Strawberry Champagne Cake

This bubbly, bright and beautiful cake is sure to delight any (champagne) lover. This layered cake highlights the classic pairing of strawberries and champagne.

This cake is so me! I love all things pink and who can’t resist a glass of bubbly?? I love everything from the pink frosting to the chocolate covered strawberries and sprinkle medley. This cake is perfect for Valentine’s Day! It would also make for the perfect centrepiece for a Galentine’s Day Brunch. The fresh strawberries paired with the effervescent Champagne make for one delicious cake.

The champagne and strawberries pair so well together… it’s no wonder they are a classic pairing! While this cake has a few different components - they all come together fairly quick! If you would like to make a few things in advanced the cake layers can be made in advanced and frozen. Just fill and frost as usual from frozen. The layers will thaw out beautifully. The strawberry champagne filling can also be made a day in advanced and kept in an airtight container in the fridge.

The champagne syrup really helps to infuse the cake with champagne flavour. It adds the perfect amount of sweetness and flavour to the cakes, while helping to keep the cake layers nice and moist. It is best to infuse this into the cake while the syrup is still hot. The filling is bright and fresh. The strawberry really shines through. The cake itself is moist and has a wonderful crumb. It shockingly (for me anyways) doesn’t have any butter but is an oil based cake. I love the flavour of it paired with the strawberry champagne filling.

I have a love for tall cakes and this one does not disappoint. It has great height which is perfect for a chocolate ganache drip. I like to use a spoon to add the drips where I want them down the sides of the cake and then go back and fill in the top using an off set spatula. I used a small (375ml) bottle of champagne for this cake. It was the perfect size. I had enough bubbly for the syrup and the filling (and a glass to sip).

Strawberry Champagne Cake

Makes: one 6 inch cake

Ingredients

For the Cake

3 ½ c flour

½ tsp salt

1 tbsp baking powder

4 eggs

2 c sugar

1 c canola oil   

1 c milk

1 tsp vanilla

Champagne Syrup

½ c champagne

2 tbsp sugar

Strawberry Champagne Filling

1 ½  c strawberries, diced

½ c champagne

½ c water

½ c sugar

1 tbsp cornstarch

Vanilla Buttercream

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

3 cups icing sugar

2 teaspoons clear vanilla extract

1-3 tbsp heavy cream (optional)

Red Gel Food Colouring

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

4-6 Strawberries

½ c white chocolate chips, melted

sprinkles (optional)

White Chocolate Glaze

½ c white chocolate chips

¼ c heavy cream

Directions

For the cake: Pre-heat oven to 350F. Grease and flour three 6 inch cake pans, set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt and baking powder. Set aside.

In a bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, over medium speed beat together eggs and sugar. The mixture should lighten in colour and increase in volume. Continue mixing until very light in colour and almost tripled in volume (about 5 minutes). With the mixer on low-medium speed, continuously add the oil, mix until just combined.  

Alternate adding the flour mixture and the milk and vanilla, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Mix until just combined, do not over mix. Evenly pour batter between the three prepared pans. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow cakes to cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes before inverting onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

For the Champagne Syrup: In a small saucepan, over medium heat combine champagne and sugar. Stir until sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil and let reduce by half.

For the Strawberry Champagne Filling: In a small saucepan, over medium heat, combine strawberries, champagne, water and sugar. Stir occasionally. Bring to a boil and let it simmer for 5-10 minutes or until the liquid has reduced by half. Using an immersion blender, puree mixture until smooth. Bring mixture back to a boil and whisk in corn starch. Allow filling to cool completely before use.

For the Buttercream: In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment beat butter on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Beat in icing sugar, one cup at a time, until well combined. Beat in vanilla & gel food colouring. Optional - beat in heavy cream 1 tbsp at a time until desired consistency is reached.

For the Chocolate Covered Strawberries: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Dip strawberries in white chocolate and place on parchment paper. Top with sprinkles if using. Let chocolate set completely before using.

For the Chocolate Ganache: Heat heavy cream until almost boiling (about 30 seconds to a minute in the microwave). Pour over chocolate chips and stir until smooth.

To Assemble: Fill a piping bag fitted with a round tip with buttercream. Place one layer of cake on your cake board or serving dish. Brush cake layer with hot champagne syrup. Pipe a ring or dam of frosting around cake layer. Fill with strawberry champagne filling. Top with cake layer and continue to fill and stack cake. Once the last cake layer is placed, chill cake in fridge for 10-15 minutes to allow cake to set. Apply a crumb coat of frosting and allow cake to chill for another 10-15 minutes. Frost cake as desired. Top cake with white chocolate ganache and chocolate covered strawberries.

Candy Cane Bark Cake

This candy cane bark cake is a show stopper!
Perfect for any Christmas get together!

One of my favourite Christmas treats is Candy Cane Bark. It is quick and simple to make and oh so delicious! When trying to decide what kind of layered cake I was going to make for the holidays I had a vision of a Candy Cane Bark on top of a cake. I knew it would make for a stunning cake! I also seem to have a thing for 2 in 1 desserts - so this seems fitting. Ha.

The cake itself is a chocolate cake and let me tell you - its really really good. Super chocolate-y and incredibly moist! You’ll love it! I am already dreaming up other frostings and fillings to complement this cake. The frosting is a delicious white chocolate buttercream. It’s smooth and creamy with a hint of white chocolate flavour. You will be eating it by the spoon full!

Assembling this cake can be a bit tricky. The moist chocolate cake paired with a light coloured frosting can lead to lots of crumbs if you aren’t careful. I would recommend making sure your cake is well chilled - I like to freeze mine before frosting. A crumb coat will also help to keep those pesky crumbs at bay.

Candy Cane Bark Layered Cake

Ingredients

For the Chocolate Cake
1c unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 c hot coffee
2 ½ c all purpose flour
½ tsp salt
1 ½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking power
2 c sugar
1 c vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
½ c milk
½ c sour cream

For the Frosting
1 c butter, at room temperature
3 c powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c white chocolate chips, melted

For the Candy Cane Bark
1 cup white chocolate chips, melted
1/2 c crushed candy canes

To Assemble:
1/2 c crushed candy canes
3/4 c red candy melts
2 tbsp whipping cream

Directions

For the Cake: Pre-heat oven to 350F. Grease three 8 inch round cake pans and dust with cocoa powder. Set aside.

In a medium bowl whisk together coffee & cocoa powder. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a whisk attachment, over medium to high speed, whisk together oil, eggs, vanilla, milk and sour cream. Whisk until combined. Whisk in chocolate mixture. Slowly whisk in flour mixture. Mix until just combined. Do not over mix.

Bake for 35-40 minute or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Transfer to wire rack and let cool completely before frosting.

For the Frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla and white chocolate until combined.

For the Candy Cane Bark: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a small bowl, stir together white chocolate chips and crushed candy canes. Pour and spread chocolate mixture onto parchment paper. Chill into firm and break into pieces.

To Assemble: Place one layer of cake on your cake board or serving dish. Top with frosting and crushed candy canes. Top with next layer of cake and repeat. Place the last layer of cake on top and crumb coat. Let cake set up in fridge for 15-30 minutes. Frost cake with remaining frosting. Place crush candy canes along bottom edge of cake and chill cake.

In a heat proof bowl, in 20 second intervals, melt together candy melts and whipping cream. You can either pour over the top of the cake and let the excess drip over the sides, or using a spoon drip chocolate over the sides first then fill in the middle.

Top cake with Candy Cane Bark.

Lemon Rosemary Meringue Cake

A delicious, savoury twist on a classic dessert. This Lemon Rosemary Meringue Cake is a winning combination.

Last week we went for dinner at a new restaurant in town that I have been super excited to try. They are known for their small sharing plates and delicious cocktails - two of my favourite things. The meal was delicious - it started with a cheese board and ended with a lemon rosemary dessert that came in a jar. As soon as I had my first bite of dessert, I knew that I wanted to recreate something similar. I decided to use the same flavours - the lemon, the rosemary and a meringue but change up the actual dessert and create a cake instead. 

I love the combination of the lemon with the rosemary. The rosemary brings a fresh unexpected twist to these otherwise classic flavours. I think its fun to use something typically savoury and turn it into a dessert. It adds a level of complexity to the flavours. 

We have to talk about the lemon curd filling. I considered making it its own post because its just that good. I could go on and on and on about it. But I will keep it short. Make it. Put it on everything (or eat it with a spoon). You can thank me later.  It has the perfect amount of sweetness to balance out the tart of the lemon and the egg yolks give it a beautiful yellow hue. Not only is it delicious but helps to keep this cake super moist.   

The meringue frosting is quick and easy to make. It whips up to a beautiful glossy shine and browns up nicely under a boiler (or you can use a kitchen torch - which I really need to invest in!). To brown the top of my cake using the oven, I preheated my oven to the broiler setting. I filled, stacked and frosted the cake on a piece of parchment paper and transferred the cake to a clean baking tray. The meringue will brown quickly in the oven, so be sure to keep a close eye on it! It will only take a minute or two for the meringue to brown.

Lemon Rosemary Meringue Cake

Makes: One 6 inch cake

For the Cake 

1 c sugar
Zest, from 1 lemon
2-3 sprigs of rosemary
1 ½ c cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
½  c butter, at room temperature
2 eggs
½  c milk

For the Lemon Curd

3 egg yolks
¾  c sugar
¼ c water
¼ lemon juice (juice from 1 lemon)
Zest from lemon
¼ c butter, cut into cubes

For the Frosting

3 egg whites
1 c sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour a 6 inch round baking pan, set aside. In a food processor, pulse together the sugar, lemon zest and rosemary, until just combined and the rosemary is broken down into smaller pieces. In a medium bowl sift together flour, baking powder and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, on medium-high speed cream together butter and sugar mixture until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs until incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Slowly alternate adding in the milk and flour mixture, ending with the dry. Mix until just incorporated.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 45 minutes - 1 hour or until toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow cake to cool for 5-10 minutes in the pan before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the Lemond Curd - In a saucepan combine egg yolks, sugar, water, lemon juice and zest. Simmer over medium heat, stir constantly until mixture starts to thicken and boil. Allow mixture to boil for 2-3 minutes then stir in butter. Boil for an additional 1-2 minutes then remove from heat. Allow to cool completely

To make the frosting - Over a double boiler heat together the egg white and sugar for 5 -7 minutes, whisking constantly. Transfer mixture to a clean kitchenaid mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk on high for 5 - 7 minutes or until stiff glossy peaks form.

To assemble the cake - Torte cake into three even layers. Place your bottom layer on parchment paper. Spread a thin layer of meringue followed by a generous layer of lemon curd.  Top with your second layer of cake, repeat filling process and top with your final layer of cake. Using an off set spatula, frost cake with an even layer of meringue. If desired, brown meringue using a kitchen torch or oven broiler. If using the broiler, transfer your cake to a baking tray. Place in oven for 1-2 minutes or until meringue is lightly browned.