Spring Birthday Cake

I tested white cakes for a friend’s wedding a few years ago. I really liked two of the three cakes I tested. Of these two, I remember thinking that the one I didn’t use for the wedding was really good and I would want to make it again. Well, it’s been two years but I finally made it! And glad I did. It was as tasty as I remember! A really nice light, white cake. Good flavor and texture. Tight, fine crumb, moist and fluffy. Glad to have the recipe written down for a one layer option.


\The original recipe is the White Mountain Layer Cake From Bravetart by Stella Parks. I didn’t need a huge cake a few weeks back to make for my friend’s birthday so I cut the recipe in down to 1/3 of the original. Same friend it turns out that I made the wedding cake for! Worked great as a simple single layer cake. I topped with some spring green Swiss meringue buttercream. Love cake!


White Coconut Oil Layer Cake
Adapted from the White Mountain Layer Cake From Bravetart by Stella Parks
Ingredients

  • 150 grams cake flour (I did 135 g AP flour and 15 g cornstarch)

  • 75 g butter

  • 38 g coconut oil

  • 150 g sugar

  • 5/6 tsp baking powder

  • 1/3 tsp baking soda

  • 1/4 tsp kosher salt

  • 80 g egg whites (ended up being almost exactly 2 large eggs!)

  • 2/3 tsp vanilla extract

  • 1/3 tsp almond extract

  • 150 g buttermilk

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line one 8-by-3-inch aluminum cake pans with parchment and grease with pan spray.

Combine butter, coconut oil, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed to moisten, then increase to medium and cream until fluffy and light, about 5 minutes, pausing to scrap the bowl and beater halfway through. With the mixer running, add the egg white one at a time, follow by vanilla and almond extracts.

Reduce speed to low and sprinkle in one-third of the flour, followed by one-third of the buttermilk. Alternate between the two, allowing each addition to be roughly incorporated before adding the next. Once smooth, fold with a flexible spatula to ensure it’s well mixed from the bottom up. Transfer to prepared caked pan.

Bake until the cakes are firm but pale, browned only around the very edges, about 40 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center will emerge with a few crumbs still attached, and your fingertip will leave a slight indentation in the puffy crust.

Cool until no trace of warmth remains, about 90 minutes. Loosen the cakes from their pans with a knife. Invert onto a wire rack, peel off the parchment, and re-invert.