Vanilla Bean Buttercream Vanilla Bean White Chocolate Mousse And Vanilla Syrup For Wedding Cake Food

VANILLA BEAN CAKE

Steps:

• For the vanilla bean cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter three 8-inch cake pans and line the bottoms and sides with parchment. Set aside.
• Mix together the milk and half-and-half, set aside. Sift together both flours and baking powder; set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter. Sprinkle in the sugar and salt and beat on medium speed until light in color and fluffy in texture. Add the vanilla bean paste and mix until just combined. Gradually add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl frequently. Add the dry ingredients in thirds, alternating with the wet ingredients, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined; don't overbeat.
• Transfer the batter to the cake pans and bake until an inserted toothpick comes out clean or with a few crumbs, about 30 minutes. Let cool at 10 minutes before turning out of the pans onto a rack to cool completely.
• For the lemon curd: In a heat-safe mixing bowl, mix together the sugar, lemon zest, eggs and salt. Place the bowl over (not in) a saucepan of simmering water and stir in the lemon juice. Gradually add the cubed butter and stir until everything is incorporated. Continue to stir over low heat until the curd thickens and becomes lighter in color and a bit fluffy, about 10 minutes. The curd will thicken at about 170 degrees F.
• Remove from the heat and pour into a bowl. Put plastic wrap directly on the surface of the lemon curd to avoid a skin from forming and refrigerate.
• For the Italian meringue buttercream: Combine 3/4 cup sugar with 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan over medium-low heat and cook until the sugar is dissolved. Increase the heat to medium-high, attach a candy thermometer to the saucepan and cook until the mixture reaches reach 248 degrees F.
• While the sugar syrup is heating, combine the egg whites and pinch of cream of tartar in a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment and whip, slowly sprinkling in the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, until you reach medium peaks. When the sugar syrup reaches temperature, pour it very carefully down the side of the bowl of egg whites and continue to whip until you have a white, glossy meringue. Replace the whip with a paddle attachment, add the butter in chunks and beat until the buttercream comes together. Beat in the vanilla bean paste. Set aside.
• For the strawberry filling: Grind or crush the strawberries into a fine consistency, set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the cream cheese. Add 1 pound of the Italian meringue buttercream and mix just until combined. Add the strawberries and mix just until combined.
• To assemble the cake: Put a layer of cake in the center of a platter. Add a thin layer of lemon curd, then a layer of the strawberry buttercream filling. Add the second layer of cake. Spread with a thin layer of lemon curd, and then a layer of the vanilla Italian meringue buttercream. Top with a final layer of cake and ice the entire tier with the vanilla Italian meringue buttercream.

VANILLA BEAN BUTTERCREAM

Steps:

• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until creamy. Slowly add confectioners' sugar; beat to combine, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary.
• Add vanilla bean seeds and vanilla extract, and beat to combine. Slowly add milk and continue beating on medium-low speed until smooth and creamy, about 5 minutes.

VANILLA BEAN CAKE WITH WHITE CHOCOLATE GANACHE

Steps:

• Separate eggs; let eggs stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Line two greased 9-in. round baking pans with parchment and grease the paper; set aside. , Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, cream butter and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Split vanilla bean and scrape seeds into creamed mixture; discard bean. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; add to the creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition., In a small bowl with clean beaters, beat egg whites on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add remaining sugar, about 2 tablespoons at a time, beating on high until stiff peaks form. Fold a fourth of egg whites into the batter, then fold in remaining whites. Transfer to prepared baking pans., Bake 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely., Place chocolate in a small bowl. In a small saucepan, bring cream just to a boil. Pour over chocolate; whisk until smooth. Cool, stirring occasionally, to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Beat with an electric mixer until ganache is double in volume, about 2 minutes., For buttercream, in a small bowl, combine sugar and cream of tartar. Place egg whites in a double boiler or metal bowl over simmering water; stir in the sugar mixture. , Constantly whisk egg mixture until mixture reaches 120-130°. (Do not overheat.) Stirring gently, keep the egg white mixture at 120-130° for 2 minutes. Immediately transfer to a mixing bowl. With a whisk attachment, beat egg white mixture on high speed for 5 minutes. Reduce speed; beat 5 minutes longer or until cool and stiff. Transfer to a large bowl., In the same mixing bowl with whisk attachment, beat butter, shortening and vanilla until light and fluffy. With a spatula, stir a fourth of the egg white mixture into creamed mixture until no white streaks remain. Fold in remaining egg white mixture until combined. If frosting is not completely smooth, attach paddle beater to mixer and beat on low speed for about 1 minute. , Cut each cake horizontally into two layers. Place bottom layer on a serving plate; spread with half of ganache. Top with another cake layer. Spread with apricot preserves; top with sliced strawberries. Place third cake layer on top; spread with remaining ganache. Top with remaining cake layer. Spread buttercream over top and sides of cake. Top with additional sliced strawberries.

CHOCOLATE SHEET CAKE WITH VANILLA BEAN FROSTING

Steps:

• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Add the flour, granulated sugar and salt to a large bowl and stir together; set aside. Add the buttermilk, baking soda, vanilla and eggs to a separate bowl. Mix with a fork and set aside.
• In a medium saucepan, melt the butter. Add the cocoa and whisk to combine.
• Meanwhile, bring 1 cup water to a boil. Pour the boiling water into the butter and cocoa pan. Allow to bubble for a moment, then turn off the heat.
• Pour the cocoa mixture into the flour mixture. Stir together for a moment to allow it to cool slightly, then pour in the egg mixture. Stir together until smooth. Add the chocolate chips, stirring, then pour into an ungreased jelly roll pan (or rimmed baking sheet). Bake until an inserted cake tester comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Allow to cool for about 20 minutes.
• For the frosting: While the cake bakes, combine the powdered sugar, butter, milk, salt and vanilla bean caviar in a large bowl. Using a hand mixer, mix on low until incorporated. Increase the speed and mix until light and fluffy; set aside.
• Spread the top of the cake with the frosting, slice and serve.

MINI VANILLA BEAN YELLOW CUPCAKES WITH CREAMY CHOCOLATE FROSTING

Steps:

• Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350 F. Fill mini-muffin tins with cupcake liners and spray the liners with baking spray.
• Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and 1 1/2 cups cane sugar together in a large bowl. Whisk together the melted butter, buttermilk, oil, vanilla extract, vanilla seeds and egg yolks in a medium bowl.
• In a clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites at medium-high speed until foamy, about 30 seconds. With the machine running, gradually add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar. Continue to beat until stiff peaks just form, 30 to 60 seconds. Transfer to a separate bowl and set aside. Wash the bowl and dry.
• Add the flour mixture to the now-empty mixing bowl. With the mixer running at low speed with the whisk attachment, gradually pour in the butter mixture and mix until almost incorporated (a few streaks of dry flour will remain), about 15 seconds. Stop the mixer and scrape the whisk and sides of the bowl. Return the mixer to medium-low speed and beat until smooth and fully incorporated, 10 to 15 seconds.
• Using a rubber spatula, stir one-third of the whites into the batter to lighten. Then add the remaining whites and gently fold into the batter until no white streaks remain.
• Fill the mini-muffin tin liners three-quarters full and bake until just firm, 8 to 12 minutes. Let cool, and then frost with Creamy Chocolate Frosting.
• Add the butter, sugar, cocoa and salt to a food processor. Process until smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl once or twice, about 30 seconds. Add the corn syrup, vanilla and espresso powder and process just until combined, about 10 seconds. Scrape the sides of the bowl one more time, and then drizzle in the chocolate. Pulse until the frosting is creamy, about 15 seconds.