Bring May Flowers
Today is May Day and flowers are in bloom everywhere….even on this delicious Bavarian Cream Cake!
In yesterday’s post, April Showers, we talked about this being the season for bridal showers and showed you some of the lovely details from a shower we had recently been guests at. The cake pictured above was from another bridal shower this past weekend for the daughter of a close friend of Jackie’s and mine. I was asked to make the cake.
They left the kind of cake we would have at the shower up to me. Bavarian Cream Cake is one of our families’ very favorite cakes and though I love to bake, neither I nor my youngest daughter, Amanda, who makes wonderful cakes, had ever been able to replicate the Bavarian Cream Cake that all three of my daughters had at their weddings.
But I am always up for a challenge, and not one who likes to admit defeat (as you may recall if you read the story of The Perfect Chocolate Cake ), so I kept trying until last week I experienced success at long last! I photographed the steps when making the cake that came to be my successful endeavor. So the steps you see in the how-to photos are exactly what I did for the bridal shower cake in the opening photo, but the finished product was slightly more pink in that first cake, than the one I made for the shower .
Bavarian Cream Cake is basically a two layer almond scented white cake with a layer of Bavarian Cream filling between the two cake layers. Then the cake is covered with Buttercream Frosting.
The trick is to make a white cake that is moist without being heavy and has a lovely fine texture. I found the perfect recipe in one of my favorite cookbooks, Cooks illustrated, The Best Recipe.
This delicious cake and sweet cream filling covered in delectable buttercream frosting is the perfect cake for any celebration. it is bound to add to your family’s love, joy and abundant living…Enjoy! 🙂
Classic White Cake
2 1/4
cups cake flour, plus more for dusting the pans
1
cup whole milk, at room temperature
6
large egg whites (3/4 cup), at room temperature
2
teaspoons almond extract
1
teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
4
teaspoons baking powder
1
teaspoon of salt
12
tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks)
- For the Cake: Set oven rack in middle position. (If oven is too small to cook both layers on a single rack, set racks in upper-middle and lower-middle positions.) Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two 9-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray; line the bottoms with parchment or waxed paper rounds. Spray the paper rounds, dust the pans with flour, and invert pans and rap sharply to remove excess flour.
- Pour milk, egg whites, and extracts into 2-cup glass measure, and mix with fork until blended.
- Mix cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in bowl of electric mixer at slow speed. Add butter; continue beating at slow speed until mixture resembles moist crumbs, with no powdery streaks remaining.
- Add all but 1/2 cup of milk mixture to crumbs and beat at medium speed (or high speed if using handheld mixer) for 1 1/2 minutes. Add remaining 1/2 cup of milk mixture and beat 30 seconds more. Stop mixer and scrape sides of bowl. Return mixer to medium (or high) speed and beat 20 seconds longer.
- Divide batter evenly between two prepared cake pans; using rubber spatula, spread batter to pan walls and smooth tops.
Arrange pans at least 3 inches from the oven walls and 3 inches apart. (If oven is small, place pans on separate racks in staggered fashion to allow for air circulation.) Bake until thin skewer or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 23 to 25 minutes. - Let cakes rest in pans for 3 minutes. Loosen from sides of pans with a knife, if necessary, and invert onto wire racks. Reinvert onto additional wire racks. Let cool completely, about 1 1/2 hours.
Bavarian Cream Filling
4 cups heavy whipping cream, chilled well
1 cup confectioners sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 package unflavored gelatin
Slightly warm about 1/4 cup of the cream and sprinkle gelatin into cream and stir. When gelatin is dissolved add this mixture to the rest of the cream along with the sugar and extracts. Beat until soft peaks form. Spread whipped cream mixture into a 9 ” cake pan that has been lightly coated with oil. (I prefer to use the coconut oil in a spray can that you can purchase from Trader Joes, but any light cooking oil will work). Chill for at least 8 hours but preferably overnight. To unmold, place the cake pan in about 1/2″ of hot water for a few seconds to loosen the cream. Carefully invert pan on top of first layer of cake. Add second layer.
Buttercream Frosting
16
tablespoons unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened but still cool
8
cups ( 2 lbs.) confectioners’ sugar
1
tablespoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons almond extract
2-4
tablespoon heavy cream
pinch of salt
Beat butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, almond extract, 2 tablespoons of cream, and salt in bowl of electric mixer at slow speed until sugar is moistened. Add more cream 1 tablespoon at a time as needed to achieve a consistency that is stiff enough to hold it’s shape but soft enough to pipe on to the cake. Increase speed to medium-high (high if using handheld mixer); beat, stopping twice to scrape down bowl, until creamy and fluffy, about 1 1/2 minutes. Avoid overbeating, or frosting will be too soft to pipe. If that happens, refrigerate frosting for 20 minutes before using. If it is still too soft mix in more powdered sugar adding about 1/2 cup at a time until you reach the right consistency.
Cover cake in a thin layer of frosting and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes until frosting is firm and feels set. This is called the “crumb coat” and is exactly as it’s name indicates….a base coating of icing to cover and hold all the crumbs so they do not come loose into the frosting as you are icing the cake. This crumb coat also helps to hold the moisture in the cake, especially of you are making and frosting it the day before you want to serve it.
Place remaining frosting in a pastry bag fitted with a star tip or one that will create a textured look as you pipe the roses. Experiment with whichever piping tips you have to see what looks best to you. To cover the cake with frosting roses start at the bottom of the cake and work upward. Start at the center of the circle you want to create and loop frosting around 2 times to form the center of the rose. Then continue looping around the center you have created to form what looks like the open rose.
You can vary the size and stagger the placement of the roses to create a more realistic look. You could even have two bags of icing with one being just slightly darker than the other to create roses in two shades of the same color. Experiment to see what looks good to you. Because you have a crumb coat on the cake, you can, if necessary, remove any roses that don’t look right and redo them. Work in a cool place as the frosting can become too soft if the room is too hot or if your hands are too warm as you are holding the pastry bag. Run your hands under cold water before you begin if it is a warm day or if the room you are working in seems quite warm. Continue to make roses until the entire cake is covered.
If you are not going to serve the cake immediately, refrigerate it until you are ready to slice it. The cake can be made and frosted and can be refrigerated for up to one full day ahead of when you want to serve it. Now….cut a slice and you can enjoy the fruits of your labor…everyone else will too!
It was such an amazing cake! I love the almond accent:)
That is the most beautiful cake ever! It’s not easy but shows a lot of love and talent. We’re lucky to have your blog.
Thank you Lara…we are lucky to have you as our chum!
Oh My!!! An absolutely beautiful cake and I am sure quite delicious. I love bavarian cream.
one package of unflavored gelatin – is that all the envelopes inside the box or just 1 envelope?
It is one envelope which is probably about 1 spoonful. Thanks for asking and let us know how your cake turns out 🙂
This sounds perfect!! Can I still use it if I’m covering the cake with fondant?? I’m just concerned about refrigerating with fondant.
Hi Michelle: To be honest I never use fondant icing but I do know it should not be refrigerated as is draws moisture and will not hold up well when refrigerated. Obviously the Bavarian cream does require refrigeration. My best advice would be to make the cake and assemble with the filling and then cover with the fondant just before you plan to serve it. If the cake has been assembled and refrigerated overnight before you add the fondant icing, it should be cold enough and ok to be out of the refrigerator for a couple of hours. That’s my best advise. If you go ahead please send photos…we would love to see them 🙂
Dear Chums,
Please help. I am making this today for my sister’s bridal shower tomorrow. I’m worried because the batter is very thin, almost soup, with little chunks (maybe butter) in it. I’ve been baking successfully for years, and followed your recipe to a T. I will say that this is the first time I’ve seen a recipe that doesn’t cream the butter, then add sugar, continue creaming, then lastly add dry ingredients, so I was nervous. Any advice? Very worried about the soupy and lumpy consistency. Doesn’t look like the pictures on your website.
Hi Jaye:
I can understand your concern, as I too had always creamed the butter and sugar first before adding the flour and liquid…that was BEFORE I tried this recipe. The explanation given in the Cooks illustrated The Best Recipe cookbook where this cake recipe came from is that when you beat the batter adding flour and liquid to the creamed butter the liquid causes the flour to form more gluten which makes the cake more chewy and less soft. By mixing the butter first with the sugar AND flour, the flour becomes sort of “water proofed” so the glutens are less likely to form resulting in a lighter softer cake.
Another important factor is that the milk and egg whites are at room temperature when you add them to the batter. But as you said you followed the recipe I am assuming you did bring them to room temp. Because this is a slightly different method for combining the ingredients the batter does look different than some other batters might. I think you will be fine and pleasantly pleased with the taste and texture of the cake.
Please let us know how it turns out and if possible send us some photos…we would love to see your cake 🙂 And feel free to pass our site on to others who will no doubt love your cake! Thanks for visiting and ask any question any time…we are all chums here 🙂
for the Bavarian cream filling, it says 4 cups of heavy whipping cream, is this 4 cups of liquid cream right out of the container, or 4 cups of actual whipped cream? Thanks for the info.
Good question! Thanks for asking.
Yes, this does mean 4 cups of liquid cream right out of the container.
Happy baking! Enjoy!
Great question! It is 4 cups of liquid cream before it is whipped. it will obviously increase in volume once you have whipped it. It is honestly my very favorite cake so I hope if you make it you will enjoy it too. Let us know how it goes and thanks for checking in 🙂
thanks for your quick response. When I make it I will let you know how it comes out:)
What size cake pans did you use? I can never get my cakes to look that perfect
Hi Maria. Thanks for asking. I used 9″ nonstick round cake pans that I bought at Target. While I have more professional (and expensive) cake pans, these are actually the ones I use most often. Let us know how your cake turns out. Happy baking 🙂
Cakes turned out okay not as high as your’s? Tried making the filling never formed soft peaks and the gelatin kept sick in to mixer in sticky sheet?
So glad that you tried the cake…sorry you had a couple of glitches.
Some suggestions:
If your baking powder is older that 6 months, you may not get the full leavening effect. So, perhaps a new box would do the trick.
Regarding the filling: be sure the cream you are using is Heavy Whipping Cream. Anything else will not whip. You do need to see the soft peaks before you go to the next step. Make sure that the gelatin is dissolved before adding it to the soft peaked cream. Don’t wait too long as it will start to set up and be sticky.
Let us know how this works.
Hello, I just made this cake recipe in cupcakes. They are the lightest most delicious cupcakes! I have been searching for a light, white cake recipe for a long time. They do brown a little fast in cupcakes so I might lower temp next time. Also I only baked for 17 minutes. Thanks for sharing!!
So happy that you tried them and like them!
I am having difficulty with the cream filling. I am filling the steps, but every time I mix in the dissolved cream gelatine it hardens and becomes chunky. A bunch of hard pieces. Please help! Am I doing the steps wrong or out of order?
I’m so sorry you had trouble with this. It is so discouraging to have things not work. I actually had something similar happen to me one time when making it, but it has never happened again. My guess is that when the warm cream and gelatin mixture is being added to the cold heavy cream it is starting to set up too quickly and forming lumps.
Try putting the gelatin in about 1/4 cup of very warm milk (I’m suggesting milk because it is thinner and easier to stir and dissolve the gelatin) and stir until it is dissolved. Then add in about 1/4 cup of the heavy cream at room temperature to the gelatin mixture to bring down the temperature before you are adding it to the rest of the cold heavy cream. Stir it well and then add that gelatin mixture to the rest of the cream and whip as directed. You might also try slightly whipping the cream and sugar and extracts before you add in the gelatin mixture so the gelatin isn’t being whipped as long.
Let us know how it goes. It is a really delicious cake and once you get the hang of this Bavarian Cream filling I am sure you will be glad you persevered 🙂