The whole party standing applauding youDiego Domínguez Almudévar
The other day I went to one of these birthdays with many guests and a lot of food in which everyone brought their own: as always in this type of event, there were lights and shadows, real successes and real disasters, before which your only option It is to smile and praise, effusively, the guilty party.
We will like to cook and good food, but what we are not under any circumstances is ungrateful.
One of those bad drinks that the entire party had to deal with was the cake.
No one vomited, nor was it shocking, but the two cheesecakes that the birthday boy's best friend had prepared were not the best I have ever tasted (although they were certainly made with love).
But this made me think about the challenge of preparing a cake for 20 people, and the truth is that, given the size of the party, it could have been much worse.
The result could have been much better if, instead of going complicated with a cheesecake, he had gone for something simpler.
When we think of a cake, tremendously complicated ones come to mind, with three tiers and perfectly decorated, but the truth is that, taken to the most basic, they are a cake with a icing on top.
I present to you
sheet cakes
, an American term that means “tray cakes.”
As its name indicates, you just have to prepare a cake in a large baking tray, and put a
frosting
on top: simple, but extremely effective.
Today we bring you four recipes, but you can put this concept into practice with any cake you see online: instead of making it three tiers, with layers of filling, complicated decorations and stress through the roof, put everything on a tray and that's it. .
Yes, sometimes we get very complicated.
Mascarpone cake, strawberry jam and berries
A tasty and spongy butter cake with a mascarpone
topping
mixed with jam and fresh fruit: you can use this recipe as a blank canvas to add the jam and fruit that you like, because it will be good with all of them.
Peach and apricot jam, fig and blueberry jam, orange and raspberry jam... the limit is set by your imagination.
To prepare the cake, mix 225 grams of cream-textured butter and 250 grams of sugar in a bowl, and beat them with an electric whisk for three minutes.
If you use manual whisks, for five, they must be incorporated very well so that the cake is spongy later (we explain why in this article about cookies).
Once they are very creamy, add four L-size eggs, one at a time, incorporating them completely before adding the next one.
Once combined, add a splash of vanilla extract, and mix.
In another bowl, mix 400 grams of wheat flour, eight of baking powder (Royal type) and three of salt.
Mix well, and then measure 250 milliliters of whole milk.
Now, to mix everything: add a third of the dry ingredients to the bowl of butter and eggs and mix it in with a whisk.
Then, a third of the milk.
Another third of dry goods, another of milk, another of dry goods, and another of milk.
Incorporating it in this way creates fewer lumps and the dough forms sooner, slowing down the creation of gluten and therefore giving us a more tender cake.
Once everything is mixed, transfer it to the baking tray and put it in the oven preheated to 180 degrees, for 35 to 40 minutes depending on the size of your tray, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a couple of lumps (how much The thicker the cake, the longer it will take).
While the cake is cooling, prepare the mascarpone cream: beat 100 grams of mascarpone in a bowl, until creamy, and add 300 milliliters of whipping cream.
Blend until it begins to thicken, about two minutes.
Then add 20 grams of icing sugar - the jam, which already has sugar -, a splash of vanilla extract and a pinch of salt.
Continue whipping until the cream forms peaks that hold its shape, and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes.
Once the cake and mascarpone are cold, it's time to assemble: start by spreading a thin layer of strawberry jam over the entire surface of the cake.
Then, pour all the mascarpone cream and spread it in an even layer.
Randomly distribute spoonfuls of strawberry jam on top of the mascarpone (in total you will need about 200 grams of jam).
With a spatula or spoon, mix both things, creating a beautiful pattern.
Decorate with blackberries and raspberries and refrigerate the cake for at least an hour before cutting.
Carrot cake with
toasted butter and vanilla
frosting
A classic that does not disappoint: a carrot cake with a juicy but firm sponge cake, with a slightly more adult
frosting
, with toasted butter and vanilla (the real kind).
Start by toasting 100 grams of pecans: you can do it in a pan or in the oven while you preheat it to bake the cake.
Be careful because they burn easily: they will be ready when they are very aromatic and acquire a beautiful golden color.
Once ready, set them aside, let them cool and crush them into small pieces, but do not turn them into powder.
Transfer them to a bowl and add 225 grams of wheat flour, four of salt, four of baking soda, six of baking powder, half a teaspoon of ground ginger, a pinch of ground cloves, and two teaspoons of ground cinnamon.
Mix and set aside.
Peel 350 grams of carrots, grate them with the coarse part of a grater and add them to a bowl along with 175 milliliters of whole milk and a splash of vanilla extract.
Finally, in a third bowl, crack two L-size eggs and add 100 grams of white and 100 brown sugar.
Beat with the whisk until it doubles in volume and acquires a paler color.
Next, add little by little - in a thread - 150 milliliters of sunflower oil while continuing to beat so that it emulsifies.
Add half of the wet ingredients to this bowl, mix them in, and then half of the dry ingredients.
Repeat with the other two halves.
When you have a homogeneous dough without lumps, transfer it to a baking tray greased with butter and put it in an oven at 180 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
While the cake is cooling, prepare the
buttercream
by putting 125 grams of butter in a saucepan.
Melt it and cook it over medium heat until it starts to foam and turns a toasty brown color (be careful because it burns easily).
Remove it from the heat and let it cool until it has an ointment texture.
Beat the butter with a whisk until it is very creamy.
Add 200 grams of cream cheese, also integrate it with the whisks, and then 150 grams of icing sugar.
Add it again and top with the seeds of a vanilla bean and a pinch of salt (you can replace the seeds with a splash of vanilla extract, but the black dots are beautiful and the flavor is less artificial).
Once the cake is cold, spread the
buttercream
on top and refrigerate the cake for at least an hour before consuming it.
Devil's Food Cake
Chocolate, chocolate and chocolate: that is the philosophy of the American Devil's Food Cake.
This version has a juicy and tender oil-based sponge cake, mixed with yogurt to further intensify that juiciness, which can be reminiscent of a
brownie
but with a crumb.
On top, an American
buttercream
without being overly sweet and some colored noodles to cheer up your inner child (you can skip them if you're boring).
For the cake, start by preparing 225 milliliters of coffee with the method you want (it is optional, but it will not make the cake taste like coffee, it will only intensify the chocolate flavor: if you don't want to add it, replace it with milk).
While it is done, mix the dry ingredients in a bowl: 75 grams of cocoa powder, 200 of wheat flour, eight of baking soda, eight of baking powder and eight of salt.
In another bowl, we go with the wet ingredients: beat two eggs, and then add 150 grams of white sugar and 100 of brown sugar.
Beat with the whisk until everything has been homogenized and has doubled in volume and acquired a paler color.
Continue adding fat sources: 150 milliliters of sunflower oil and 150 grams of Greek yogurt.
Once everything is incorporated, add a third of the dry ingredients, incorporate them with the whisk, and repeat with the other two.
We're almost there: add half of the coffee, stir in, and repeat with the rest.
Once you have a mixture without lumps and shiny, transfer it to a baking tray greased with butter and put it in an oven at 180 degrees, for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
While the cake is cooling, let's prepare the
buttercream
: put 200 grams of unsalted butter at room temperature, with an ointment texture, in a bowl.
Beat it with a whisk until it is very creamy, about three minutes, and then add the rest of the ingredients: 200 grams of icing sugar, 40 grams of cocoa powder, 100 milliliters of whipping cream, a pinch of salt and a splash of extract vanilla.
Incorporate it with the whisk carefully (it will be a little complicated at first but little by little it will emulsify).
When it begins to have a homogeneous texture, add 50 milliliters of whipping cream little by little, until it has an ointment texture.
When the cake is cold, spread the
buttercream
over its surface in a layer of even thickness.
Finish the cake with colored noodles - if you want - and refrigerate for at least an hour before eating.
Another wonderful lunch proposalDiego Domínguez Almudévar
Hummingbird Cake
with pineapple and banana sponge cake
The “hummingbird cake” is less famous than the carrot cake, but to me it seems just as delicious or better: with a juicy pineapple and banana cake with a lot of character.
Its origin is Jamaican, although it is a very popular cake in the southern United States, where
butter
frosting was probably added.
To start, we need two bananas;
about 350 grams, very ripe, that have already turned dark (you can also bake normal ones at 180 degrees for 20 minutes, until they turn black).
Peel them and mash them in a bowl with a fork until they form a paste.
We continue with the pineapple;
canned because later we will also use the juice: chop 200 grams of its meat into small cubes and reserve the juice.
Put two eggs, 100 grams of white sugar and 125 grams of brown sugar in a large bowl.
Beat with a whisk until they double in volume and acquire a paler color, and then emulsify 150 milliliters of sunflower oil, until it is perfectly incorporated.
Let's go with the fruit: banana paste, cubed pineapple and 125 milliliters of its juice.
Mix well until homogeneous.
In another bowl, combine 350 grams of wheat flour, four grams of cinnamon, one teaspoon of baking soda and another of salt.
Add half of the dry ingredients to the wet, mix until completely combined, and repeat with the other half.
Finally, add 25 grams of raisins and another 25 grams of toasted and chopped pecans to the dough.
Mix, transfer to a greased baking tray, and bake at 180 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
While the cake is cooling, beat 200 grams of butter in a bowl until creamy.
Add 200 grams of cream cheese and repeat the process.
Continue with 200 grams of icing sugar, mix it completely, add a splash of vanilla extract and a pinch of salt, mix again, and that's it.
When the cake is cold, spread the
buttercream
on top, decorate with 25 grams of chopped toasted pecans and, if you want, with a few edible flowers.
Victory is assured.
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