Spice Cake With Caramelized Pears And Maple Buttercream Recipes

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter three 8-inch cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Flour the pans and paper.
• Sift the flour, baking powder and baking soda into a large bowl.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the sugar, butter, spices and salt. Beat on medium-high until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Stop the mixer occasionally to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing for about 20 seconds between each egg. Add the vanilla extract and pumpkin purée and mix until well combined, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl as necessary. The mixture will look curdled.
• Set mixer to low, and add the dry ingredients all at once, stirring until a few spots of flour remain. Remove the bowl from the mixer, and use a rubber spatula to finish folding the dry ingredients into the batter. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to ensure the batter is evenly mixed.
• Divide the batter among the prepared pans (about 3 cups per pan), smooth the tops, and tap the pans on a countertop to release any large air bubbles. Bake the cakes until golden and puffed, and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Cool the cakes in the pans on a rack for 10 minutes, then use the tip of a knife to loosen the edges and carefully invert them onto the rack to cool completely.
• Meanwhile, make the caramel sauce: In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the sugar and 3 tablespoons water. Swirl the pan occasionally until the sugar dissolves, but do not stir. Continue to cook, swirling the pan occasionally to help the mixture brown evenly, until it is deep amber in color. At this point, don't walk away from the pot: The caramel will go from amber to burned in mere moments.
• Remove the pan from the heat, and carefully whisk in butter and heavy cream. The mixture will expand and sputter before turning into a smooth sauce. Add the whiskey and salt. Carefully pour the caramel into a heat-safe container and cool to room temperature. You will have about 1 1/2 cups.
• Make the buttercream: In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the egg whites and sugar. Set the bowl over a pot of simmering water, and whisk continuously until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is hot to the touch, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Use the whisk attachment of the stand mixer to beat the egg white mixture until stiff, glossy peaks form and the mixture and bowl are cool to the touch, about 10 minutes.
• Switch to the paddle attachment and reduce speed to medium. With the mixer running, add the butter a couple of tablespoons at a time and beat the buttercream until smooth and fluffy. During this step, the buttercream will likely break and look curdled; turn up the speed on the mixer for a few seconds, and it will come back together. Continue until all of the butter is incorporated then add the salt. Slowly add 1/2 cup cooled caramel sauce, and stir until well combined. If the buttercream is extremely soft or runny, put the bowl in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes, then whip until smooth.
• Assemble the cake: If necessary, use a serrated knife to trim the cooled cake layers so they are flat and even. Add a small spoonful of buttercream onto a cardboard cake round or serving plate, and place the first layer of cake, cut side up, on top.
• Spread about 3/4 cup buttercream on top of the cake. Drizzle the buttercream with 1 tablespoon of caramel sauce. Be careful not to drizzle the caramel all of the way to the edge so it doesn't spill out the sides.
• Place the second cake layer on top and repeat with buttercream and caramel. Place the final layer on top, cut side down, and spread the top and sides of the cake with a thin, even layer of buttercream. Refrigerate the cake until the buttercream is firm, about 30 minutes.
• Spread the remaining buttercream in an even layer over the cake. If you'd like to add a caramel drizzle, refrigerate the fully frosted cake until firm then carefully spread about 1/3 cup of room temperature caramel sauce over the top of the cake. Use an offset spatula to gently ease it towards the edges so it drips down the sides. Serve at room temperature. Store leftover cake in the refrigerator, but bring to room temperature before serving. Leftover caramel sauce can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Steps:

• Make spice cake:
• Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Butter and flour cake pans.
• Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and spices in a large bowl. Stir together milk and vanilla in a small bowl.
• Beat butter and sugars with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. At low speed, mix in flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with milk mixture (begin and end with flour mixture) and mixing until just combined.
• Divide batter among pans, smoothing tops, then rap pans once or twice on counter to eliminate any air bubbles. Bake until pale golden and a wooden pick inserted into center of cakes comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool in pans on racks 10 minutes. Run a thin knife around edge of pans, then invert cakes onto racks. Reinvert and cool completely.
• Caramelize pears:
• Peel and core pears, then coarsely chop.
• Heat butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until foam subsides, then sauté pears, stirring occasionally, until just beginning to brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in sugar, lemon juice, and brandy and cook over high heat, stirring, until juices are deep golden and pears are tender, about 5 minutes.
• Make buttercream:
• Beat egg whites with cream of tartar and salt using cleaned beaters at medium speed until they just hold soft peaks. Add maple sugar a little at a time, beating, then continue to beat until whites just hold stiff peaks.
• Boil maple syrup in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat, undisturbed, until it reaches soft-ball stage (238 to 242°F on candy thermometer), 3 to 7 minutes.
• With mixer at low speed, immediately pour hot syrup in a slow stream down side of bowl into egg whites, then beat at high speed, scraping down side of bowl occasionally with a rubber spatula, until meringue is cool to the touch, about 6 minutes. (It's important that meringue be fully cooled before proceeding.)
• At medium speed, add butter 1 tablespoon at a time, beating well after each addition. (If buttercream looks soupy after some butter is added, meringue is too warm: Chill bottom of bowl in an ice bath for a few seconds before continuing to beat in remaining butter.) Continue beating until buttercream is smooth. (Mixture may look curdled before all butter is added but will come together before beating is finished.)
• Assemble cake:
• Put 1 cake layer on a serving plate, then spread with 3/4 cup buttercream and top with half of pear filling. Top with second cake layer, 3/4 cup buttercream, and remaining pear filling. Top with remaining cake layer, then frost top and sides of cake with remaining buttercream.

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, combine juice, brown sugar and ginger. Cook and stir over medium heat until sugar is dissolved; remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. Place pears in a bowl or shallow dish; pour juice mixture over pears and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours., Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°. Line bottoms of 3 greased 8-in. round baking pans with parchment; grease paper. In a small bowl, combine milk and vinegar; let stand 5 minutes until curdled. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. In another bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk mixture, beating well after each addition. , Transfer to prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 18-20 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes before removing to wire racks; remove paper. Cool completely., Drain pears, reserving marinade; pat dry. For frosting, in a large bowl, beat butter, 2 tablespoons reserved marinade, vanilla and, if desired, food coloring until blended. Beat in confectioners' sugar alternately with enough milk to reach spreading consistency., To assemble cake, using a long serrated knife, cut each cake in half horizontally. Place 1 cake layer on a serving plate; brush with 1/4 cup reserved marinade. Top with 2/3 cup pears. Top with another cake layer; spread with 1/2 cup frosting. Repeat layers, ending with remaining cake layer. Frost top and sides of cake with 2 cups frosting. Pipe remaining frosting around top and bottom edges. Sprinkle pomegranate seeds over top of cake. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.