Colettes White Cake Food

HEAVENLY WHITE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°.
• Coat 2 8-inch cake pans with cooking spray and line with parchment paper.
• Sift together the flours, baking powder and salt.
• Cream the butter and sugars together in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy.
• Add vanilla and the egg whites, scraping down the sides of mixing bowl.
• Mix again until fluffy.
• Add the sifted flour mixture in three batches, alternating with three batches of milk, and ending the additions with flour.
• Mix each addition just until combined; do not overmix or the cake will be dry.
• Pour batter into prepared pans.
• Bake for 30- 35 minutes, or until cake tests done.
• Let the cakes cool completely in the pans on wire racks.
• Wrap and refrigerate (cake still in pan) until ready to decorate.

CLASSIC WHITE CAKE

Steps:

• The fine moist crumb of this cake complements any type of filling and frosting -- the perfect celebratory cake.
• Set a rack at the middle level of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar for about 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. Combine egg whites, milk and vanilla extract. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to butter mixture then add half the milk mixture. Continue to alternate beginning and ending with flour mixture. Scrape bowl and beater often. Pour batter into prepared pan(s) and smooth top with a metal spatula. Bake cake(s) about 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center emerges clean. Cool in pan on a rack for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a rack, remove paper and let cool completely.
• Variation:
• CLASSIC YELLOW CAKE Substitute 3 large eggs and 1 egg yolk for all of the egg whites above.
• 2 (9-inch) diameter by 1 1/2-inch deep layer pans or 1 (13 by 9 by 2-inch) pan, buttered and bottoms lined with parchment or waxed paper.

COLETTE'S CHOCOLATE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the sides and bottom of 2 (9-inch) cake pans with shortening and then dust them with flour. In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients except the coffee. Mix at low speed until blended, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally with a rubber spatula. Slowly add the coffee while mixing on low. Mix until smooth. Bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pans on a wire racks for about 20 minutes, then invert onto racks and remove pans. Cool completely.;

WHITE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottom and sides of two 9-by-2-inch round cake pans. Line the bottoms with parchment paper and butter the parchment. Flour the pans and tap out the excess.
• Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Beat the butter, 1 cup sugar and the vanilla in a large bowl with a mixer on low speed until combined. Increase the speed to medium high and beat until pale and fluffy, 5 to 7 minutes. Reduce the speed to low; beat in the flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the milk. Increase the speed to medium high and beat until smooth and glossy, 30 seconds to 1 minute.
• Beat the egg whites in a clean bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until foamy. Gradually beat in the remaining 1/3 cup sugar until stiff glossy peaks form, about 5 minutes. Fold half the egg whites into the batter, then fold in the rest. Divide the batter between the pans.
• Bake the cakes until lightly browned, beginning to pull from the sides and a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean, 25 to 35 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool 15 minutes in the pans. Loosen the edges with a knife and turn out the cakes onto the rack; remove the parchment and let cool completely.

COLETTE'S CHOCOLATE BOURBON COCONUT CAKE

Steps:

• Place the sifted flour in a medium bowl and stir in the baking soda and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, place the chocolate and the butter. Pour the hot coffee over the chocolate and butter and then add the bourbon. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let stand until chocolate and butter are melted. Remove the cover and whisk to fully incorporate. Set aside until mixture has cooled.
• Grease and flour 2 (8-inch) round cake pans. Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.
• When coffee mixture has cooled, add the sugar and whisk until blended. Add the flour mixture, half at a time and stir until just combined. Add the eggs, vanilla, and coconut and whisk until well blended. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool cakes in pans for about 10 minutes and then cool completely on a rack before icing.
• While cakes are cooling, make ganache: Place the chocolate in a large bowl. Heat the cream in a saucepan just until it starts to boil. Immediately pour the cream over the chocolate, making sure that all of the chocolate is covered. Cover the bowl and let stand for 5 minutes. Whisk the chocolate until dark and shiny and then let cool to room temperature. The more you whisk this icing as it cools, the stiffer it will get. If you refrigerate the icing before you put it on the cake, it will get very hard and you will have to microwave it for a few seconds to soften it to a spreadable state.
• Frost cake: Spread ganache over bottom layer of cake. Place the second cake layer on top of the ganache. Frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining ganache.