Incorporating celebratory bubbly in both the cake and the buttercream and a delightful strawberry-laden jam as the filling, this lavish finale to a festive fête beckons for teacups to be raised to toast the grand occasion.
Strawberry-filled Champagne Cake
Serves: 1 (9-inch) cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups Champagne or sparkling wine, room temperature
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened and divided
- 1 1⁄2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1⁄2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1⁄4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1⁄2 cup sour cream
- 5 egg whites, room temperature
- Champagne Buttercream (recipe follows)
- Strawberry Jam (recipe follows)
- Garnish: gold and white sparkling sugars, sliced fresh strawberries, and fresh mint leaves
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, heat Champagne over medium heat. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced to 3⁄4 cup, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool completely.
- Preheat oven to 350°. Spray (9-inch) round cake pans with baking spray with flour. Line bottoms of pans with parchment paper, and spray pans again.
- In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugar at medium speed until fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl. Beat in vanilla extract.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
- In a small bowl, whisk together 1⁄2 cup reduced Champagne (reserve remaining 1⁄4 cup reduced Champagne for frosting) and sour cream. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with Champagne mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating at low speed just until combined after each addition.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites at high speed until stiff peaks form. Gently fold egg whites into batter, one-third at a time, until incorporated. Divide batter evenly between prepared pans, smoothing tops with an offset spatula.
- Bake until a wooden pick inserted in the centers comes out clean, 20 to 22 minutes. Let cool in pans for minutes. Invert onto wire cooling racks, and let cool completely.
- Place a cake layer on a cake plate. Place 1⁄2 cup Champagne Buttercream in a piping bag; cut a 1⁄2-inch opening in piping bag tip. Pipe a 1⁄2-inch-thick ring of buttercream around edge of cake layer. Spread Strawberry Jam inside buttercream ring on top of cake layer. Top with remaining cake layer. Using a large offset spatula, spread a thin layer of buttercream on top and sides of cake. Freeze until buttercream is firm, approximately 30 minutes.
- Reserving approximately 1⁄3 cup buttercream, spread remaining buttercream on top and sides of cake. Place reserved buttercream in a piping bag fitted with a star piping tip (Wilton #21). Pipe a simple shell border on top edge of cake, if desired.
- Just before serving, garnish shell border with sparkling sugars and center top of cake with sliced strawberries and mint, if desired. Serve immediately.
Champagne Buttercream
Serves: 3½ cups
Ingredients
- 1 1⁄2 cups unsalted butter, softened
- 1⁄2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 6 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1⁄4 cup reserved reduced Champagne
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a large bowl, beat together butter and salt with a mixer at medium speed until creamy, approximately 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low; gradually beat in confectioners’ sugar until well combined, stopping to scrape sides of bowl. Increase speed to medium; beat in reduced Champagne and vanilla extract until fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Use immediately.
Strawberry Jam
Serves: approximately 3⁄4 cup
Ingredients
- 10 ounces fresh strawberries, quartered (approximately 2 cups)
- 3⁄4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, combine strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to medium, and cook, stirring frequently, mashing berries with a potato masher, until mixture thickens or temperature reaches 220°, 15 to 20 minutes more. (Mixture should have a fresh cranberry sauce-like texture.) Remove from heat, transfer to a small heatproof bowl, and let cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to overnight.
