Hello Beautiful peoples!
I do hope you are enjoying a lovely spring weekend like the one we are having here in Montreal. Finally the days are warm and that feeling of summertime is spreading quickly. And on such a warm and colorful weekend I am here to share with you a most beautiful lovely birthday cake that fits perfectly with the changing of seasons! I made this for my sweetie for his 22nd birthday and it turned out just like a dream - except for a minor setback with a first cake that really was a huge disaster all around - and quite easy to make with a couple of hours free time on hand. This amazing cake was courtesy of the incredible MOMOFUKU MILK BAR cookbook that i picked up a couple of weeks ago.
Now i just want to note how much i love all the recipes in this cookbook. Momofuku Milk bar has done an amazing job of breaking through the oh so overdone concept of a cupcake and cookies bakery scene and come up with something incredibly original. From their cereal milk panna cotta to grasshopper pie and chocolate chip cake with passionfruit puree and coffee frosting, momofuku is an adventure into a very different yet very comforting realm of dessert, with many flavours hitting close to home. Guys, I am totally in love with this cookbook I seriously can't wait to cook myself through all the sweets.
If you are ever in New York City, hit up milk bar and pick one of these.
But now, onto the cake! Really, why i love this cake so much apart from the fact that it is SO pretty to look at and really fun to make, is that it is sprouted from Christina Tosi's (one of the owners of Milk Bar) adoration for white box cake. She wanted to capture the distinct flavour and sweetness of a box cake but obviously homemade styles, and to make it even better Milkbar went for the funfetti box cake! Funfetti is a personal favorite of mine and no doubt makes any cake that much more colorful and delicious. And so this incredible little birthday cake was born, salty creamy and the only kind of vanilla-ey sweetness one could expect from a good ol' box birthday cake. This cake is fun, MAKE IT! And eat a big piece, and feel amazing:) ENJOY!
Picture courtesy of Milk Bar cookbook
Birthday Layer Cake
Makes 1 (6-inch) Layer Cake, 5 to 6 inches Tall; Serves 6 to 8
- 1 recipe Birthday Cake (recipe follows)
- 1 recipe Birthday Cake Soak (recipe follows)
- 1 recipe Birthday Cake Frosting (recipe follows)
- 1 recipe Birthday Cake Crumb (recipe follows)
Now before we get into the logistics of this recipe, you're going to need some special equipment and ingredients that you most probably do not have lying around the house. Here is a list and where to find the items, and do invest in them because you'll use them frequently in your baking and honestly cake rings and sheet pans will last you a lifetime if you care for them properly. I also picked up some other things like ice cream scoopers for when I attempt the Milk Bar cookies! This is totally optional. For this recipe you'll need:
1. 1 (6-inch) Cake ring like this.
2. 2 strips acetate 3 inches wide and 20 inches long - acetate is available at almost any craft store or office supply store for next to nothing.
3. Pastry brush - (you may already have this but i didn't so I'm including it in here) I got my pastry brush at loblaws for 2.50 - get a cheap one, they deteriorate quickly regardless of their calibur.
4. Glucose like this - (you may be able to find glucose at specialty grocery stores, but i didn't have time to scan the city for a specialty shop, plus amazon is loads of fun :) ).
5. 1 quarter sheet pan 10x13 inch like this.
6. 1 half sheet pan 13x18 inch like this.
7. Electronic Kitchen Scale - This is not mandatory, but your recipes will turn out much more exact as much of this cookbook weighs ingredients in grams (they will also provide the cups and teaspoon equivalent though). Grams are the way to go because 1 tablespoon could be tightly packed, or not so tightly packed, giving you in the end a couple grams more or less than the recipe calls for. With a scale, you know you're going in the right path.
8. Kosher Salt - Believe it or not, I had never cooked with Kosher Salt. But as I've discovered, kosher salt gives a different flavour in recipes than plain old Iodized table salt. Invest in the Kosher salt, i truly believe it makes a difference in the end product. But avoid Morton's, because i recently read that it is much saltier than other Kosher salts.
9. Clear Vanilla extract - Don't use pure dark vanilla extract for this birthday cake. As Tosi explains in the ingredients section of her cookbook, part of the deliciousness of a box cake is in the "commercial vanilla" flavour that we all can relate to. The clear vanilla, like this recreates that guilty tub-of-frosting, box-cake thing that we all harbour a sweet tooth for.
10. Stand Mixer - Now this is a tricky one. I don't have one, but my lovely mom did so i stole hers temporarily. Do you go out and buy one though, to make this cake? No, i don't think it is necessary (especially at 200$ plus). You could definetly bake your way through this thing with a good ol' hand mixer, but it will take much longer and your arms will be very angry with you by the end of it. If you can get your hands on a stand mixer please do so, as your results will show a difference and anyways, almost all the recipes in this cookbook call for a stand mixer so it may be a wise investment.
11. Citric Acid - Citric acid is often marketed as sour salt in the spice aisle at many larger grocery stores. The nice thing about citric acid is it adds a certain sourness to recipes without adding liquid. The sourness doesn't overtake though, it just enhances the flavour. Don't skip the citric acid, it's easy to find and if not, you can always get it here.
12. Butter - All butter in this recipe is UNSALTED.
Now that we're all set with equipment, here we go with the recipes! I am presenting them to you in the order that I made them, i think this is the best way to go about it.
Birthday Cake Crumb
Makes about 275 grams (2 1/4 cups)
100 g granulated sugar 1/2 cup
25 g light brown sugar 1 1/2 tablespoons tightly packed
90 g cake flour 3/4 cup
2 g baking powder 1/2 teaspoon
2 g kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon
20 g rainbow sprinkles 2 tablespoons
40 g grapeseed oil 1/4 cup
12 g clear vanilla extract 1 tablespoon
1. Heat the oven to 300F.
2. Combine the sugars, flour, baking powder, salt, and sprinkles in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed until well combined.
3. Add the oil and vanilla and paddle again to distribute. The wet ingredients will act as a glue to help the dry ingredients form small clusters; continue paddling until that happens.
4. Spread the clusters on a parchment or silpat (here) lined sheet pan. Bake for 20 minutes, breaking them up occasionally. The crumbs should still be slightly moist to the touch; they will dry and harden as they cool.
5. Let the crumbs cool completely before using in a recipe or scarfing by the handful. Stored in an airtight container, the crumbs will keep fresh for 1 week at room temperature or 1 month in the fridge or freezer.
Birthday Cake*
Makes 1 Quarter sheet pan cake
55 g butter, at room temperature 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick)
60 g vegetable shortening 1/3 cup
250 g granulated sugar 1 1/4 cups
50 g light brown sugar 3 tablespoons tightly packed
3 eggs
110 g buttermilk 1/2 cup
65 g grapeseed oil 1/3 cup
8 g clear vanilla extract 2 teaspoons
245 g cake flour 2 cups
6 g baking powder 1 1/2 teaspoons
3 g kosher salt 3/4 teaspoon
50 g rainbow sprinkles 1/4 cup
Pam or other nonstick cooking spray (optional - I used butter, i HATE Pam!)
25 g rainbow sprinkles 2 tablespoons
1. Heat the oven to 350F.
2. Combine the butter, shortening, and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream together on medium-high for 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the eggs, and mix on medium-high for another 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl once more.
3. On low speed, stream in the buttermilk, oil and vanilla. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and paddle for 4 to 6 minutes, until the mixture is practically white, twice the size of your original fluffy butter-and-sugar mixture, and completely homogenous. Don't rush the process. You're basically forcing too much liquid into an already fatty mixture that doesn't want to make room for the liquid. There should be no streaks of fat or liquid. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
4. On very low speed, add the cake flour, baking powder, salt, and the 50 g (1/4 cup) rainbow sprinkles. Mix for 45-60 seconds, just until your batter comes together. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
5. Pam-Spray or butter a quarter sheet pan and line it with parchment, or just line the pan with a Silpat. Using a spatula, spread the cake batter in an even layer in the pan. Sprinkle the remaining 25 g (2 tablespoons) rainbow sprinkles evenly on top of the batter.
6. Bake the cake for 30 to 35 minutes. The cake will rise and puff, doubling in size, but will remain slightly buttery and dense. At 30 minutes, gently poke the edge of the cake with your finger: the cake should bounce back slightly and the center should no longer be jiggly. Leave the cake in the oven for an extra 3-5 minutes if it doesn't pass these tests. You could also prick the center with a toothpick to verify if it comes out clean.
7. Take the cake out of the oven and cool on a wire rack, or, in a pinch, in the fridge or freezer. The cooled cake can be stored in the fridge, wrapped in plastic wrap, for up to 5 days.
*Remember how I said I had a first cake that was a complete disaster? Yes, well now is the time for me to explain myself. I believe I may have forgotten the baking powder, but also I could not manage to get my mixture to be homogenous. I could still see tons of liquid and fat oozing out of the batter. I have now realized that my butter was much too warm. "Room Temperature" can be a very misleading statement in terms of the temperature of the butter you are cooking with. Next time, I will leave my butter out of the fridge for max 20-25 minutes before using. If your butter is too warm, you will not be able to achieve a fluffy butter and sugar mixture which is the first step to making this cake. The butter will basically sweat out of the other ingredients instead of incorporating into them. Take my advice and use JUST room temperature butter. Make sure that you get a nice fluffy butter sugar mixture in the first step, so that creating a homogenous cake batter is much easier to achieve. I had to beat my batter for about 15 minutes before it became the slightest bit even and smooth. If your cake does rise and puff up in the oven, you know that it will turn out right. My first cake didn't rise at all, and just browned and stayed raw inside.
Birthday Cake Frosting - I whipped up the frosting while the cake was baking in the oven.
Makes about 430 g (2 cups)
115 g butter, at room temperature 8 tablespoons (1 stick)
50 g vegetable shortening 1/4 cup
55 g cream cheese 2 oz.
25 g glucose 1 tablespoon
18 g corn syrup 1 tablespoon
12 g clear vanilla extract 1 tablespoon
200 g confectioners' sugar 1 1/4 cups
2 g kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon
0.25 g baking powder pinch
0.25 g citric acid pinch
1. Combine the butter, shortening, and cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream together on medium-high for 2 to 3 minutes, until the mixture is smooth and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
2. With the mixer on its lowest speed, stream in the glucose, corn syrup, and vanilla. Crank the mixer up to medium-high and beat for 2 to 3 minutes, until the mixture is silky smooth and a glossy white. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
3. Add the confectioners' sugar, salt, baking powder, and citric acid and mix on low speed just to incorporate them into the batter. Crank the speed back up to medium-high and beat for 2 to 3 minutes, until you have a brilliant stark white, beautifully smooth frosting. It should look just like it came out of a plastic tub at the grocery store! Use the frosting immediately, or store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Birthday Cake Soak
Makes about 60 g (1/4 cup)
55 g milk (please use whole milk!!) 1/4 cup
4 g clear vanilla extract 1 teaspoon
Whisk together the milk and vanilla in a small bowl.
Assembly of the Birthday Layer Cake
1. Put a piece of parchment or a Silpat on the counter or on a baking sheet. Invert the cake onto it and peel off the parchment or Silpat from the bottom of the cake. Use the cake ring to stamp out 2 circles from the cake. These are your top 2 cake layers. The remaining "scrap" will come together to make the bottom layer of the cake.
Layer 1, the bottom
2. Clean the cake ring and place it in the center of a sheet pan lined with clean parchment or a Silpat. Use one of your strips of acetate to line the inside of the cake ring.
3. Put the cake scraps in the ring and use the back of your hand to tamp the scraps together into a flat even layer.
4. Dunk a pastry brush in the birthday cake soak and give the layer of cake a good healthy bath of half of the soak.
5. Use the back of a spoon to spread one-fifth of the frosting in an even layer over the cake.
6. Sprinkle one-third of the birthday crumbs evenly over the top of the frosting. Use the back of your hand to anchor them in place.
7. Use the back of a spoon to spread a second fifth of the frosting as evenly as possible over the crumbs.
Layer 2, the middle
8. With your index finger, gently tuck the second strip of acetate between the cake ring and the top 1/4 inch of the first strip of acetate, so that you have a clear ring of acetate 5 to 6 inches tall - high enough to support the height of the finished cake. Set a cake round on top of the frosting, and repeat the process for layer 1 (if 1 or your 2 cake rounds is jankier than the other, use it here in the middle and save the prettier one for the top).
Layer 3, the top
9. Nestle the remaining cake round into the frosting. Cover the top of the cake with the last fifth of the frosting. Garnish the frosting with the remaining birthday crumbs.
10. Transfer the sheet pan to the freezer and freeze for a minimum of 12 hours to set the cake and filling. The cake will keep in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.
11. At least 3 hours before you are ready to serve the cake, pull she sheet pan out of the freezer and, using your fingers and thumbs, pop the cake out of the cake ring. Gently peel off the acetate and transfer the cake to a platter or cake stand. Let it defrost in the fridge for a minimum of 3 hours (wrapped well in plastic, it can be refrigerated for up to 5 days).
12. Slice the cake into wedges and serve.
This recipe is directly taken from the Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook, written by Chrstina Tosi, foreword by David Chang. Thank you Milk bar peoples for the deliciousness of this cookbook!
Hillary T.
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