Pansy Cake Recipes

PASTEL LAYER CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter five 8-inch round cake pans, and line with parchment (you may need to bake in batches). Butter parchment, and dust with flour, tapping out excess. Sift flour, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt into a large bowl. Combine milk and vanilla. Beat butter with a mixer on medium speed until very smooth. With machine running, gradually add sugar, and beat until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
• Reduce speed to low, and add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with milk mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Beat until just combined; do not overmix.
• Beat egg whites in a clean mixer bowl on medium speed until stiff (but not dry) peaks form, about 3 minutes. Gently fold egg-white mixture into batter in 3 additions.
• Divide batter among 5 bowls, and tint each with food coloring to create different pastel shades. Spread each into a prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool completely in pans on wire racks.
• Loosen edges of cake with a small metal spatula or paring knife; invert onto racks. Discard parchment. Reinvert cakes, top side up. Let cool completely.
• Trim top of each cake to make surface even. Spread 1 cup buttercream onto top of 1 cake. Top with another cake. Repeat, spreading 1 cup buttercream between each layer. Frost cake with 1 1/2 cups buttercream. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Frost cake with 2 cups buttercream.

CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE CAKES WITH FRESH PANSIES

Steps:

• Cakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter four 6-inch round cake pans. Line with parchment, and butter parchment; and dust with cocoa, tapping out excess.
• Stir cocoa and water in a small bowl until a smooth paste forms; let cool. Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
• With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Mix in vanilla. Add eggs in a slow stream, mixing until incorporated and batter is no longer slick.
• Gradually whisk milk into cocoa paste. With mixer on low speed, gradually add both flour and cocoa mixtures to the butter mixture, and mix until combined.
• Divide batter among prepared pans. Bake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Transfer pans to wire racks to cool 10 minutes. Turn out cakes onto racks to cool completely.
• Whipped Ganache Frosting: Meanwhile, put chocolate into a large heatproof bowl. Bring cream just to a boil in a saucepan. Pour over chocolate; add salt. Let stand 10 minutes. Whisk until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth and shiny, scraping bottom of bowl with a flexible spatula. Let cool to room temperature, stirring often, until thickened, 45 to 60 minutes. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat until paler in color and fluffy, 2 to 4 minutes. (You should have about 4 cups.)
• Chocolate Ganache Glaze: Put chocolate into a large heatproof bowl. Bring cream and corn syrup just to a boil in a saucepan, stirring to combine. Pour over chocolate. Let stand 10 minutes. Whisk until smooth and shiny, scraping bottom of bowl with a flexible spatula. (You should have about 3 cups.)
• With a serrated knife, trim tops of cake layers to level. Using an offset spatula, spread about 1 cup whipped ganache frosting on each of 2 cake layers; top with remaining layers. Spread remaining frosting over cakes.
• Place 1 cake on a wire rack set over a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Using a ladle, pour half of ganache glaze over top and sides of cakes, smoothing sides with a large offset spatula. Repeat with second cake. Let stand until glaze has set, about 20 minutes. Just before serving, arrange pansies on top of cakes.

PANSY CAKE

Steps:

• Trim the top of the cake with a long serrated knife to make the surface level. Using a ruler as a guide, insert toothpicks or wooden skewers into the sides of the cake at 2-inch intervals to mark two equal layers. Rest the serrated knife on the toothpicks, and halve the cake horizontally using a sawing motion. Carefully slide the top cake layer onto a cardboard round, and set it aside.
• Gently brush away loose crumbs from top and sides of cake with a pastry brush. With a small offset spatula, spread top of bottom cake layer with 1 1/4 cups frosting; carefully slide the second cake layer back on top of the first layer. With the offset spatula, spread about 1 1/2 cups frosting over top and sides of cake to form a crumb coat. Refrigerate cake until frosting is firm, about 15 minutes.
• With a large offset spatula, spread about 2 more cups frosting over top and sides to form a second coat. Smooth sides with a bench scraper. Return cake to refrigerator, and chill until second coat is firm, about 15 minutes.
• Transfer cake to a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet. Starting at center, slowly drizzle ganache in a circular, outward motion, letting it run over sides. Fill in bare spots by continuing to drizzle. If necessary, smooth cake with a small offset spatula to cover completely. Refrigerate until set, about 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, tint 1 1/2 cups frosting each violet, pale lavender, and lavender (for flowers). Tint 1 cup pale green (for stems and leaves) and 1/2 cup yellow (for dots). Set aside.
• Using a toothpick or wooden skewer, mark a pattern on the ganache to serve as a guideline for piping stems.
• With green frosting and a #2 round tip, pipe stems. Using violet frosting and a #103 petal tip, pipe two large, basic petals, side by side: Hold the bag at a 45 degree angle to the cake, with the tip's wide end down and narrow end pointed away and slightly to the left. Move the tip forward 1/8 inch and back again while you pivot the narrow end to the right. Then make two smaller petals, one on top of each of the first ones by using the same petal technique; apply less pressure on the bag and make a smaller arc than you did for the larger petals. Turn cake and change to lavender frosting; using a pivoting motion as with petals, pipe a ruffle for the flower's base, turning the cake and connecting the petals. To finish the ruffle neatly, pull bag toward the center of the flower as you release pressure. Pipe a yellow circle in the center of each blossom with the #2 tip; pipe a leaf with the #102 tip, using the petal technique but moving the arc further forward before turning it back, and allowing frosting to ruffle.
• Refrigerate cake until ready to serve. Let stand at room temperature 20 minutes before serving. Slice into squares: To avoid crumbs on surface, make each cut with one downward motion, pulling knife back toward you (not upward) and wiping knife clean after each cut.