Golden Layer Cake

A three tier classic, golden layer cake with creamy chocolate ganache frosting. A simple, beautiful, delicious cake. This chocolate frosting is my ultimate favourite too, a mix of ganache with your favourite chocolate bar and butter cream, it’s impossible not to like it!

Now, just a few things before we get started.

Cake strips!! If you haven’t already then I highly recommend buying these, they’re not expensive and worth every penny. It means perfectly even cake layers, no dome or cutting off excess so you get to keep that delicious top layer in your finished cake. I wasn’t expecting these to be this good but they really are and once you start using them you’ll never stop!

They don’t work as well on chocolate cake as plain but still better than without them, every little helps!

Also, if you only have two 9 inch cake tins then don’t worry, you can always bake your third layer after your first two have cooled or if you have a 9 inch spring form pan you can use that. I always use my 9 inch spring form and it comes out the same as my regular cake tins. It’s actually so much easier to get out of the tin too and seems to hold a better shape, I’d nearly do all my cakes in one.

On to the fun part! Let me know if you have any comments, suggestions or questions and if you try out the recipe!

Bácail Sona 👩🏻‍🍳

Recipe

⏲ Prep Time: 60 minutes

⏲ Bake Time: 30-45 minutes

⏲ Rest Time: 1 hour

🍰 Servings: 24 slices

Equipment

stand mixer
three 9inch cake tins
large mixing bowls
microwave safe bowl
weighing scale
sieve
spatula
whisk
offset spatula
rotating cake stand
frosting/icing scrapers

Ingredients

Golden cake layers

150g caster/super fine sugar
3 large egg whites
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp salt
~

416g all purpose flour + 64g cornstarch
20g baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
336g unsalted butter (room temperature)
3 large eggs + 3 large egg yolks
450g granulated sugar
1 tbsp/ 15ml vanilla extract
105ml heavy cream
315ml 2% milk
1 tbsp/ 15ml fresh lemon juice

Chocolate Ganache Frosting

120g galaxy milk chocolate bar (your favourite chocolate)
100ml heavy cream
15ml vanilla extract extract
336g salted butter (room temperature)
450g icing/confectioners sugar
25g unsweetened cocoa powder

Instructions

Chocolate Ganache Frosting

1.

Melt your chocolate and heavy cream in the microwave, stirring at 30 seconds intervals. Mine takes about 90 seconds.

Set aside to cool.

2.

Weigh and sieve out your icing/confectioners sugar. This will help make sure there’s no lumps in your frosting. Add the cocoa powder and mix through.

I like to weigh the sugar into a bowl and sieve it directly into my butter mixture.

3.

Cream your butter in a stand mixer until it’s pale and fluffy. Start adding your sugar/cocoa mix a cup at a time, mixing through each time.

4.

Mix the vanilla in with the chocolate and cream and add to your stand mixer and beat on low until fully incorporated and then on medium to thicken her up a bit.

Cover and set aside somewhere cool until using.

Golden Cake Layers

1.

Preheat oven to 350°F, 180°C. Line your cake tins with parchment, butter and flour.

Soak your cake strips, if using.

2.
Add your 2% milk, heavy cream and lemon juice to a bowl and set aside. The juice will curdle the mixture and create a butter milk.

3.
Beat 3 egg whites, caster/super fine sugar, cream of tartar and 1/4 tsp salt in your stand mixer for a few minutes until you get a glossy white meringue with stiff peaks. Put aside or in the fridge while making the rest of your batter.

Make sure your bowl is spotless before beating your mixture. I like to run vinegar all around the bowl and attachment before starting.

4.
Weigh and sieve your flour and cornstarch into a large bowl, sieve it four times to make cake flour.

Add baking soda and salt and mix through.

5.
Cream butter and granulated sugar in your stand mixture until pale and creamy. Add your eggs and yolks and beat through.

6.
Add vanilla to your milk mix and begin adding your milk and flour mix, a cup at a time each, mixing each time until thoroughly combined.

7.
Add your meringue mix back into the bowl and fold it through lightly.

8.
Pour batter evenly into three pans. I like to weigh to make sure they are exact.

Squeeze some of the excess water out of your cake strips and fasten them around the base of your cake tins.

9.
Bake your cakes for 30-45 minutes, check after 30 and if a tooth pick comes out clean from the middle and the cake bounces back when you press it then your cake is done.

I baked two cakes first and left the third in the fridge until they were done. My first two took 30 minutes and the third took 40 to bake properly. Waiting for them to bake is nerve wracking but just stick to the checking rules, try not to open the door before 30 minutes and go with your gut, we got this!

10.
Let the cakes cool completely in the tins before inverting them and once they’re completely cool you can frost them!

You can see from my picture how perfectly even the cake strips make the layers!

Cake Assembly

1.

Place a cake board on your rotating cake stand, add a little icing and place your first cake layer down.

Pipe or use an offset spatula to layer on some icing.

2.
Repeat with the next two layers, and frost the top and sides, making a crumb layer. Use a scraper to make it nice and even.

Leave in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

3.

Add the rest of your icing with your spatula, using your scraper to even it out on the sides and top.

I used a ridged icing scraper to get the line affect all along my edges.

4.
I added some sprinkles to left over vanilla buttercream to decorate the top.

You can always leave it as is, add more chocolate frosting, vanilla like I did, some chocolate ganache or just some writing and candles. Either way, I can tell you that it will be delicious!

Golden Layer Cake