Ingredients
250g butter, room temp
500g sugar
5 egg whites, room temp
2 teaspoons vanilla
375g flour
4 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
350g milk, warmed for 30 sec in microwave to bring to room temp
Yellow, green, red, orange, , blue and purple GEL food coloring. Liquid will not be vibrant enough!
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 350F degrees.
2. Oil and line how ever many 9” cake pans you have
3. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
4. Cream the sugar and butter, then add the egg whites
5. Add the vanilla and mix until fully incorporated. Then, alternating between wet and dry, add the milk and flour mixture in two parts.
6. Divide the batter amongst 6 bowls, and then whisk a fair amount of the appropriate food color into each bowl. Keep in mind that the color of the unbaked batter will be the color of the baked batter.
7. Pour into the pans and bake for 15 minutes each.
8. When you remove them from the oven, let them rest on the cooling rack, in the pan, for ten minutes. Then flip, cover, and stash them in the fridge to cool quickly.
Ingredients
Toasts
1 loaf unsliced white bread
1/3 cups whole milk
2/3 cup heavy cream
4 large eggs
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp orange zest
2 tsp vanilla extract
Topping
2/3 cup granulated sugar
Method
1. Cut bread into 1 1/2-inch thick, generous slices; a 9-inch loaf should yield 6 slices.
2. Whisk together milk, cream, eggs, sugar, salt, liqueur, and vanilla extract,
3. Whisk vanilla extract with one tablespoon of custard, then whisk in another and a third tablespoon, then pour the vanilla bean-custard mixture back into the main batter.
4. This avoids having vanilla clumps that don’t disperse in your batter.
5. Preheat oven to 325.
6. Arrange bread slices on the smallest rimmed tray that will fit them in one layer (encourages maximum absorption) pour custard over slices.
7. Allow them to absorb the custard for 30 minutes, turning the slices over at one point to ensure they’re soaking it up evenly.
[Do ahead: You can also soak them overnight in the fridge. No need to flip them if so.]
8. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Transfer custard-soaked slices to prepared sheet, arranging them with a smidge of space between each to avoid making one French mega-toast. 9. Flipping them halfway through if you wish, bake French toast slices for 30 to 35 minutes, until a slim knife inserted into the center of a slice and twisted ever-so-slightly does not release any wet custard. Keep warm until ready to serve.
10. To caramelize the tops: Either leave toasts on their baking sheet, or transfer to a serving platter.
11. Have ready a small offset spatula and a potholder or trivet to rest your caramel pot on.
Melt remaining 2/3 cup sugar in a small, heavy, completely dry saucepan over moderate heat, stirring with a small spoon or fork until fully melted and the color of honey.
12. Move it over to the potholder or trivet you’d set up and working quickly, spoon one generous tablespoon caramel over your first slice of toast, spread it thinly and evenly with your offset spatula and repeat with the remaining toasts.
13. Because your caramel will continue to deepen slightly in color as you work, it’s best to work quickly but carefully. Let no fingers or forearms be harmed in the melted sugar’s path and should a single drop land on the counter or on your towel or on the rim of the plate, do not swipe it. Just leave it until it cools.
[Hot water will melt all hardened caramel and make your clean up job easy. Simply soak your pot/spoon/spatula and all will melt off.]
14. Serve with fresh berries and if you’re feeling extra fancy, loosely whipped cream. We don’t find that it needs any maple syrup.
Makes 6 servings
Ingredients
To fill and crumb coat:
9 egg whites
350g sugar
500g of butter, room temp
2 tsp lemon extract
To frost:
5 egg whites
200g sugar
250g butter, room temp
1 tsp lemon extract
Method
1. Cook the egg whites and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the sugar is completely dissolved. Test by rubbing some between your fingers. If it's completely smooth, it's done.
2. Pour into another bowl and whip on high speed until room temp.
3. Add the butter, waiting until each piece is completely incorporated before adding the next. After all the butter has been added, turn the mixer back to high speed and whip until it has come together, about five minutes. Add the extract, beat briefly and then use.
4. If the buttercream seems soupy after all of the butter is added and does not come together after whipping, refrigerate for 5 to 7 minutes and continue whipping until it becomes fluffy and workable.
Assembly
5. Stack the layers in your preferred order and fill and frost as you would any other cake.
6. Once frosted, the cake can be left on the counter without any problems, but feel free to refrigerate it.
7. Just be sure that the cake is at room temperature when serving or the frosting will be hard, not
