4 layers are done

Put a thin layer of buttercream on first, to trap the crumbs.  You may refrigerate this before putting the final layer on if desired.

Ice the cake.

Some decorators smooth out the surfaces of a cake with a credit card.  This works better with a buttercream that actually crusts, as opposed to a fluffy one like this, but I did have some success with it this time.

Repeat process if doing a 2 tier cake.

Decorate as desired.  Note, I am not a cake decorator, but I am learning.  So I realize this isn't great quality yet. I still need a LOT of practice.

That's it.  Be sure to refrigerate the cake if you're going to store it.  The whipped cream will go sour at room temperature.  From my experience, the cake layers will last a few days in the refrigerator.  Enjoy.  Try this recipe with other fruit if you want. 

Quick Recipe

Use this recipe for 2 9 inch layers.  Cut recipe in half for 6 inch, and increase by 50% for 2 tier.

White cake

115g    - 4 oz        - 1 stick             - unsalted butter
455g    - 16 oz      - 2 and 1/4 cups - granulated sugar
228g    - 8 oz        - 1 cup               - sour cream

390g    - 13.75 oz - 3 and 1/4 cups - cake flour*
5g        -               - 3/4 tsp             - salt

Salt(or sodium chloride) serves as a flavor enhancer in cake, be sure you don't forget it! As a general rule, do not use kosher salt unless a recipe specifically calls for it. There is a difference in volume.
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15g      -                - 1 tbs                - baking powder

340g    - 12 oz      - 1 and 1/2 cups - milk
13g      -               - 1 tbs                - vanilla
4 or 8g -               - 1 or 2 tsp        - almond extract**

4 each                                            - large egg whites

Assorted fresh berries(recommended blueberries and strawberries)

*If measuring by volume, it needs to be sifted before measuring.
**If you only want the almond to accent the flavor of the cake, use 4g/1 tsp.  If you want the cake almond flavored, then use more.



-Have all ingredients at 70 degrees(butter may be better at 65 degrees).
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
-Prepare pans
-Cream butter and sugar for 5 minutes. 
-Proceed to add the sour cream and cream for an additional minute.
-Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together.  Mix milk, vanilla, and almond extract.  While mixing on the lowest speed add 1/4 of the dry ingredients followed by 1/3 of the wet ingredients. Scrape the bowl.  Repeat process alternating between dry and liquid ingredients.  Finish with the dry ingredients.
-Beat the egg whites until stiff.
-Fold the egg whites into the batter.
-Pour batter into cake pans
-Place cake pans in the oven.  Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
-Let the cakes cool in the pans on wire racks for about 15 minutes.  After that dump the cake pans out onto wire racks and allow to cool.


Buttercream

170g  - 6 oz     -1 sticks - unsalted butter
14g    - .5 oz    - 1 tbs - hot tap water
9g      -  2 tbs   - dry milk powder
170g  - 6 oz     - 1 cup - shortening
340g  - 12 oz   - 3 cups - confectioner's sugar*
12g    - 1 tbs + 1 tsp Wilton™ meringue powder(look for it in arts and crafts stores/departments or buy it online) mixed with 28g - 1 oz - 2 tbs water(alternatively use 28g - 1 oz - 2 tbs of pasteurized egg whites)
4g                    -1 tsp vanilla
8g                    -2 tsp imitation butter flavor
simple syrup, as needed(recipe follows)

*If measuring by volume, it needs to be sifted before measuring.

-Mix 1 tbs hot tap water with 2 tbs dry milk powder.
-Blend the milk with the butter in a mixer.
-Add the confectioner's sugar about 1/2 cup to 1 cup at a time.
-Add shortening and blend on medium speed for 10 minutes. 
-After 10 minutes, add the egg whites(or meringue powder and water) and mix on the lowest speed for another 10 minutes.
-When that's done, switch to whisk attachment and thin out with a little simple syrup, if necessary.  Whip for 10 more minutes at medium speed.


Simple Syrup

200g    - 7 oz  - 1 cup sugar
115 oz - 4 oz  - 1/2 cup water

-Add ingredients to a saucepan.  Boil to 220 degrees.   Allow to cool.

Whipped Cream

155g - 5.5  oz - 2/3 cup - heavy whipping cream
21g   - .75 oz  - 2 tbs - confectioner's sugar
4g                   -1 tsp vanilla

-Add all ingredients to a mixing bowl.  Mix, start slow, and increase your speed to high until cream is stiff.

Assembly

-Cut off the dome of the cake layers.
-Cut the cake layers in half.
-Brush layers with simple syrup, if desired.
-Arrange berries on the layer.
-Spread whipped cream over berries
-Repeat until all 4 layers are done
-Ice the cake
-Decorate as desired

-Refrigerate when done