The Wedding Cake Project: Part 1

 Anyone who knows me well knows two very important things about me: 1) I love to bake, and 2) I’m a control freak.  Keeping these ideas in mind, it should come as no surprise to anyone that I am adamant about making my own wedding cakes.  Even if I wanted to hand over control, I couldn’t.  The idea of someone else making my cakes would drive me crazy.  I have a specific idea in mind and am convinced no one but myself can make it happen.

The problem is, I need to practice my cakes before the wedding.  This is one project I’m not willing to enter into blindly.  So, I need to find excuses to experiment and play.  This weekend, one of my lovely Aussie friends hosted a Mad-Hatter Tea Party in honor of her birthday, which I decided was the perfect excuse to try out the Mojito Pound Cake recipe I’ve been dying to try.  Yeah!

Admittedly, it wasn’t easy, especially considering I was forced to work without all of my normal kitchen gadgets.  I didn’t bring any of my gear out here and am not willing to invest too much into my temporary kitchen, so I had to make due with the bare minimum: one mixing bowl, a old-fashioned candy thermometer, and a decrepit hand-mixer.  It was tough.  By the end, my cramped forearm was begging for my standing mixer.

 

But the hard work was worth it.  The Mojito Pound Cake with Rum-Flavored Italian Meringue Buttercream (as imagined by Warren Brown of CakeLove) was absolutely delicious.  I had to change a few aspects of the recipe, as some ingredients weren’t available, but I was still able to pull it off.  The flavors were subtle, but quite surprisingly, it did taste like a well-made mojito.  I’m a huge fan of unique cake flavors, so this one was a winner.  This will definitely make it to my wedding cake menu.  Yum!

See below for the recipe.

Mojito Pound Cake with Rum-Flavored Italian Meringue Buttercream

(Based on the recipe originally published in CakeLove)

Dry Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups + 2 tablespoons unbleached, all-purpose flour

1/4 cup potato starch

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

3 whole cloves (ground into a fine powder)

1/3 cup oven-dried mint crumbled (approximately 2 bunches, fresh)

Liquid Ingredients:

2/3 cup sour cream

1/4 cup half-and-half

3 tablespoons dark rum

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon molasses

1 teaspoon limoncello

juice of 2 limes

Creaming:

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

2 1/4 cups white sugar

2 teaspoons lime zest

4 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

Making the Cake:

Preheat the oven to 350° F.

Incorporate all of the dry ingredients into a bowl, mix, and set aside.

Incorporate all of the liquid ingredients into a bowl, whisk, and set aside.

Measure the butter, sugar, eggs, and yolks into separate bowls and set aside.

In the bowl of a standing mixer (fitted with the paddle attachment), cream together the butter, sugar, and lime zest on the lowest setting for 4 to 5 minutes.  With the mixer still on the lowest speed, add the eggs one at a time followed by the yolks, fully incorporating after each addition.  Add the dry ingredient mixture, alternating with the liquid mixture in 3 to 5 additions each, beginning and ending with the dry mixture. Move swiftly through this step to avoid overworking the batter. Don’t wait for the dry or liquid mixtures to be fully incorporated before adding the next. This step should take a total of about 60 seconds.

Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Mix on medium speed for 15 to 20 seconds to develop the batter’s structure.

Prepare the cake pans. For 9-inch-round cakes, line the bottom of each pan with parchment. Deposit the batter evenly into the pans and smooth with an offset spatula, making sure the pans are two-thirds full. Bake for approximately 30 minutes.  (Note: My cakes took about 40 minutes in the convection oven.)

Remove the pans from the oven and cool to room temperature on a wire rack, about 25 to 30 minutes, before removing from the pan. Loosen the cake gently from the pan with a small offset spatula and invert onto a flat surface. Remove the parchment from the bottom of each cake and wrap the layers tightly in plastic. You can refrigerate the layers overnight or up to 5 days before frosting.

Rum-Flavored Italian Meringue Buttercream:

5 egg whites

1 1/4 cups extra-fine granulated sugar

1/4 cup cold water

1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter

2 to 4 tablespoons of dark rum (to taste)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Separate the egg whites into the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the wire whip attachment. Measure 1 cup sugar and the water into a 1-quart, heavy-bottomed saucepan.

Gently stir with the candy thermometer to combine. Place the remaining 1/4 cup sugar into a small bowl and set aside. Cut the butter into tablespoon sized pieces and set aside in a medium bowl.

To make the sugar syrup, place the candy thermometer in the saucepan and heat the mixture over medium-high heat. Partially cover with a lid to capture the evaporating water-this helps to moisten the sides of the saucepan to prevent sugar crystals from forming.

With the mixer on high speed, begin whipping the egg whites to stiff peaks. When the peaks are stiff you have a meringue. Keep the mixer running and add the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar into the meringue.

Raise the heat under the sugar syrup to bring the syrup to 245° F. When the syrup reaches 245° F, remove the thermometer and slowly pour the syrup into the meringue.

After 1 or 2 minutes reduce the mixer speed to medium for 3 or 4 minutes, or until the meringue is cooled. Add the butter 1 tablespoon at a time. Increase the mixer speed to high for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the butter is fully incorporated. Finally add in the dark rum and vanilla and spread onto your pound cake.