I find this a very special cake. Not because I’ve already made it, but honestly hardly any of my recipes I’ve tried out before writing about it. It is a special cake because this one gave me the inspiration to start up this series in the first place.
This cake was made on the dutch version of the Great British bake off in 2014 (we call it Heel Holland Bakt) and the guy making it eventually won the season! I like to believe that this cake had something to do with it.
This cake is quite a challenge to bake, but the end result is well worth the process.
Ingredients:
Red velvet cake
120 gr butter, soft
300 gr granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons red food coloring (preferably powder)
240 ml buttermilk
300 gr flour
20 gr cacao powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
Vanilla cake
240 gr flour
280 gr fine granulated sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
Pinch of salt
80 gr butter, soft
240 ml whole milk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Blue vanilla cake
240 gr flour
280 gr fine granulated sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
80 gr butter, soft
240 ml whole milk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons blue food coloring (preferably powder)
Strawberry jam
500 gr strawberries
220 gr jelly sugar
Buttercream
450 ml whole milk
70 gr flour
450 gr butter, soft
450 gr fine granulated sugar
4 tablespoons vanilla extract
Blue food coloring
Red food coloring
How to bake:
Prepare:
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (356°F ).
2. Line a maximum of three bake tins with a diameter of 26 centimeter with baking paper and grease the pan(s).
Red velvet cake:
1. Sift the flour and the cocoa together in a mixing bowl and set to the side.
2. Mix the butter and the sugar together until it is light and fluffy.
3. Whisk together the eggs and slowly add those to the butter mixture. Mix until the sugar is dissolved.
4. In a measuring cup add the vanilla extract, buttermilk, and the red food coloring and make sure the mixture is bright red. if not, add some more coloring.
5. Add the buttermilk mixture and the flour mixture in two halves to the butter, starting with the flour and whisk together until everything is combined and smooth.
6. Add the baking soda and the vinegar and mix until well combined.
7. Pour the batter into the baking pan and bake for about 35-40 minutes.
8. Put on a rooster to cool.
Vanilla cake & blue vanilla cake:
1. If you are using one or two baking pans, make sure to clean the pan and line with baking paper and grease.
2. Do the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and butter into the food processor and mix on a low speed until it has a sand-like texture.
3. Mix in a measuring cup the milk, eggs and vanilla extract.
4. Pour the milk and eggs into the butter mixture and keep mixing until everything is well combined.
5. Pour the batter into the baking pan and bake for about 30-35 minutes
6. Put on a rooster to cool.
7. Repeat this process for the blue vanilla cake as well.
Strawberry jam:
If you don’t want to go to the trouble, you can always use store bought jam but homemade is always better!
1. Mash the strawberries and bring to a boil with the sugar.
2. Let it cook for about 4 minutes
3. Pour into a bowl and let it cool.
Buttercream:
1. Put the milk and flour in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to the boil while stirring.
2. Whisk until It thickens, take the pan off the heat and let it cool.
3. Whisk in another bowl the butter and sugar white and fluffy.
4. Add the vanilla extract and the cooled flour mixture.
5. Mix this together until the mixture it is very light and airy.
6. Divide the buttercream into three equal parts, one red, one blue and the last one stays white.
Construct:
1. Cut each white and red cake into three layers
2. Cut out of the blue cake a circle out of the middle so that you are left with a blue ring and a smaller circle.
3. Cut the same size circle out of two white cake layers and one red cake layer. Make sure that the smaller blue circle fits into it.
4. Spread a thin layer of strawberry jam onto the red cake layers and spread a thin layer of (white) buttercream onto each cake layer.
5. Stack the cake as follows: red cake layer, white cake layer, red cake layer, white cake ring, red cake ring and a white cake ring.
6. Put the blue cake into the hole.
7. Prepare three different piping bags, one for each color buttercream.
8. Make little tufts of the red buttercream on the sides of the cake.
9. Make with little tufts a white star in the middle of the cake.
10. Draw a circle around the star with blue buttercream and fill it in
11. Make another circle with red buttercream tufts around the blue ones.
12. Fill the rest of the cake with white buttercream tufts.
