Cranberry Filled White Cake

This cake took a while. By trade I am not a baker at all. I can follow a recipe though so I decided to give it a shot.

People ask me all the time.  “Do you go home and cook after cooking all day”

The first thing I tell them is I don’t cook all day. I have an amazing staff that allows me to do other things in the business. But there are many days when I do not look at a computer or sit in a meeting or take a phone call because I am in the kitchen.  But even on those days I still come home and cook. 

All that being said, I love to cook and create things with food. My wife does not.

She likes to create with crafty things. The role are somewhat reversed in our home. I am the cooker while she is the one that has a construction mind and thought process. I don’t like hammering and sawing and painting, where she can get lost in it all day.

So, another reason we are a great match. 

We had a bunch of people coming over and I wanted to have something that looked amazing and also tasted great.  Loved the mix of Red cranberries and white cake with the green rosemary 

People say all the time.  “I love to cook but I am not very good at it.”

My advice…. Be patient and cook.  Don’t waste hours on Pinterest or other recipe websites. Pick one and do it. If you screw it up, guess what……its…..O…K.

Have fun and get creative. 

Cranberry Filled White Cake

 

Serves 10 
Active 1 hour, 5 min. Total 2 hours, 50 min.

Cranberry Filling Ingredients 

• 1 cup fresh or frozen organic cranberries
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup cane sugar
• 2 tsp. fresh organic orange zest
• 2 Tbsp. fresh organic orange juice

Cranberry Filling Instructions

1. Prepare Cranberry Filling: Bring all Cranberry Filling ingredients to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high.
2. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, stirring often, until cranberries break down and mixture thickens, about 10 minutes; transfer to a blender.
3. Remove center piece of blender lid; secure lid on blender, and place a clean towel over opening in lid. Process until mostly smooth, about 1 minute.
4. Transfer to a bowl; cool 2 hours.

 

Cake Layers Ingredients 

• cooking spray
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 7 large egg whites, at room temperature
• 1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 cup whole milk

Cake Layers Instructions

1. Meanwhile, prepare Cake Layers: Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease 3 (8-inch) round cake pans with cooking spray. Line bottom of pans with parchment paper rounds; spray paper.
2. Beat butter and sugar with a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment on medium-high speed until fluffy and sugar is almost dissolved, about 8 minutes. With mixer running on low speed, add egg whites, one at a time, stopping to scrape sides as needed. Beat in vanilla extract.
3. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to egg mixture, alternating with milk, in 3 parts, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat until blended after each addition. Divide batter evenly among prepared pans.
4. Bake in preheated oven until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 24 to 26 minutes. Cool in pans on wire racks 15 minutes. Invert onto wire racks, and cool completely, about 30 minutes. Discard parchment paper.

 

Vanilla Buttercream Ingredients 

• 2 cups unsalted butter, softened
• 7 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 2/3 cup heavy cream

Vanilla Buttercream Instructions

1. Beat butter with a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment on medium speed until creamy, 1 to 2 minutes.
2. With mixer running on low speed, gradually add powdered sugar, beating until smooth and stopping to scrape sides as needed.
3. Beat in vanilla and salt. With mixer running on medium speed, gradually add cream, beating until fluffy and spreadable.

 

Candied Cranberries Ingredients 

• 1 cup pure maple syrup
• 2 cups fresh or frozen organic cranberries
• 1 cup cane sugar

 Candid Cranberries Instructions

1. Heat maple syrup in a medium saucepan over medium-low, just until warm, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in cranberries. Cover and chill 8 to 12 hours.
2. Place cranberry mixture in a colander over a bowl and let drain 15 minutes, reserving maple syrup for another use.
3. Place sugar in a shallow dish or small bowl. Add cranberries, 4 or 5 at a time, tossing gently to coat. Remove cranberries with a fork or slotted spoon, and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Let stand until completely dry, about 2 hours.

 

 

Assembly

Place one Cake Layer on a cake stand. Spoon half of Buttercream into a 16-inch disposable piping bag; cut a 1/2-inch opening in tip. Pipe a 1/4-inch-thick layer of Buttercream in concentric circles on cake layer, starting from outside edge and working toward center; smooth with an offset spatula. Pipe a 1/4-inch-thick ring of Buttercream around outside edge, creating a dam about 3/4-inch wide. Chill Cake Layer until Buttercream hardens, about 20 minutes. Stir Cranberry Filling to loosen. Fill center of Buttercream dam with half of Cranberry Filling (about 1/3 cup), and smooth with offset spatula. Top with second Cake Layer. Repeat Buttercream, dam, chilling, and filling process. Top with third Cake Layer. Frost top and sides of cake with remaining Buttercream, smoothing with offset spatula and letting some of cake on the sides show through.

Top cake with a mound of Candied Cranberries; add Rosemary leaves Garnish bottom with a wreath of rosemary, and more cranberries.