Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Vanilla buttermilk cake with whipped passion fruit ganache for a very special someone

Vanilla buttermilk cake with whipped passion fruit ganache / Bolo de baunilha e buttermilk com ganache de maracujá

Last year, it was lemon and strawberries; this time, vanilla and passion fruit take the stage to celebrate my sister’s birthday.

I don’t bake layer cakes as often as I would like to, but when I do this is the first book I reach for – again, the results were great. The cake layers turned out tender and the ganache was delicious and light, yet easy to spread and firm enough to hold the cake together (I adapted a white chocolate ganache recipe from the book).

Not completely sure if Jessica’d liked the cake, I asked: “wanna take some home?” - when she smiled and eagerly said “yes!” there was no doubt left. :D

Vanilla buttermilk cake with whipped passion fruit ganache / Bolo de baunilha e buttermilk com ganache de maracujá

Vanilla buttermilk cake with whipped passion fruit ganache
adapted from Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes

Cake:
4 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 ¼ cups (300ml) buttermilk – divided use
3 cups (420g) cake flour, sifted*
2 cups (400g) sugar – I used vanilla infused sugar
4 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup (226g/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

Passion fruit ganache:
168g (6oz) white chocolate, finely chopped
1/3 cup + 1 ½ cups (440ml) heavy cream – divided use
2 tablespoons sugar
½ cup (120ml) pulp of passion fruit

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF. Butter the bottom and sides of three 8-inch round cake pans or spray to coat with vegetable oil. Line the bottom of each pan with a round of parchment or waxed paper and grease the paper.

Put the eggs and the yolks in a medium bowl, add the vanilla and ¼ cup (60ml) of buttermilk. Whisk to blend well.

Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixer bowl – it has to be large, because there will be a huge amount of batter; whisk to blend. Add the butter and the remaining 1 cup (240ml) buttermilk and butter to these dry ingredients and with the mixer on low, blend together. Raise the mixer to medium speed and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

Add the egg mixture in 3 additions, scraping down the sides of the bowl and mixing only until thoroughly incorporated. Divide the batter among the prepared pans.

Bake the cake layers for 28-32 minutes or until a cake tester or a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan. Let the cake layers cool in the pan for 10 minutes; then carefully turn out onto wire racks, peel off the paper liners and let cool completely.

Prepare the ganache: put the white chocolate in a small heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan, bring 1/3 cup (80ml) of the cream to a boil. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate, let stand for 1 minute then whisk until smooth. Let stand until cool to room temperature.
Process the passion fruit pulp in a food processor or blender to crack the seeds. Pass through a fine sieve directly onto the white chocolate mixture and mix well (I left a bit of seeds in the ganache just to make the cake look more like a passion fruit).
In a chilled bowl, with chilled beaters, beat the remaining 1 ½ cups of cream (360ml) with the sugar until softly whipped. Stir in the passion fruit cream and beat until fairly stiff, taking care not to overbeat the mixture, which would cause the ganache to separate.

To assemble the cake, place one layer, flat side up, on a cake stand or serving plate. Spread about ½ cup of the whipped ganache over the layer right to the edge. Repeat with the next layer. Plate the last layer on top and use the remaining ganache to frost the top and sides of the cake.

* homemade cake flour: 1 cup (140g) all purpose flour minus 2 tablespoons + 2 tablespoons corn starch

Serves 12-16

34 comments:

May said...

Perfect cake. How could you have any doubts your sister might not like it? :)
The cake layers are just dreamy...

gine said...

simply wow ^^ XOXO

Gloria Baker said...

Absolutely yummy and nice!! gloria

symphonious sweets said...

I love passion fruit. What a great addition to the cake! I love that cook book!!! yum!

grace said...

what a pristine and pure and completely perfect cake! i love the look of it and i love the flavors involved--bravo!

Snooky doodle said...

wow what a fantastic cake! this looks so tender and yummy.

Visit my new blog at http://snookysrecipedoodles.blogspot.com/

Sara @ Our Best Bites said...

Passion Fruit Ganache??? I love you.

Aimée said...

I'm going to have to order that book. I hear so many good things about it!

Um, this is GORGEOUS! Love the soft colors--any sister would be thrilled to have this.

Jennifer said...

I love the cook cook! this cake looks SOOOO good! Lucky sister :)

Anh said...

Just lovely! I may use it for my hubby's coming birthday :D

A Bowl Of Mush said...

What a fabulous cake!
It looks so light and delicate!

Peabody said...

Oh look at the vanilla beans just pop out of that frosting. Swoon.

Emily said...

Happy birthday to your sister!

This cake! Wow! I can't get over how beautiful it is. It's gorrrrgeous. Stunning. It looks so fluffy.

aforkfulofspaghetti said...

That looks SO lovely - a real triumph considering pale cakes can look rather uninteresting!

Вера said...

Amazing recipes and photo!

Julia @ Mélanger said...

I just love layer cakes and get so much enjoyment from making them - especially for birthdays. I really love the sound of that baking book. This cake looks so amazing!

Gala said...

wow I just posted about a layer cake for a birthday too! Love your cake sounds really yummy!

mari said...

That has to be one of the most gorgeous layer cakes I've ever seen. And in two of my favorite flavors, vanilla and passionfruit. Lovely, Patricia! And thanks for your kind words!

Hilary said...

Lovely, lovely cake. The flecks in the ganache are so pretty!

Ash said...

very pretty! so simple, but stunning!

Maybe said...

I definitely want to buy that book ! Your cake is gorgeous and looks so yummy !

eatme_delicious said...

I love how white and fluffy this cake looks! And the frosting on the outside yummmm I want to stick my finger in it. Looks perfect. Whipped passion fruit ganache sounds delicious.

La cuina vermella said...

Bravo!!! Bravo!!

Parita said...

Looks so pretty :) Happy Bday to your sis :)

Patricia Scarpin said...

May, thank you!

Gine, thank you, sweetie!
xx

Gloria, many tks!

Symphonious Sweets, that cookbook is amazing!
Tks!

Grace, thank you for visiting!

Natalie, I'm checking it out now! :D

Sara, xoxo

Aimée, that book is a keeper, I guarantee. :D
Thank you, dearie!

Jen, I'm lucky to have her. :D
Tks!

Anh, I hope he likes it, sweetie!

A Bowl of Mush, thank you for stopping by!

Pea, those are passion fruit seeds, darling!

Emily, thank you!
You are so sweet.

A Fork Full..., I think you are right - chocolate cakes look prettier. :D

Vera, thank you!

Julia, I'm the official birthday cake baker in the family and love it! :D
Thank you - that book is amazing!

Gala, I'm on my way to see your cake! :D
Tks!

Mari, thank you for sharing the good news with us, darling!
xx

Hillary, tks for visiting!

Ash, thank you!

Maybe, I'm sure you'll love that book! Thank you!

Ashley, thank you, sweetie! The icing was really tasty, my sister loved it. :D

La Cuina Vermella, tks for stopping by! Grazie!

Parita, thank you!!

Katie said...

Wow your cake is stunning and the passionfruit ganache sounds divine!

tasteofbeirut said...

Ever since I first tasted passion fruit (it was in France, in a sorbet) I have been madly in love with the fruit and flavor. This cake looks fantastic and the passion fruit in the frosting is a winner.

Valérie I♥Cakes said...

What a great cake ! I bought Sky high too and I love this book ! I'm searching for a recipe to make this weekend and maybe I'll try your ganache ! Thanks !

Megan @ Foodalution said...

I am having so much fun with your site! Lots of showstoppers! Love it and your creativity!

Patricia Scarpin said...

Megan, you are far too kind, sweetie! Thank you!

Anonymous said...

This cake stuck to the pan every time I tried it. Caused me to have a meltdown in the kitchen. Not a good idea especially when doing it as a cake for a big party. Now i have nothing to bring because I trusted it would work as promised.

Jennifer said...

I plan on making the vanilla buttermilk cake but with a different frosting for my birthday. First off, was the cake moist when you made it? Would it be ok refrigerated or should it be left out in room temperature? Thanks in advance!

Patricia Scarpin said...

Hey, Jennifer - the cake was tender and it got moist from the contact with the frosting. Ganache holds up well out of the fridge in cold days, otherwise it would melt.

Unknown said...

I am amazed by this cake. I can't wait to try it and I'm sure many of my people too!

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