birthday cake
A good birthday cake is full of surprises…at times. This cake was created for a dear friend of the bistrō and it blended a love of cake with a love of cookies. This blend requires the use of a sous vide to make the cookie base to place between the layers of airy, white cake — though pre-pasteurized eggs can work, too.
Happy Barking!
Recipe
Birthday Cake
Cake:
1 1/4 sticks butter, softened, plus more for pan
2 1/4 cups cake flour, plus more for pan
1 tablespoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup milk
2 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract/paste
1 3/4 cups sugar
4 large egg whites
Cookie:
1 cup butter, unsalted
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup brown sugar (light or dark)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs (pasteurized via sous vide)
2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste (or extract)
1 1/2 cup heath
1 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
German Buttercream:
1/2 c milk
1/3 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or extract)
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
5 tablespoons of corn starch
1 egg
1 2/3 sticks of butter, unsalted
2 1/2 cups rainbow sprinkles
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Butter and line the bottom of a baking pan with a piece of parchment paper.
Dust with flour, tapping out any excess.
Sift: flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl.
Combine milk and vanilla in another bowl.
Cream butter in the bowl of an electric mixture with the paddle attachment about 3 minutes.
Add sugar 1/4 a cup at a time. With a mixture on low, add dry ingredients in 3 batches, alternating with the milk mixture. Make sure you start and end with the dry ingredients.
In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. You can do this by hand with a whisk (which would take some time and elbow grease) or use the stand mixture with the whisk attachment.
Fold a third of the whites into batter and mix to combine. Fold in remaining whites in 2 batches.
Pour batter into prepared pan, and smooth top with a metal spatula.
Bake until a tester inserted near the center comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes.
Transfer to wire rack; cool 15 minutes before turning them out. Cool completely before using.
While the cake cools, pasteurize the eggs. Preheat water bath to 134.5F. Lower eggs into water bath and cook for 2 hours. Once cooked, allow to cool 10 minutes before use.
Make the cookie batter: place 2 pieces of plastic wrap onto your counter to mold the batter into discs. You can use a smaller sized cake pan to mold them as well - just remember to put the plastic in the pan first. brown butter (5 - 8 minutes) over medium heat. Once browned, transfer to the bowl of a stand mixture and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Add both sugars and mix on low for 2 minutes. Add pasteurized eggs, vanilla, and mix for another 2 minutes or until light brown in color. Add dry ingredients and mix to combine. Lastly, with the mixture on low, add the heath and chocolate chips. Shape into a disk in the plastic wrap - measure the disc shape next to the cake to make sure they are the right size - you will want a 1-inch rim . Place in the freezer until they are ready to be used.
Make the german buttercream: whisk the sugar and cornstarch together in a medium bowl, once combined add the egg. Bring milk to a simmer over medium heat. Slowly stream the warmed milk into the egg mixture, whisking continuously. Once combined, pour the mixture back into the pan and whisk until the mixture thickens, about 3 minutes. You will want to cook the mixture 1 - 2 minutes more once it has thickened. Off heat, add vanilla, then place into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to cool about 1 hour. Tip: to speed up the cooling process you can place the base into a large dish in a thin layer to cool, you’ll still have to cover with plastic wrap to prevent a film. Once cool, in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the softened butter on medium speed until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the cooled base 1 spoonful at a time on low. Add vanilla, switch to the whisk attachment, and beat on medium until fluffy.
Remove the dome - if you have one - of the cake layer you’ve selected to be the base. Add a light coating of buttercream to act as a glue to hold the cookie dough in place. Top with cookie dough from the freezer. Coat the bottom of the middle layer with buttercream to act as the adhesive for this layer - if you try to add directly to the cookie dough it may slide off. Repeat with the next layer and cookie dough. Coat the outside of the cake with the remaining buttercream. Place sprinkles into a small bowl. Using your hands, take a hand-full of the sprinkles and run them up the side of the cake. Rotate the cake and repeat. Place in the refrigerator to remain cool until ready to eat!
