london fog cake

 

today we are celebrating the release of tessa huff's new book layered & because monday's always deserve some form of cake! she is the baking genius behind the blog style sweet CA where you will find some of the prettiest cakes on the internet. her new book is full of unique cake recipes as well as step by step instructions on frosting & decorating cakes. it even has a bonus three tier cake chapter which couldn't be more helpful for me because i am making my first ever wedding cake in may! anyways, this london fog cake recipe comes straight from tessa's book & it was perfect. i love london fogs so when i saw a cake version that infused earl grey tea, how could i not make it? check out layered here which gets released tomorrow!!!!

ingredients

for the chocolate cake

  • 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons oil
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
  • 1 1/2 cups whole milk
  • 1 cup hot strong-brewed coffee (i substituted strong-brewed earl grey tea)

for the earl grey buttercream

  • 2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup loose earl grey tea
  • 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons large egg whites
  • 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
  • 1/2 cup salted caramel sauce, for drizzling

directions

for the chocolate cake

  • preheat the oven to 350 degrees. grease & flour three 8-inch cake pans, set aside.
  • sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda & salt.
  • in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat together the oil & sugar on medium speed for 2 minutes. add the eggs, egg yolk, vanilla extract & almond extract.
  • turn the mixer to low & slowly add the flour mixture, alternating with the milk.
  • scrape down the bowl then add the hot coffee while mixing on low speed. mix until just combined.
  • evenly divide the batter among the prepared pans. bake for 23 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. let cool before removing the cake from the pans.

for the earl grey buttercream

  • place 1 cup of the butter in a saucepan with the loose tea. heat over medium heat until the butter melts, then reduce to low heat & simmer for 5 minutes. remove from heat & let steep for 5 minutes. strain the butter & refrigerate until it reaches the consistency of room temperature butter.
  • place the egg whites & sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. whisk them together by hand to combine. fill a medium saucepan with a few inches of water & place it over medium-high heat. place the mixer bowl on top of the saucepan to create a double boiler. the bottom of the bowl should not be touching the water. whisking intermittently, heat the egg mixture until it reaches 160 degrees f. place the mixer bowl back on the stand mixer.
  • with the whisk attachment, beat the egg white mixture on high speed for 8 to 10 minutes, until it holds medium stiff peaks. when done, the outside of the mixer bowl should return to room temperature. stop the mixer & swap out the whisk attachment for the paddle attachment.
  • with the mixer on low speed, add the vanilla, tea infused butter & regular butter one tablespoon at a time. once fully incorporated, turn the mixer to medium-high & beat until the buttercream is silky smooth, 3 to 5 minutes.

for assembly

  • once the cakes have completely cooled, level them & choose which layer will be at the bottom. place it on a cake plate or serving dish & spread on 1/2 cup of the buttercream with an offset spatula. top with the next layer & repeat.
  • frost the outside of the cake as desired & refrigerate for 15 to 20 minutes before drizzling with the salted caramel sauce.

fleur spiced strawberry shortcakes

 

you are probably asking "what is fleur spiced shortcakes!?". well i will TELL you! it is a flower filled spice blend of pink pepper, hibiscus, lavender & rose. it is probably one of the most unique spice blends i have worked with thus far. while it can be used in both sweet + savoury dishes, i saw strawberries was one of the recommended fruits & i knew i had to do strawberry shortcakes. i decided to do the classic biscuit style strawberry shortcakes that are portioned individually, because biscuits. the flakey, buttery biscuit & the sweet whipped cream compliment the fleur spiced strawberries perfectly. i used curio spice co's fleur spice from boston general store. using a mortar & pestle i mixed the cane sugar with the spice blender & ground it down to a very fine powder. i wanted the cane sugar to really be incorporated into the spice & for the strawberries to essentially marinate in the mix.

ingredients

for the biscuits

for the fleur spice strawberries

for the whipped cream

directions

  • for the biscuits: preheat oven to 375 degrees. in a mixing bowl add the flour, baking powder, salt & sugar. stir until combined. using your hands or a pastry cutter, cut in the butter like you would a pie dough until the mixture is crumbly. add the heavy cream & vanilla and mix until the dough comes together. turn out onto a floured surface, roll out dough to a 3/4 inch thickness & cut into desired sized biscuits. bake for 10-15 minutes, until the biscuits are golden brown.
  • for the fleur spice strawberries: place the sliced strawberries in a mixing bowl. using a mortar & pestle grind the sugar with the fleur spice. add the ground mixture to the strawberries & toss to coat. set aside while you make the whipped cream & let the strawberries soak in the flavours.
  • for the whipped cream: in the bowl of a standmixer using the whisk attachment, add the cream, vanilla & sugar. beat until stiff peaks are formed.
  • to assemble: when ready to serve, slice the biscuit in half horizontally. top bottom with whipped cream, strawberries, whipped cream & biscuit top. serve with fresh strawberries & a touch of sugar.

like what you see? get it here. fleur spice | mortar & pestle | cutting board | mixing bowl | linens | tea basket | plate | mug  

spiced rum banana foster crêpes

 

i don't know why it has taken me this long to post crepes! my mom & i used to make these all the time when we had family/friends over for dinner. this year for christmas, i even surprised my parents with a fancy staub crepe pan so they could get serious about their crepe making. bananas foster is my favourite crepe topping/anything topping. spooning some hot rum caramel sauce over vanilla bean ice cream.. mmmmm. when i told justin i was making bananas foster he said "what is that?". my jaw dropped. i thought everyone knew what bananas foster was, but apparently i was wrong. so if you are asking the same thing, just please stop what you are doing & make these RIGHT now. to put a long story short, it is now one of justin's favourite recipes to date. he ate both plates to himself the second i was done the shoot! these ones are made with the most delicious small batch twenty boat cape cod spiced rum. this spiced rum is heavy in notes of cardamom, vanilla bean & cinnamon, which to me just screamed bananas foster. it is important to use a high quality spiced rum when making this dish as the rum flavour really comes through strongly! if you are preparing this dessert fresh for guest, it is one of those dishes where you can look super bad ass & light the sauce pan on fire as soon as you add the rum. just be sure not to burn any eyebrows off;)

ingredients

for the crepes

  • 1 cup all purpose flour, sifted
  • 1 tablespoon white sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups whole milk
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted & cooled

for the spiced rum banana foster

  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter
  • 2/3 cup light brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup twenty boat spiced rum
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 4 bananas, sliced lengthwise
  • 1 cup sweetened whipped cream

directions

for the crepes

  • using a blender or food processor add the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, milk, eggs & butter. blend until a smooth batter is formed. let rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.
  • once batter has rested, heat a non-stick skillet on medium heat. adding a touch of butter per crepe, scoop 1/3 cup of batter into the skillet & swirl around the pan until a very thin pancake has formed. cook for 1-2 minutes per side. repeat until no batter remains.

for the banana foster

  • in a skillet over medium heat add butter, sugar, rum, vanilla, cinnamon & nutmeg. bring to a boil & let simmer until the sugar fully dissolves.
  • add the sliced bananas & cook until bananas soften. about 2-4 minutes.
  • serve over warm crepes & top with a generous dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream (or both.. yolo)!

this post was created in partnership with south hollow spirits. the recipe features their twenty boat hand crafted spiced rum! south hollow spirits makes their rum in small batches starting with organic cane sugar & organic molasses. banana foster deserves only the best of rum & you can find the twenty boat spiced rum here.