Orange Almond Cake With Swiss Meringue Buttercream Recipes

Steps:

• Using a serrated knife, trim tops of 8-inch round cakes to make level. Place four strips of parchment paper around perimeter of a serving plate or lazy Susan. Place first layer on cake plate. Spread frosting over first layer with a small offset spatula so it extends just beyond edges.
• Place remaining layer on top, bottom side up. Gently sweep away any loose crumbs with a pastry brush. Using an offset spatula, cover top and sides with a thin layer of frosting (also use any of the excess frosting visible between the layers). Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes.
• Using an offset spatula, cover cake again with remaining frosting. Repeat process with 6-inch round cakes. Serve.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 8-inch round cake pans and line with parchment paper. Butter parchment and flour cake pans; set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat together 1 cup of sugar and egg yolks until light and fluffy. Add orange zest, juice, and almond extract; mix until well combined. Turn mixer off. Remove the whisk and add the paddle attachment. With the mixer on medium, slowly add ground almonds, followed by flour; mix cake batter until well combined.
• In a large bowl, whisk egg whites until soft peaks form. Add salt and remaining 3 tablespoons sugar; beat until stiff but not dry. Set aside.
• Fold melted butter into cake batter, a little at a time. Gently fold in egg white mixture, taking care not to deflate whites. Divide batter evenly between prepared cake pans. Transfer to oven and bake until a cake tester inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Transfer cake layers to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Invert cakes to remove from pan and remove parchment paper; reinvert cakes. Using a serrated knife, trim tops of cakes to make level. Place four strips of parchment paper around perimeter of a serving plate or lazy Susan. Place the first layer on the cake plate. Spread frosting over the first layer with a small offset spatula so it extends just beyond edges.
• Place the remaining layer on top, bottom-side up. Gently sweep away any loose crumbs with a pastry brush. Using an offset spatula, cover the top and sides with a thin layer of frosting (also use any of the excess frosting visible between the layers). Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes.
• Using an offset spatula, cover cake again with remaining frosting.

Steps:

• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour three 6-inch round cake pans.
• Whisk together the sour cream, buttermilk, vanilla extract, almond extract and eggs in a small bowl until well blended; set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or a large mixing bowl if using a hand mixer), add the cake flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix on low speed to combine, 30 seconds.
• With the mixer on medium speed, slowly add the butter a few pieces at a time. Beat until the dry ingredients are crumbly and moistened by the butter, about 1 minute. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl.
• Gradually add half of the egg mixture to the flour-butter mixture and beat on medium speed until the batter is thick and fluffy, 1 1/2 minutes. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the remaining egg mixture in 2 additions, scraping the bowl and beating for 20 seconds after each addition.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pans and sharply tap the pans once on the counter to remove air bubbles. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 minutes. Cool the cakes in the pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove the cakes from the pans and let cool completely on the rack.
• For the tiramisu syrup: Bring the sugar, water and espresso powder to a boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from the heat and stir in the coffee liqueur.
• For the Tiramisu Filling: In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or a large mixing bowl if using a hand mixer), add the mascarpone, confectioners' sugar, coffee liqueur and vanilla extract. Mix on medium speed until well blended.
• In a separate bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (or a large mixing bowl if using a hand mixer), add the whipping cream and whisk until stiff peaks form. (Do not over-whisk.) Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the mascarpone mixture into the whipped cream.
• For the vanilla bean Swiss meringue icing: Place the egg whites and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixture set over a saucepan of simmering water. Whisk constantly until the sugar melts and the mixture becomes very thin and warm. Remove the bowl from the heat and add the vanilla seeds. Whisk on high speed until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes. Continue beating on low speed until cool.
• Beat in the butter, a few pieces at a time, on medium speed. (The mixture may curdle before coming together.)
• To assemble the cake: Using a serrated knife, level off the tops of the cake layers. Place one layer on a serving plate or board and brush some tiramisu syrup on the top. Put 1 cup of the Swiss meringue icing in a piping bag fitted with a large round tip and pipe a thin dam around the edge of the cake. Spoon a 1/2-inch layer of the tiramisu filling onto the cake and gently spread it out to the dam. Repeat with the second layer of cake. Place the final layer on top and ice the cake with the remaining Swiss meringue icing.