Berry Layer Magic Cake Recipes

Steps:

• Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter three 10-inch round cake pans; line with parchment. Butter parchment, then dust with flour, tapping out excess. Whisk together milk, eggs, and vanilla seeds. In a separate bowl, toss together blueberries and cornstarch.
• In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt on low speed until well combined. Continue beating while gradually adding butter until mixture is crumbly, about 3 minutes.
• Slowly add half of milk mixture; increase speed to medium and beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Slowly add remaining half of milk mixture, scraping down bowl as needed. Beat until incorporated, about 1 minute more. Remove bowl from mixer; fold in blueberries.
• Divide batter evenly between prepared pans, spreading to edges with a small offset spatula. Tap pans on counter to release any air bubbles. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until a tester inserted in centers comes out clean and tops are lightly golden, about 30 minutes. Transfer pans to a wire rack; let cool completely. Turn cakes out of pans and remove parchment.
• Swiss Meringue Buttercream: Combine 1 1/2 cups sugar, 6 egg whites, and a pinch of salt in the heatproof bowl of a mixer set over (not in) a pot of simmering water. Whisk until sugar is dissolved and mixture is warm to the touch and feels completely smooth when rubbed between fingertips, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Transfer bowl to mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; whisk on low speed until foamy. Increase speed to medium-high until stiff, glossy peaks form and mixture has cooled completely, about 10 minutes. Reduce speed to medium-low; add 4 sticks butter, 2 tablespoons at a time, whisking until fully incorporated after each addition. (Don't worry if buttercream appears curdled after all of butter has been added; it will become smooth again with beating.) Whisk in 1 teaspoon vanilla.
• Switch to paddle attachment. Beat on low speed until air bubbles are eliminated, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl, cover with plastic, and let stand at room temperature. Repeat process twice more with remaining ingredients, using the same amounts each time, then combining all three batches of buttercream in the large bowl and covering with plastic. Remove 2 cups buttercream; set aside.
• Fold jam into large bowl of buttercream. Add burgundy food color, a drop at a time, until desired color is reached.
• Assembly:Place a cake layer, bottom-side down, on a cake stand or serving platter. Spread about 1 1/2 cups buttercream over it; top with a second cake layer, bottom-side down, and another 1 1/2 cups buttercream. Finish with a third cake layer, bottom-side up. Evenly spread top and sides of cake with a 1/2-inch thickness of buttercream, smoothing with an offset spatula.
• Divide remaining buttercream among three bowls, then lighten each with some of the reserved 2 cups white buttercream, creating different shades. Transfer to pastry bags fitted with open and closed star tips in a variety of sizes. Pipe swirls and rosettes of buttercream on top of cake. Frosted cake can be refrigerated overnight; bring to room temperature and top with berries before serving.

Steps:

• For the cake: Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line the bottom of two 9-inch round cake pans with parchment and grease the parchment and the sides of the pans with oil.
• Stir together the cocoa powder and boiling water in a small bowl and let sit to bloom for 5 minutes (this step intensifies the chocolate flavor in the cake).
• Whisk together the granulated sugar, flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together the bloomed cocoa, oil, milk, eggs and vanilla in a medium bowl. Pour the cocoa mixture into the sugar mixture and stir until smooth (the batter will be thin). Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans. Bake until the cakes bounce back when pressed in the middle and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 30 to 40 minutes. Let cool completely in the pans on a rack.
• For the filling and frosting: Heat the cream in a double boiler over low heat, whisking occasionally, until it begins to steam. Whisk in the cocoa powder, chocolate, espresso powder, vanilla and salt until the mixture is smooth, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the butter until melted. Whisk in the confectioners' sugar until incorporated. Let the frosting cool completely.
• To assemble: Put 1 cake, bottom-side up, on a serving plate or cake stand. Spread about 1 cup of the frosting over the top but not all the way down the side. Top with the other cake, bottom-side up, and frost the top and sides with the remaining frosting.
• For the spider web or mummy decoration: Microwave the marshmallows in a microwave-safe medium bowl until they swell and are soft enough to stir, about 1 minute. Let sit a few minutes until cool enough to touch. Spray your hands with cooking spray. For a spider web, pick up a tablespoon-sized blob of the melted marshmallow and stretch it over and around the cake; repeat so that the strings of marshmallow crisscross one another in many directions, and continue until you have what looks like a spider web. For a mummy, stretch the marshmallow so that all the strings on the top of the cake run in the same direction, leaving a small gap between strings for the mummy's eyes to peek out. Garnish with a candy spider or several candy spiders for the web cake or candy eyes for the mummy cake.

Steps:

• Making the Cake:.
• Preheat oven to 350°F Butter and flour two 9 inch cake pans. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugar with an electric mixer or by hand until light and fluffy, approx 3 minutes or so. Beat in the vanilla and vinegar. Beat in eggs, one at a time, followed by half of the flour mixture. Add the milk and beat in the remaining flour mixture. Beat in the lemon juice and lemon zest.
• Pour the batter into prepared cake pans.
• Bake until lightly golden and a chopstick inserted into middle of the cake comes out clean, about 15-20 minutes. Let cake cool on a wire rack.
• Meanwhile, make the frosting (for frosting 1). In a large bowl, beat together butter, 6 cups of confectioner's sugar, half 'n' half, lemon juice, and lemon zest with a whisk until incorporated. Continue to beat for 3 minutes, or until frosting begins to get fluffy. At this point, taste the frosting. If desired, add remaining two cups of confectioner's sugar in 1/2 cup increments, tasting for preferred sweetness. Continue to beat frosting until thick and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Set to cool.
• For Frosting 2; In a mixer bowl, whisk the egg whites, cider vinegar, sugar and vanilla until well combined (not until stiff, that will be later). Incorporate the water.
• Fill a saucepan with water about (2-3 cups). The saucepan should be large enough for the mixer bowl to "rest in it" but without touching the bottom of the saucepan.
• When the water is shimmering place the bowl in the sauce pan and whisk the mixture. Be sure to watch that th mixture does not boil. Whisk until all the sugar is dissovled and remove from the saucepan.
• Place the bowl in the kitchen mixer with the whisk attachment on. Whisk the meringue frosting until stiff peaks forms and has a glossy look. This can take up to 12-15 minutes or more. Refrigerate until needed.
• To make the jam; In a food processor (or in my case, ninja blender), puree the raspberries and 4 oz strawberries. In a small saucepan add the berry puree, water, and sugar. Stir with a wooden spoon until it begins to warm slightly (it will bubble slightly at the sides) and whisk in cornstarch. Cook until the jam thickens and pour into a bowl to cool. Refrigerate until needed.
• To assemble the cake: Place first layer of cake on a stand or plate. cover evenly with jam and top with sliced strawberries (top with even amount of frosting if using). Place second layer of cake on top of first. Frost the top (with one of the frostings) and sides evenly with remaining frosting. Decorate the top of the frosted cake with blackberries and strawberries. Refrigerate and store for up to a week.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter two 9-by-2-inch round cake pans; set aside. Into a large bowl, sift together flour and cornstarch; set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the whole eggs, egg yolks, granulated sugar, salt, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Beat on high speed until thick and pale (it should hold a ribbon-like trail on the surface when the whisk is raised), about 5 minutes; scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
• Add flour mixture to egg mixture. With mixer on low speed, beat until just combined. Add oil in a steady stream, mixing until just combined. Remove bowl from mixer. Using the whisk, fold mixture several times.
• Divide batter between pans, and smooth with an offset spatula. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until the cakes are springy to the touch and a cake tester inserted in the centers comes out clean, about 30 minutes.
• Immediately invert cakes onto a wire rack. Then reinvert cakes, and let them cool completely, top sides up.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine cream, confectioners' sugar, and remaining teaspoon vanilla extract. Scrape in vanilla seeds, if using. Starting on low speed and gradually increasing to medium-high, whip until stiff peaks form, about 2 minutes.
• Using a serrated knife, trim the tops of the cakes to make level. Slice each cake in half horizontally into two layers. Place one of the bottom layers on a serving plate. Spread a quarter of the whipped cream over the layer; arrange a quarter of the mixed berries on top. Repeat with remaining cake layers, cream, and berries; garnish top with mint leaves, if using. Serve immediately; slice with a serrated knife.