TWD: When Is A Scone Not A Scone?

Joining "Why Is A Raven Like A Writing Desk?" in the annals of head-scratching riddles, I present you with this week's installment:

"When Is A Scone Not A Scone?"


How about...when you give the scone some friends? Like whipped cream, and macerated berries, and, yes, let's throw in some pretty flowered plates. Because a good scone can never have too many friends.


If you split your scones in half, and serve them with the aforementioned whipped cream and berries, well, your scone is now officially a shortcake. Ta-daaaa!



My biggest "mistake" in the scone-to-shortcake transformation was cutting the scones too large--I knew I wanted big shortcakes, but once they were baked, they were close to 5" round, which I think we can all admit is pretty hefty. But other than that, these cream scones worked out perfectly as whipped cream and berry delivery devices.



Since I've solved the scone riddle, I'll leave it to the rest of you to figure out the raven-writing desk one. G'luck!

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Last-Minute Berry Trifle

Happy Fourth of July! I went for a run this morning in the mountains near my house and spent the time thinking about how blessed I feel to live in such a beautiful land. Even when the trail is full of annoying mountain bikers. Even when I kept slipping off the rocks and getting soaked in creek crossings. Even though it was 90 degrees at 8am. Even still...what a place.

We're getting together with friends tonight and doing the fireworks thing--I hope you are too! I'm not doing dessert today, but yesterday I did whip up a quick Fourth-themed dessert. We were spontaneously invited to a friend's house for dinner, and when I asked what I could bring, they requested something sweet. Um...I have no problem with that. I had about an hour and a half to make it before we had to be over there for dinner, and in that time I made and baked the cake, cooled it, and assembled the trifle. If you use a cake mix the process will be even faster, but if you have the time (just 90 minutes!) the white chocolate-buttermilk cake recipe I used is ever so much better than a mix.

(No glamour shots of this one--this was snapped as we ran out the door!)

Trifles are one of my favorite desserts, because I LOVE moist cake. Love it. So having a dessert that basically involves soaking cake in whipped cream or curd or pastry cream or juicy berries is my idea of heaven. Plus they're infinitely customizable, and pretty low-maintenance to make. If you can throw things in a bowl, you can make trifle.

This is probably too late for anyone to make this for the Fourth of July, but summer's just beginning, and berry trifles are the perfect vehicle to show off all that amazing summer produce. So Happy Birthday, America, and happy trifling, everyone else.


Best Berry Trifle

1 recipe white cake, baked in a half-sheet pan (see below for my favorite recipe)
2 cups whipped cream
1/4 cup sugar
vanilla extract or vanilla pods
4 cups mixed berries of your choice
White chocolate bar, to garnish (optional)

To assemble the trifle, make sure the cake is completely cool. Chill a mixing bowl and beaters in the fridge for 15 minutes. While you're waiting for the mixing bowl to chill, chop your berries and toss them with a tablespoon or two of sugar (or more if the berries are very tart.) Let them sit and get juicy.

Whip the cream with 2 tbsp of sugar until it forms medium peaks. As you're whipping it, add vanilla extract or the seeds of a vanilla bean to flavor it. Cut the cake into cubes or strips, and place a layer of cake cubes on the bottom of a clear glass bowl. Top with a third of the whipped cream and half of the berries. Add more cake, top with half of the remaining cream and the second half of the berries. Now add a third layer of cake and cover it with the rest of the whipped cream.

Top your trifle with whole berries arranged in a pattern. If you want to make chocolate curls, take a white chocolate bar and make sure it's slightly soft. Just sitting in a warm room should be enough, or if you need to, microwave it at 50% power in short 5-second bursts just until it softens a bit. Use a vegetable peeler along the sides of the bar to form curls out of the chocolate. Refrigerate the trifle until ready to serve. It can be made up to 24 hours in advance.

White Chocolate-Buttermilk Cake
From Sherry Yard’s Desserts by the Yard

2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon slat
3 ounces white chocolate
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs, separated
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk


Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350F. Spray a 12 x 17" half sheet pan with pan spray and line the bottom with parchment paper. Spray the parchment.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and set aside.

Melt the white chocolate in a microwave safe bowl at 50% power for about 2 minutes, stirring halfway through. Be careful — white chocolate burns easily. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the butter with 1 1/2 cups of the sugar on high speed for 2 minutes. Scrape the bowl and beaters and beat for 3 minutes more, until the mixture is light and creamy. Whisk 2 tablespoons of the whipped butter into the melted white chocolate until blended. Scrape this mixture back into the butter and beat on low speed until well blended. Add the egg yolks in 2 additions, scraping the bowl and beaters after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.

On low speed, alternating wet and dry ingredients, add the buttermilk and flour mixture in 4 additions, beginning with the buttermilk and ending with the flour. Scrape down the bowl.

In a large, clean bowl, and with clean beaters, beat the egg whites on medium speed until they form soft peaks. Slowly add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, continuing to beat at medium speed. Beat until the egg whites form stiff, glossy peaks. Fold half the egg whites into the cake batter, then gently fold in the rest.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth into an even layer with an offset spatula. Bake, rotating the pans from front to back half way through, until golden brown and firm to the touch, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.

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Lemon-Mascarpone Layer Cake with Edible Flowers

Over Christmas break I stopped by to see my old high school friend Claire. As I was leaving, she offered me lemons from her overflowing tree. My first instinct was to decline, since I was staying with my parents and had no interest in shlepping random lemons back home with me in my already-overstuffed car. Plus, I had chocolate buche de noel on the brain, not lemons.


However, once I saw that her tree was full of Meyer lemons, I did a ten-point vault over her head and raced to the tree, yelling at her to dust herself off and bring the biggest cardboard box she could find. As a result of my wanton selfishness, I ended up with a generous supply of this awesome fruit.

Most folks are probably familiar with Meyer lemons, but if you're not, here's a handy visual comparison:

The usual lemon suspect, the Eureka lemon, is on the left. It's a light yellow color, with a thick rind and a sour citrus flavor. The Meyer lemon is on the right. They're usually rounder than the traditional lemon, with a yellowy-orange color, a thin rind, and a perfumey, almost floral fragrance. Wikipedia tells me it's thought to be a cross between a lemon and an orange, which makes sense, since it's juice is sweeter and more complex than the usual super-tart lemon juice.

But enough lemonology. The question is, what did I do with them? Well, Claire handed me Meyer lemons, and I made Lemon Mascarpone Layer Cake:
Two of my good friends had birthdays this month, so a group of us got together for a girl's night out to celebrate them. We could have had desserts at the restaurant, but there's something special and personal about a homemade birthday cake, and I wanted them to feel the love, so I arranged with the restaurant to bring our own cake.
The cake I chose was from The Art and Soul of Baking, a beautiful cookbook given to me by another friend. A basic genoise cake is brushed with lemon syrup and layered with lemon curd and a lemon-mascarpone-whipped cream mixture. The result is a light, pillowy cake that is almost like a trifle, it's so creamy and moist. If I had any criticism it's that the lemon flavor and lemon curd layers could have been heavier, so in the instructions below I've changed the quantities to suit my tastes.
But what really makes this cake special are the flower decorations, and that part couldn't be easier. Here, I've written all the steps out for you:

1. Go to Whole Foods or another upscale grocery store
2. Buy organic "Edible Flowers"--they're usually in the prepackaged herb section
3. Put edible flowers on cake
4. Bask in warm glow of compliments and adoration

Edible flowers are stunningly beautiful, and require absolutely no work or skill to decorate with. I really can't recommend them enough. In answer to the inevitable question "But what do they taste like?" the answer is pretty much...nothing. They have a slight green taste, sort of like a lettuce leaf, but in general it's like a whole mouthful of nuthin'. Because the cake was heavily loaded with flowers, we ate some but ended up leaving some on our plates. I think of them like fondant--a beautiful decorating touch but not necessarily meant to be consumed with the cake.

And here's the secret to getting a birthday plaque to stay at an angle: lots and lots and lots of whipped cream! It's a very lucky birthday girl indeed who got that piece of cake.

Read on for the full recipe, and don't be intimidated by all the steps! It can easily be modified by using your favorite sponge (or box) cake, store-bought lemon curd, and simple whipped cream instead of the whipped cream-mascarpone mix.



Lemon Mascarpone Layer Cake
adapted from The Art and Soul of Baking by Cindy Mushet

For the cake
[you can subsitute any light sponge cake you like in this recipe]
6 large eggs, separated
6 oz (14 tbsp) sugar, divided use
6 oz (1.75 cups) sifted cake flour
Zest of one lemon

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Line two 9" cake pans with parchment paper, but do not grease them in any way.

Whip the egg yolks with half of the sugar (3 oz, or 7 tbsp) in the bowl of a large stand mixer on high speed for 5 minutes, until they are very thick and light in color. Transfer the yolks to a separate bowl and wash the mixing bowl and whisk very well.

Whip the egg whites in the cleaned mixing bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining 3 oz/7 tbsp sugar a spoonful at a time, while mixing on high speed, until the egg whites hold firm peaks.

Fold one-third of the egg whites into the yolks with a spatula, then sift half of the cake flour on top and gently fold it in. Fold a second third of the egg whites into the yolks, sift the remaining cake flour on top, then fold that in. Finally, add the last of the egg whites, and when they're almost incorporated, add the lemon zest and fold until everything is mixed together.

Divide the batter between the two pans and bake for 18-22 minutes, until the tops are golden, firm, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer the cakes to a rack to cool completely.

For the lemon syrup
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice

Heat the sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and the liquid is clear. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Allow to cool completely before use.


For the lemon curd
5 large eggs
5 egg yolks
1.5 cups sugar
1 cup + 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
9 tbsp (4.5 oz) cold unsalted butter, cubed

Fill the bottom of a double-boiler with 2 inches of water and bring it to a simmer.

Place the eggs, yolks, and sugar in the top of the double boiler (off the heat) and whisk until blended. Add the lemon juice and mix well. j

Place the egg mixture over the simmering water and cook, whisking constantly, until the curd reaches 180 F on a candy thermometer. (If you don't have a thermometer, it should thicken enough to coat the back of a spoon.) Don't let the curd boil, or you'll have bits of scrambled egg in your curd.

Once cooked, strain the curd through a metal strainer into a bowl. Add the cold butter pieces to the curd, and whisk gently until the butter melts and the mixture is velvety-smooth. Press a layer of cling wrap on top of the curd and refrigerate it until it is cool, at least 3-4 hours or overnight.


For the mascarpone filling
2.5 cups (20 oz) heavy whipping cream
3 oz (7 tbsp) granulated sugar
1 lb mascarpone, I suggest making your own if you have time--it's much better and cheaper

Place the cream and sugar in the large bowl of a stand mixer and whisk until they form firm peaks, but do not over-beat or it will become grainy and curdled.

In a large bowl, combine the mascarpone and 1-1/2 cups of lemon curd, and stir until they're well-mixed. It should be the consistency of pudding. Gently fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture, being careful not to overmix, or the mascarpone will look grainy and separated. If this happens, stir in a spoonful or two of heavy cream to smooth it out.


To assemble the cake

Unmold the cakes, and use a sharp serrated knife to cut each one in half, so you're left with four thin cake rounds. Place one round on a cake cardboard and brush it with a quarter of the lemon syrup.

Spoon about 1/3 cup of the mascarpone filling on top of the cake round, and use a spatula to spread it evenly around. Top the mascarpone with about 1/3 cup of lemon curd, and spread it in a thin layer.

Place another cake round on top of the first, and brush this one with an equal amount of lemon syrup. Repeat the layer of cake rounds, lemon syrup, mascarpone, and lemon curd until you have added the final cake round to the top of the cake. Brush the top with the remaining lemon syrup.

Spread the remaining mascarpone mixture along the top and sides of the cake. If you have lemon curd left over, you can pipe dots of lemon curd along the top of bottom border of the cake (or you can just save it to eat on toast and oatmeal!)

This cake is best made a few hours--or even a day or two--in advance, so the flavors and textures have a chance to meld.

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Fashionably Late Buche de Noel

Merry Few-Days-After-Christmas, friends! Did you all have wonderful holidays full of eggnog and stockings and too many cookies and repeated viewings of Elf? I know I did.

I also had an awesome gift from Santa:

How great is that?! I guess he reads the blog! Sweeeet. A sassy shirt is all well and good, but next year I'm going to be dropping waaaay more hints about the VitaMix I'm currently coveting. Ahem.

But back to more important things! Like what I used all the ganache for. I'll give you a hint: it's chocolatey. I'll give you a second hint: it was seasonally appropriate, but now, two days after Christmas, it's woefully unfashionable. I'll give you a third hint: it rhymes with smoosh the po-elle.




If you guessed a buche de noel, you're right!



Most buche de noels, or yule log cakes, are made from a springy sponge or genoise cake rolled around a filling, then decorated to look like yule logs. This recipe was a bit different--and dare I say, much better--because it used a flourless chocolate cake that was more like a baked mousse in taste and texture. It was a little more finicky to work with, but the melting, creamy texture more than made up for a few more minute's work.



The cake was rolled around sweetened vanilla whipped cream, and then covered with simple ganache. I used a spatula and a fork to give it a little texture, and stole a few sprigs of rosemary from my parent's bush to decorate the plate, along with some freshly shredded coconut and fresh cranberries.



And the mushrooms. Let's not forget the meringue mushrooms! What should have been a simple accompaniment was made more interesting by the fact that I baked them on the day a big storm rolled into town, causing the meringues to get spongy and sticky. I was able to assemble about a third of them, held together with the most fervent of hope and the sharpest of toothpicks.



The mushrooms were a wreck by the end of the night, but they held together enough for the pictures, which is the important part. Plus, they're fun to make, even when they collapse in a gooey pile.



In the end it was a huge success. We took slices that were way too big, polished them off, and licked our plates clean. And isn't that what Christmas is all about?

Fashionably late--OR AWESOMELY EARLY FOR CHRISTMAS 2011--buche de noel recipe below!


Buche de Noel
Cake recipe from Rose Levy Beranbaum's The Cake Bible

1/4 cup (50 grams) plus 2 tablespoons (28 grams) granulated white sugar
6 large eggs, separated
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 ounces (112 grams) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped in small pieces
3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place the oven rack in the center of the oven. Butter, or spray with a non stick vegetable spray, a 17 x 12 inch (43x30 cm) baking pan. Line the pan with parchment paper and then butter and flour the parchment paper.

While the eggs are still cold, separate the eggs, placing the whites in one bowl and the yolks in another. Cover and bring to room temperature before using (about 30 minutes). Meanwhile melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water. Remove from heat and cool.

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer) place the egg yolks and 1/4 cup of sugar and beat until light and fluffy (about five minutes). (When you slowly raise the beaters, the batter will fall back into the bowl in a slow ribbon.) Beat in the vanilla extract. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add the melted chocolate and beat only to combine.

In a clean mixing bowl, with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and beat at medium-high speed until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar until stiff peaks form.

Gently fold a small amount of the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture using a rubber spatula or whisk. Fold in the remaining whites just until incorporated. Don't over mix or the batter will deflate. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Bake until the cake is puffed, has lost its shine, and springs back when gently pressed, about 15-17 minutes. Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool. Cover the cake with a clean, slightly damp towel.

Whipped Cream

1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Beat together all ingredients until the cream starts to hold firm peaks, but don't beat so long that it starts to curdle and have a buttery, overwhipped texture.

Ganache

12 oz good-quality semi-sweet chocolate
1.5 cups heavy cream
2 tbsp softened butter

Chop the chocolate into small pieces and place it in a large bowl. Add the butter on top. Put the cream in a saucepan over medium-high heat and heat until it simmers and bubbles appear along the sides of the pan, but do not bring it to a boil.

Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate and whisk it together until the chocolate melts and the mixture is shiny and smooth.

Cover with cling wrap and, ideally, let sit overnight at room temperature to firm up until it is a spoonable consistency, like peanut butter. If you don't have that much time, place it in the refrigerator and whisk it every 15 minutes until it is the texture of frosting. Do not leave it in the fridge too long, or it will get hard!

Meringue Mushrooms
Try my recipe here, or there's also a photo tutorial. Easy, yay!

Buche de Noel Assembly
Once the cake has cooled, spread it with an even layer of the whipped cream. Gently roll the cake, peeling off the parchment paper as you roll (the cake may crack).

Trim one end of the cake at an angle and set it aside. Then place the cake, seam side down, on your serving platter lined with strips of waxed paper. Take the slice of reserved cake and attach it to the top of the cake to resemble a branch growing off the log.

Gently spread the ganache over the outside of the cake. Once it's completely covered, use a spatula or a fork to create waves and texture in the ganache to resemble tree bark.

Finish the buche de noel with meringue mushrooms, powdered sugar or coconut for snow, and optional accents like leaves or chocolate shavings.

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TWD: Devlishly Good Chocolate Shortcakes

Whew! One major holiday down, one big one to go. Now that I have somewhat recovered, I can tell you that Thanksgiving was epic. My friends, we had three pies and one cake for four adults. Plus whipped cream. And ice cream. It was obscene. There are not enough stretchy-waisted pants in the world to satisfy me after the last week of pie scarfing and cookie dough ball chowin'. So how did I end up making yet another dessert?

Well, when said dessert involves a little of this...

...yeah.

I AM POWERLESS IN THE FACE OF GANACHE. If someone ever puts that slogan on a t-shirt I'll buy one in every color.


This week's TWD recipe was for "Devilish Shortcakes," a chocolate variety of the traditional shortcake. Early bakers reported that they weren't very flavorful on their own, so I decided to jazz mine up with some (woefully out of season and somewhat disappointing) raspberries, whipped cream, and a bittersweet chocolate ganache.

Despite outwardly resembling some things that cannot be mentioned in delicate company, these biscuit-like shortcakes had a nice, subtle chocolate flavor. I used Valhrona cocoa powder, which helped give them some oomph, and I think adding some finely chopped chocolate next time would also be a good idea.


When topped with the berries, soft whipped cream, and warm chocolate sauce, they were pretty incredible. I loved that they were tender on the inside and a little crunchy on top--it reminded me of eating the top layer of a chocolate cake, and everyone knows cake top is the best part! They were mixed and baked in about 25 minutes, which is faster than any chocolate cake I've ever made.

What did everyone else think? Were you all desserted out, or up for a chocolatey diversion?

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TWD: Tender Shortcakes

This week's TWD recipe, tender shortcakes, could not have come at a better time. Look at these beauties I picked up over the weekend:
We drove up to Yosemite recently, and one of the only benefits of the long drive through rural central California is passing fruit stands with beautiful, inexpensive fruit. We got masses of golden cherries, blueberries, peaches, avocados...purrrrr. So I was excited to make a dessert that got to showcase these gorgeous fruits.
And showcase them it did! Shortcakes are so simple, but when done right, so sublime. Crunchy golden edges, lighty, flaky, buttery interior, with a cloud of lightly sweetened whipped cream and juicy berries...can you ask for anything more on a warm summer's day?
I couldn't stop picking at it as I was photographing, and as soon as the camera was down I attacked one of the plates. These were fast, easy, fantastic, and are surely going to be a staple this summer.
What more can I say? Perfection.

For the recipe, and for general hilarity and awesome bloggitude, check out Cathy at the Tortefeasor.

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Raspberry Blanc-Manger, or, Have We Learned NOTHING from Monty Python?

I hope you all realize that this week’s TWD recipe, blanc-manger, is a loaded gun just waiting to go off. Blanc-manger? BLANC-MANGER?! Do you not understand how dangerous this is? Has no one seen the Monty Python “Science Fiction” sketch, in which it is revealed that extraterrestrial blancmange [sic] puddings have come to earth to eat humans, especially professional tennis players, and that their deviously murderous plan involves turning all of humanity into Scotsmen and then winning at Wimbledon, since everyone knows the Scots are notoriously bad at tennis?!? WON’T SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CHILDREN?

BEHOLD the fearsome visage of the alien blancmange:


They may look fluffy white and innocent, but they wield a mean tennis racket and are expert players:

Fortunately, just when it seemed the blancmange was going to win Wimbledon--and by extension, doom the human race--some spectators were armed with spoons and knew how to fight off the alien intruders:

And humanity was saved once more…for now.
[To watch the foolishness in its entirety, the Monty Python clip is here. The killer blancmange can be seen just after minute three.]

Ahem. And now for something completely different! A mild-mannered, non-homicidal blanc-manger that wouldn’t know how to play tennis to save its life. Although, I wouldn’t be surprised if this blanc-manger WAS an alien lifeform, it was so out-of-this-world delicious. [Thank you, thank you, I’ll be here all week!]
Seriously. I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this dessert much at all. First of all, my only exposure to blanc-manger was in the form of British sketch comedy (see above). Secondly, the description didn’t wow me: a dessert that mostly consisted of gelatin, milk, and whipped cream? Ewww. I am soooo not a fan of desserts with lots of heavy cream. I basically only made it so I could talk about Monty Python on the blog.

Well, the joke’s on me, because I loved, loved, LOVED this puppy. It might be the single biggest pleasant surprise to come from my TWD experience so far. I used fresh raspberries in the blanc-manger, and lots of fresh berries and berry coulis on top. I used really fresh finely ground almonds, and set it all on a base of vanilla sponge cake. The combination of the fresh berries, the lighter-than-air mousse texture with a hint of flavor and substance from the almonds, and the little bit of texture from the cake…fabulous! It’s indecent how much I’ve already eaten, standing over the kitchen sink.

So MAJOR ups to Susan of Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy, for introducing me to such an awesome dessert! Did everyone else love it as much as I did?

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Tuesdays with Dorie: Surprise! Your Berry Cake Fell!

So, about that genoise recipe. I think I speak for all of us when I say: %$&*@~&$!!!
I made the cake recipe twice, can you believe this was the "good" one?
It seems like everyone had problems with this cake sinking dramatically. Someone on the TWD board wrote Dorie and got a reply stating, basically, that the nature of the cake is to fall a little bit. I don't really buy that. I've made other genoise recipes that don't fall, or that have a tiny dip, but not a huge crater. Sure, they don't crown like other cakes, but they're certainly not meant to implode, either.

These are the changes I made the second time to make the cake more, er, "successful." I omitted the baking powder (many genoise recipes don't have additional leaveners). After beating the eggs to ribbon stage, I removed about a cup and folded the melted butter into this egg mixture. To the remaining eggs, I sifted the flour over in two additions and incorporated very gently with a whisk, then folded in the egg-butter mixture last. This seemed to help with not overmixing, and it made my cake fail less spectacularly.

What really saved the day is the fact that I decided to make a 6" cake, but I made a full batch of batter, so I baked the 6" and a small loaf pan. I was able to use the loaf pan for scraps to cover the top of my cake after it was hollowed out.

I love the idea of this cake. It's a play on a charlotte russe, which has ladyfingers encircling berries and whipped cream. For this cake, the genoise was hollowed out and filled with fresh berries and a mix of cream cheese and whipped cream, then topped with whipped cream and the remaining berries.

I have to say, the fresh raspberries were just about the best part of the cake for me. What's that you say? It's January? But of course fresh raspberries are in season right now! (In Chile.) Outrageously expensive berries aside, it was still worth it because nothing compares to fresh berries.

I used a pint of berries in the 6", which I thought would be enough, since she calls for about a pint for an 8" cake. Turns out I'm a berry glutton, because I thought the cake had way too much cream and not enough berries...and the cake portion itself was a little skimpy. (I'm probably in the minority on this one, though.) And I freely admit that I had a heavy hand when applying the whipped cream, but as you saw previously, I had some flaws to hide!

I only waited an hour between assembly and photographing the cake. (Daylight is still in short supply around here!) The structural integrity of the cake was a little lacking, but when I sliced it the next day, the filling had firmed up a little more and supported the cake slices nicely.

If I were to do it again, I'd use a different cake recipe (or just turn it into a trifle) but the basic flavor components are classic. Genoise grumbling aside, the cake was still great. I mean, it's whipped cream and fresh berries and cake! Can't really complain about that.

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