Yes, I made my own birthday cake. I am making everyone else's birthday cakes so I figured I would just go ahead and whip up my own as well so that I won't be disappointed! Plus it gave me a reason to try out a new recipe, which always excites me. So, to make my birthday cake I ended up using recipes from several sources and altering them here and there. I also created the cake in stages over several nights; after all I do have to clean up the house, do some laundry, and sleep some. So I started with a part of the cake that can be made several days in advance and left in the fridge until needed: the lemon white chocolate mousse filling. Leaving it in the fridge for a couple of days actually ended up working wonderfully, as it was stiffer and held up the cake layers nicely. Also, this filling is so delicious that I wanted to scrap the cake, get a spoon and just go to town. The original idea for the cake and the filling recipe is coming to us from this blog with some changes. For this filling you will actually create three different mixtures for the filling: homemade lemon curd, white chocolate ganache, and homemade whipped cream, then you will fold them all together at the end. So lets get started! Lemon White Chocolate Dream Mousse Filling For the lemon curd: ½ cup fresh lemon juice ( I squeezed my own and it took about 3.5 lemons)* 3 Tbls unsalted butter 3 large eggs 1 large egg yolk (save the white for the icing or cake base) ½ cup granulated sugar ¼ tsp vanilla extract 1/8 tsp salt 1. In a small saucepan, heat lemon juice and butter over medium-high heat. Bring it to barely a boil. 3. In a separate large heat proof bowl, whisk eggs, egg yolk and sugar together until smooth. 4. Very slowly pour a small stream of the hot lemon mixture into the sugar and eggs while whisking rapidly. 5. Pour the lemon-egg mixture back into the saucepan over a medium heat and lightly whisk constantly for the next 2-4 minutes. Do not allow the mixture to boil at this stage or it will curdle. The curd will begin to thicken after about 2 minutes and the mixture will change from translucent to a milky buttercup color. It is ready to be taken off the hear when it is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. 6. When curd has thickened a bit pull it off the heat and transfer to a bowl. I use the same bowl from earlier and just rinse it out. 7. Stir in the vanilla and salt until combined. 8. Set aside. The curd will continue to thicken up as it rests and starts to cool. 9. Wash and dry your saucepan to use again for the ganache. *Note: To get the most juice out of your lemons roll them across the countertop pressing down with your hands using a light pressure. **Also use a non-reactive pan to prevent turning the yolks green (ew). White Chocolate Ganache: ¼ cup heavy cream 3 ounces white chocolate ( I used Ghirardelli white chocolate chips) 1. In a small saucepan, heat ¼ cup heavy cream bringing it just to a boil. 2. Remove from heat. 3. Mix in the white chocolate chips and stir until fully melted. 4. Set aside to cool. When it is lukewarm you can add the chocolate to the lemon curd in the heat-proof bowl and stir to fully combine. Place the bowl into the fridge to finish off the cooling process. Whipped Cream: 1 ½ cups whipping cream 1. Pour the whipping cream into the bowl of a stand mixer. 2. Using the whisk attachment whip cream until you get firm peaks. This takes around two minutes. Combine: 1. When both the lemon curd-white chocolate ganache mixture is FULLY cooled, take a small amount of the whipped cream mixture into the curd and fold it gently until well combined. 2. Next, fold the remaining whipped cream mixture into the curd very gently until it is well combined. 3. Cover the bowl and place into the fridge until ready to use.
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AuthorJust a girl trying out recipes one experiment at a time. Archives
June 2018
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