Chantilly Berry Cake Food

BERRY CHANTILLY CAKE

Steps:

• Note: It's VERY important that your cold ingredients are at room temperature or slightly warmed. See video for tips. Heat oven to 335º F/168º C - 350º F/177º C. I tend to use lower setting to prevent my cakes from getting too dark on the outside before the inside is done baking.
• Place 4oz of the milk and oil in a separate bowl or cup and set aside
• Combine remaining milk, vanilla extract, almond extract and room temp eggs in a separate measuring cup and set aside
• Measure out dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt) and place them into the stand mixer bowl.
• Attach the paddle to the mixer, and turn on the slowest speed (setting 1 on Kitchen Aid mixers). Slowly add chunks of your softened butter until it is all added. Let mix until batter resembles coarse sand.
• Add milk/oil mixture into the dry ingredients and mix on medium speed (speed 4 on my KitchenAid) and mix for 2 full minutes. Do not skip this step or your cake will not rise.
• Add in 1/3 of your milk/egg mixture. Repeat 2 more times until batter is just combined. Don't forget to scrape your bowl.
• I always start by baking for 25 minutes for 8" and smaller cakes and 30 minutes for 9" and larger cakes and then checking for doneness. If the cakes are still really jiggly, I add another 5 minutes. I check every 5 minutes after that until I'm close and then it's every 2 minutes. Cakes are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs.
• Remove the cake pan from the oven and "tap" it lightly on the counter once to remove air from the cake and keep it from shrinking un-evenly.
• Place cakes on a cooling rack and press down the dome immediately with an oven mitt covered hand. After cakes have cooled for 10 minutes or the pans are cool enough to touch, flip the cakes over and remove from the pans onto the cooling racks to cool completely. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator.
• Once the cakes are chilled in the refrigerator (about an hour for this size, longer for larger cakes), tort, fill and crumb coat all at once. If you do not plan on crumb coating the same day, you can leave the wrapped cakes on the countertop. Chilling can dry out your cakes before they are iced, so avoid keeping them in the refrigerator longer than necessary. Cakes can be frozen in freezer bags for later use as well.
• Cream together the softened butter, cream cheese and mascarpone cheese together until smooth.
• Add in the powdered sugar and continue creaming until combined
• Whip the whipped cream to soft peaks. Add in the pudding mix to stabilize the whipped cream and whip until just combined. Add in the vanilla and almond extract. Peaks should be firm but not curdled. This happens quickly so watch your cream closely! Check out the stabilized whipped cream recipe to see other options to use besides instant pudding mix.
• Fold your cream cheese mixture and whipped cream together to make your frosting.
• Place the berries in a medium saucepan with 2.5 oz of sugar and bring to a simmer.
• Combine the cornstarch with the cold water to make a slurry. Pour the slurry into the bubbling berries.
• Cook a few minutes until the mixture is thick (1-2 minutes). Remove the berries from the heat and stir in the zest of one lemon and your lemon juice.
• Cool berry filling before using.

BERRY CHANTILLY SHEET CAKE

Steps:

• For the cake: Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Grease the bottom only of a 9-by-13-by-2-inch pan with butter or shortening. Line the bottom only with a piece of parchment.
• Place the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whip on medium-high speed until frothy, about 1 minute. Slowly stream in 3/4 cup of the granulated sugar and continue to whip until medium-stiff peaks form, about 3 minutes. The meringue will hold its shape and have the consistency of shaving cream.
• Transfer the meringue to a large clean bowl and set aside. Wipe out the mixer bowl with a paper towel. Sift the cake flour, remaining 3/4 cup white sugar, baking powder and salt into the same mixer bowl. Add the lemon zest and whisk to combine. Add the vegetable oil, buttermilk,
• vanilla and egg yolks and blend on low until combined. Scrape the bowl and then mix on
• medium speed for 1 minute.
• Remove the bowl from the mixer. Use a large whisk or spatula to fold one-third of the meringue into the flour mixture until lightened and a few streaks of egg white remain. Repeat with half the remaining meringue, folding into the batter until nearly combined. Fold the last third of the meringue into the batter, folding just until the meringue is completely incorporated.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Tap the pan gently on the counter 3 to 4 times to release any large air bubbles. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it and the cake is golden brown, 33 to 36 minutes.
• Place the pan on a cooling rack and cool 20 minutes. While still warm, cover the pan with plastic and allow to cool completely, about 4 hours, before frosting.
• Remove the plastic wrap and turn the cake out onto a large serving platter or sheet pan. Peel off the parchment if it is still stuck to the bottom of the cake.
• For the whipped cream: Combine the mascarpone, confectioners' sugar, vanilla and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Mix on low until combined, then raise to the speed to medium and beat for 30 seconds or until smooth. Scrape the bowl and beat for another 30 seconds.
• Lower the mixer to low speed and slowly pour in the cream. Once the cream is combined, stop and scrape the bowl and then raise the speed to medium-high and beat until medium-stiff peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes. The cream will hold its shape but will still be spreadable.
• Spread the jam evenly over the top of the cake with an offset spatula, stopping just short of the edge, creating a thin, see-through coating. Spoon the whipped cream onto the cake and spread it evenly to the edges. Use a large knife to mark 3 rows of 4 slices for a total of 12 slices. Arrange a small handful of mixed berries in the center of each marked piece. Cut and serve, storing any leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.