Yellow Layer Cake with Blood Orange Curd and Vanilla Buttercream {Creamsicle Cake}

Yellow #LayerCake with #BloodOrange Curd and Vanilla #Buttercream. Yes please! For the full #recipe, visit OnlyTasteMatters.com. #dessert #glutenfree

Heavy. Heavy is the word I hear the most to describe gluten-free baked goods. Well, heavy and chewy but I’ve already addressed chewy so we are left with the problem of heavy.

Now one of the ways you make a cake lighter in traditional baking is to use cake flour. It has less gluten and it’s therefore lighter.

Well something with less gluten seems like it would be easy to make gluten-free right? However, there is no gluten-free cake flour on the market. So I looked online for a recipe to make my own. Nothing. Huh?

Yellow #LayerCake with #BloodOrange Curd and Vanilla #Buttercream. Yes please! For the full #recipe, visit OnlyTasteMatters.com. #dessert #glutenfreeNow a little back story. As I mentioned, my father was trying a gluten-free diet and he is, to say the least, a sugaroholic. So, of course, he tried just about every gluten-free cake he could find. And he was thorough. But his complaint was always the same, “It’s too heavy. They’re all too heavy. Bah.”

Well every child wants to make their parents happy. There is some built-in need for our parents’ approval that never goes away. No matter how old we get or how many hours of therapy we undergo, we still strive to make Mommy and Daddy proud.

So I have spent countless hours and baked 38, yes 38, cakes trying to develop a gluten-free cake flour. And I am incredibly happy and proud to announce that I have done it. Cue the fanfare.

So thank you Daddy. Your disdain for existing gluten-free baked goods combined with my irrational and compulsive need to please you produced what I can only hope will change the future of gluten-free baking.

Yellow #LayerCake with #BloodOrange Curd and Vanilla #Buttercream. Yes please! For the full #recipe, visit OnlyTasteMatters.com. #dessert #glutenfreeGluten-free Cake Flour {Flour Mix D}

Revised June 1, 2014

120 grams (approx. 1 cup + 2 tablespoons) powdered milk
150 grams (approx. 1 1/2 cups) oat flour
100 grams (approx. 3/4 cup) millet flour
80 grams (approx. 1/2 cup) potato starch
62 grams (approx. 1/2 cup) arrowroot

So to showcase my new flour is a recipe for yellow cake. Yellow cake is something people on a gluten-free diet miss terribly. Well no need for tears because it’s now within reach.

Hell, it’s so good that bakers not concerned with gluten-free may want to make it anyway. It’s moister than a traditional version and lasts longer. I made a blood orange curd because blood oranges are in season but feel free to use a lemon curd either homemade or bought. No judgments.

Revised June 1, 2014

Yellow Layer Cake with Blood Orange Curd and Vanilla Buttercream

Yields One 9-inch cake, 12 to 16 servings

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5 based on 1 review(s)

Ingredients

For the cake:

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen’s Best Birthday Cake

Inspired by America's Test Kitchen's The How Can It Be Gluten-Free Cookbook

3 cups flour mix D

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt

4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 1/4 cups sour cream

4 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

3 large eggs, at room temperature

For the Blood Orange Curd:

Adapted from Alton Brown’s Lemon Curd

Inspired by Martha Stewart’s Lemon Curd

6 egg yolks

1 cup sugar

2 blood oranges or 4 lemons, zested and juiced

1 stick butter, cut into pats and chilled

For the Vanilla Buttercream:

Adapted from Gale Gand’s Quick Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

2 cups unsalted butter (4 sticks), at room temperature

6 cups confectioner's sugar

3 to 4 tablespoons half & half

1 tablespoon vanilla

Instructions

    For the cake:
  1. Position the rack in the center of oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease and line with parchment paper two round 9-inch cake pans and butter and flour the sides with the millet flour. The pans should be at least 2 inches high.
  2. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the first four ingredients and set aside.
  3. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese at medium speed for two minutes. Add the sugar and continue to beat for five minutes. Scrape down the bowl.
  4. Add sour cream and beat for one minute. Scrape down the bowl.
  5. Add the vanilla and beat for one minute. Scrape down the bowl.
  6. At low speed, add the eggs 1 at a time, beating for one minute. and scraping down the bowl after each addition.
  7. Add the flour in three parts to the batter. Mix each addition for one minute. Scrape down the bowl after each addition.
  8. Once all the ingredients are combined, scrape down the bowl a final time. Then turn the mixer back up to medium speed for 30 seconds.
  9. Divide the batter equally between the two pans. Bang down each pan a few times to level the batter and burst any air bubbles. Cover each pan tightly with foil.*
  10. Place the pans on the center rack and bake for 40-55 minutes or until they are well risen and the cake has come away from the sides or the pan. If you press the cake lightly with your finger, it should spring back.
  11. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on cooling racks. Cool the layers in the pans for 10 minutes. Then unmold the layers and remove the parchment paper.
  12. *_What!? This is not a roast! I know it seems odd but once you get used to the foreign idea, the result is shocking. The cake is fluffier because it has more time to rise. The foil holds in all of the moisture so the cake stays yummy longer. Usually it is an either/or situation but this method creates both--a light and moist cake. Who thought it was possible?_
  13. For the Blood Orange Curd:
  14. Combine egg yolks and sugar in a medium heatproof mixing bowl and whisk until smooth, about 1 minute.
  15. Add 1/3 cup of juice and all the zest to egg mixture and whisk smooth. Tip: If you don't have enough juice, add some cold water until you have 1/3 cup.
  16. Place the bowl over a pan of simmering water. Whisk slowly and constantly until thickened, approximately 8 minutes, or until mixture is light yellow and coats the back of a spoon.
  17. Remove from heat and stir in the butter one piece at a time, allowing each addition to melt before adding the next.
  18. Pour the curd through a fine mesh sieve into a clean medium bowl. Let stand until cool. Tip: Use the back of a spoon to push it through the strainer if you need.
  19. Place a sheet of plastic wrap directly on surface of curd to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until firm and chilled, at least 1 hour. Store refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
  20. For the Vanilla Buttercream:
  21. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter with a whisk attachment at medium speed for two minutes.
  22. Turn the mixer down to low speed and add in the sugar gradually. Mix on low speed until combined. Scrape down the bowl.
  23. Turn the mixer back up to medium speed and beat the butter/sugar mixture for 3 more minutes. Scrape down the bowl.
  24. Add the vanilla and continue to beat until thoroughly combined. Scrape down the bowl.
  25. Add the half and half one tablespoon at a time until you reach your desired consistency. Scrape down the bowl and continue to beat until thoroughly combined.
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https://onlytastematters.com/yellow-layer-cake-with-blood-orange-curd-and-vanilla-buttercream/

To Assemble:

1. Unwrap the layers and place the first layer upside down on a cake or serving plate.

2. Using a pastry bag with a large round tip or a storage bag, pipe a ring of frosting around the edge of the layer. This creates a dam so the curd doesn’t ooze out.

How to put curd between cake layers3. Fill the dam with curd.

4. Place the second layer upside down on top.

5. Cover the entire cake with a thin coat of frosting. This process is called “crumb coating” and will lock in all the crumbs. It’s OK if you get crumbs in the frosting on this layer.

6. Place the cake unwrapped in the freezer for 30 to 45 minutes.

7. Remove the crumb-coated cake from the freezer and frost with the remaining buttercream.

 

18 thoughts on “Yellow Layer Cake with Blood Orange Curd and Vanilla Buttercream {Creamsicle Cake}

  1. Can you subsitute the gluten-free flour for cake flour or regular flour and if so what's the ratio or measurement amount?
  2. I love the idea of gluten free cake flour! I couldn't wait to try it. I made cupcakes out of this recipe tonight. The batter looked and tasted really good and the cupcakes looked great when they came out of the oven. Did the foil thing on one pan, but it just succeeded in squishing the tops (thought that would happen, but wanted to try it). Only problem: they are quite gummy. The texture is definitely off. I bake all the time (always gluten free), but I've never really run into the gummy issue. Any suggestions?
    1. It should but will not be as light as if you use my cake flour mix. It is the only mix for gluten-free cake flour I have seen. If you do use CUP4CUP, make sure you sift before measuring and please let me know how it comes out. Have a sweet day!
  3. What a great recipe for a gluten-free cake mix! A lot of the ones I've found always call for a lot of mysterious additives, but not this one. I'm definitely going to try it for my gluten-free friends. Related to this, I love the addition of the orange curd too. Such a classy (and delicious) combination!
    1. Thank you for noticing the difference! I never use "weird" flours in any of my flour mixes. After all, only taste matters, right? And thank you for appreciating the orange curd. I was going for a sort of creamsicle taste.
  4. There aren't enough words to describe your skills, I simply love and appreciate your baking!!! Ohh and photography is great too :)
    1. Thank you! Are you volunteering to run the mill and front the cash? :) Kidding, I'd prefer if Bob's Red Mill just bought the recipes. However, on the market are all-purpose flour mixes. I think it is naive to expect one flour to work in every situation. A pastry chef will use all kinds of flours to suit their different needs--bread flour, pastry flour, cake flour, etc. Being on a gluten-free diet means having to become more than just a regular home cook, so I create different flour mixes for different situations. I feel this yields the best result. I hope you will agree.

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