White Velvet Butter Cake: Day 2

On our second day of baking our elaborate White Velvet Butter Cake, Maria and I only had enough time for our frostings. Yes, time was our enemy again. So we focused on making our buttercream frosting and the raspberry puree. With a white cake we knew we definitely wanted a fruity filling and strawberry is so overrated (just kidding...), so we chose raspberry. After some thought we also decided to just combine the raspberry into the frosting instead of having to deal with a jammy layer that could end up soaking into the cake and making it nasty.

Let me tell you, though, that puree was not an easy thing to make. Rose herself even said it's taken her up to 30 minutes to press the raspberries through a fine strainer! That was definitely the case here. The tedious act of pushing those raspberries through the strainer, took quite a bit but we were well rewarded. The puree turned out phenomenal and since you get some left over I was able to continue to use it with other things (i.e. mixed in with cottage cheese is absolutely devine!!) At certain points of straining you begin to wonder if it's really that big of a deal to have seeds in. Oh my, shake those thoughts right out of your head! The seeds completely ruin the taste and texture and it is not ideal in any way!



Making the buttercream was easier to say the least. Make sure you let the corn syrup come to a complete rolling boil, that's important. It melted very fast so we put it in the fridge right away.

That was all we had time for. The puree was pretty time consuming.

Neoclassic Buttercream

Ingredients:
6 large egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 liquid cup corn syrup
2 cups softened unsalted butter

Directions:
Have ready a greased 1-cup heatproof glass measure near the stove top.

In a bowl beat the yolks with an electric mixer until light in color. Meanwhile, combine the sugar and corn syrup in a small sauce pan (preferrably with a nonstick lining) and heat, stirring constantly, until the sugar dissolves and the syrup comes to a rolling boil. (the entire surface will be covered with large bubbles.) Immediately transfer the syrup to the glass measure to stop the cooking.

If using an electric hand mixer, beat the syrup into the yolks in a steady stream. Don't allow syrup to fall on the beaters or they will spin it onto the sides of the bowl. If using a stand mixer, pour a small amount of syrup over the yolks with the mixer turned off. Immediately beat at high speed for 5 seconds. Stop the mixer and add a larger amount of syrup. Beat at high speed for 5 seconds. continue with the remaining syrup. For the last addition, use a rubber scraper to remove the syrup clinging to to the glass measure. Continue beating until completely cool.

Gradually beat in the butter. Place in an airtight bowl. Bring to room temperature before using and rebeat to restore texture.

Raspberry Puree

Ingredients:
2 12-ounce bags raspberries, frozen with no sugar added
2 teaspoons lemon juice
up to 2/3 cup sugar, optional (we added to taste)

Directions:
In a strainer suspended over a deep bowl thaw the raspberries completely. This will take several hours. (To speed the thawing, place in an oven with a pilot light.) Press the berries to force out all the juice. there should be 1 cup.

In a saucepan (*or in a microwave on high power) boil the juice until reduced to 1/4 cup. Pour it into a lightly oiled heatproof cup.

Puree the raspberries and sieve them with a food mill fitted with the fine disk. Or use a fine strainer to remove all seeds. You should have 1 liquid cup puree. Stir in the raspberry syrup and lemon juice. There should be 1 1/3 liquid cups. If you have less, add less sugar. Stir until sugar dissolves.

*If using a microwave, place the juice ina a heatproof glass measure or bowl to allow for bubbling. The microwave method of reducing the raspberry juice gives the purest flavor because it does not come into contact with direct heat, preventing any slight browning or caramel flavor.