Yellow Layer Cake with Elderflower Buttercream

Just in time for Mother’s Day, this Classic Yellow Layer Cake with Vanilla Pastry Cream and Elderflower Buttercream has the best texture ever. Consider baking one for the mom(s) in your life or for yourself. It’s light, moist and adaptable to many flavors and add-ins. The recipe is from Sylvia Weinstock known as the Leonard da Vinci of Cakes. Her beautiful creations are world renown and I’m delighted that she’s shared this recipe for yellow cake. Other than the extraordinary taste and texture of this cake, I also love the pale yellow color of the baked cake. The recipe calls for four eggs, but they’re added separately. The yolks are beaten into the batter and the egg whites are beaten until soft peaks form and then folded into the batter. For a more spring-like flavor, I chose Elderflower liqueur for its unique floral scent and taste. Elderflower liqueur added to a glass of champagne is an elegant and luxurious cocktail. St. Germain is the most widely know Elderflower liqueur. After baking the cakes, I split each one resulting in four layers. For this cake, I wanted to fill the layers with something other than a buttercream frosting. Nothing wrong with buttercream especially the hybrid of cooked and American Buttercream that’s become a staple for my cakes. The bottom three layers are filled with Vanilla Pastry Cream. During my baking career, I haven’t made many pastry creams, so what better time than now to really get the hang of it. The cake needed a little something on top after it was frosted, so I crumbled a few Pizelles and used them as a garnish. Helpful Hints for Making Vanilla Pastry Cream The recipe calls for ¼ to 1/3 cup of flour. I used 1/3 and the pastry cream was very thick. Next time I’ll reduce it to ¼ cup. If you refrigerate it before using take it out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before and then give it a good stir or whisk so that it spreads smoothly. Pastry cream can be spread on a cake with a spatula or piped on via a pastry bag. This Classic Yellow Layer Cake with Vanilla Pastry Cream and Elderflower Buttercream has the best texture ever. It’s light, moist and adaptable to many flavors and add-ins. The Vanilla Pastry Cream and Buttercream Frosting can be made a few days ahead to save time in the kitchen. Cooked Buttercream Frosting Vanilla Pastry Cream adapted from the Kitchn   Yellow Layer Cake with Elderflower Buttercream   Save Print Prep time Cook time Total time   This Yellow Layer Cake with Elderflower Buttercream is perfect for spring or any time of the year. Author: Sandra Lee Garth Recipe type: Dessert Cuisine: American Serves: 12-16 Ingredients 2 ¼ cups sifted cake flour 2 tsp baking powder ½ tsp salt 1 cup butter, softened 2 cups sugar 4 large egg yolks 2 tsp vanilla or vanilla bean paste 1 tsp Elderflower Liqueur 1 cup sour cream 4 large egg whites Vanilla Pastry Cream 1 ½ cups whole milk or half-and-half 4 large egg yolks ⅓ – ½ cup sugar, to depending on how sweet you want it ¼ – ⅓ cup flour, depending on how thick you want it pinch of salt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Cooked Buttercream (link below) 2 teaspoons vanilla – add to cooked buttercream 1 tablespoon honey - add to cooked buttercream 1 tablespoon Elderflower Liqueur - add to cooked buttercream Crumbled Pizelles to garnish the top (optional) Instructions Preheat the oven to 350° F and prepare two 8 inch baking pans for non-stick baking. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and set aside. Cream the butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until fluffy and light in color, about 2-4 minutes on medium speed. Next, add the sugar and continue to mix until fluffy and light. Now add the egg yolks, one at a time, being sure each is well incorporated before adding the next one. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the vanilla and Elderflower liqueur. Alternately add the dry ingredients with the sour cream, beginning and ending with the flour. Take care to make sure the mixture is completely blended after each addition. Scrape the sides of the bowl, and beat for 1 minute. In a separate bowl, with clean beaters, beat the egg whites to soft peaks. Gently fold the whipped egg whites into the batter with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and smooth with the spatula. Bake in the preheated oven, 45 to 50 minutes. When cake tests done remove from oven and let cool in pans for 10 minutes before turning cakes out onto wire racks and cool completely. Vanilla Pastry Cream adapted from the Kitchn https://www.thekitchn.com/back-to-basics-making-a-great-109229 Heat the milk in the saucepan over medium-high heat until it’s warm. Set it aside until it’s cool enough to touch but still warm. This helps to cut down on the cooking time and ensures that the eggs won’t cook when they're added. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until smooth and thick. Whisk in the flour and salt and then stir in the vanilla. Slowly pour in the warm milk steadily whisking the egg-sugar mixture constantly. Transfer the mixture back to the saucepan. Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or heat resistant spatula so the bottom doesn’t scorch. When the mixture thickens to the consistency of pudding and large bubbles start popping through the liquid, the pastry cream is nearly done. Continue stirring for 1-2 minutes longer, then set a strainer over a clean bowl and strain the pastry cream to get out any lumps. Press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the pastry cream so it doesn’t form a skin and refrigerate until you’re ready to use. Recipe makes 2 cups and will keep for 5-7 days refrigerated. Assemble the Cake Spit the two yellow cake layers in half to yield four thin layers. Pipe a dam with the buttercream frosting around the outside of each layer, then fill with approximately a half cup of pastry cream. Add the next layer and follow the same procedure as in the above step. Place the last layer on top bottom side up, then frost top and sides with buttercream frosting Notes Note cooking and mixing time for Vanilla Pastry Cream and Buttercream Frosting is approximately 40 minutes. Wordpress Recipe Plugin by EasyRecipe 3.5.3251   Share this:ShareEmailTweetPrintLike this:Like Loading... Related