Brad’s Birthday Cake - Carmel Conundrum
This recipe is compliments of Piece and Love Cakery, Houston, TX. The company is owned by two sisters, Gigi Welling Nitzberg and Kerry Stovall. Their mission is to make beautiful things that taste like childhood, baking and making moments special. Many thanks to Gigi and Kerry for this delicious cake recipe!
Ingredients for cake:
5 large eggs 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 ¼ teaspoons almond extract 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup almond flour 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup milk
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Ingredients for frosting:
4 sticks unsalted butter (room temperature) 6 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup meringue powder 2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract 1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cherry juice concentrate (use the juice from a jar of maraschino cherries)
Ingredients for filling:
2 cups cherry pie filling
3 tablespoons hot water
For the cake: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease three six-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment. Grease the parchment. In a large bowl, combine the eggs and sugar. Beat on high speed with whisk attachment until thick and lemon-colored. Slow the mixer and add the melted butter and extracts. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flours, salt, and baking powder. Add to the egg mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk. Scrape the bowl and beat for another 30 seconds. Divide the batter into the three pans, about two cups per pan. Bake for 34-37 minutes, until the edges start to pull away from the sides and the center springs back when lightly touched. Cool cakes in the pans on a cooling rack.
For the frosting: In a bowl, with hand mixer or stand mixer, mix softened butter with meringue powder and powdered sugar. When combined, add extracts and salt. Add cherry juice 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing well after each one.
For the filling: Add hot water to pie filling. Strain juice from the cherries into a bowl separating the cherries and the juice. Set aside.
Layering the cake: Brush ¼ cup cherry filling juice on bottom layer of cake. Spread ¾ to 1 cup of frosting, pushing it toward the outer edge and creating a shallow well. Put 1/3 cup of the reserved cherries in the well (making a dam around the edge will keep the filling from pushing out and dripping out the sides). Repeat with the next layer. Frost the top layer, then continue with frosting around the sides. If the frosting seems thin, put it in the fridge for five minutes to let it stiffen. The cake can be chilled to set the frosting, but let it come to room temperature before serving.
Enjoy!
Author’s note – I used two 8 ½ inch cake pans, extending the cooking time 15 minutes. Gigi gave me a great tip – Listen to the cake. If it’s sizzling, it’s not done yet. The cake is cooked when it barely sizzles. The recipe would also be great as cupcakes, skipping the filling. Delicious!
