Description
A showstopping vanilla sponge layered and cloaked in silky Korean-style Swiss meringue buttercream, finished with hand-piped buttercream flowers that look like a bouquet and taste like a dream.
Ingredients
- Cake Flour: 2 1/2 cups, for a tender, fine crumb
- Baking Powder: 2 teaspoons, to lift the sponge
- Salt: 1/2 teaspoon, to balance sweetness
- Unsalted Butter: 1 cup softened, for richness and moisture
- Granulated Sugar: 1 3/4 cups, for sweetness and structure
- Eggs: 4 large, for binding and stability
- Milk: 1 cup, for moisture and tenderness
- Vanilla Extract: 2 teaspoons, for warm aroma
- Unsalted Butter (Buttercream): 1 cup, for a smooth, stable base
- Egg Whites (Buttercream): 5 large, to create a silky meringue
- Granulated Sugar (Buttercream): 1 1/2 cups, to sweeten and stabilize
- Gel Food Coloring: as needed, to tint flowers without thinning
Instructions
- Preheat Your Equipment: Heat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and line two 8-inch round cake pans with parchment.
- Combine Ingredients: Whisk cake flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, cream softened butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time, then mix in vanilla. Add dry ingredients alternately with milk, starting and ending with dry, mixing just until combined.
- Prepare Your Cooking Vessel: Divide batter evenly between prepared pans and smooth the tops.
- Assemble the Dish: Bake 25 to 30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes, then turn out to cool completely.
- Cook to Perfection: For buttercream, whisk egg whites and sugar over a simmering water bath, stirring, until sugar dissolves and mixture is warm to the touch. Transfer to mixer and whip to glossy stiff peaks. With mixer running on medium, add butter a tablespoon at a time until silky and smooth. Tint portions with gel colors.
- Finishing Touches: Level cooled cakes if needed. Apply a thin crumb coat of buttercream, chill until set, then add a smooth final coat. Pipe flowers on parchment squares, chill to firm, then transfer to cake and add leaves.
- Serve and Enjoy: Let the cake sit 15 to 20 minutes at room temperature for the buttercream to soften slightly, then slice and savor.
Notes
- Chill Tools: Keep piping tips and small buttercream portions cool to help flowers hold shape.
- Use Gel Colors: Gel coloring preserves consistency while yielding soft pastel tones.
- Crumb Coat: A quick set in the fridge prevents stray crumbs in the final finish.
- Test Tints: Color a teaspoon of buttercream first to preview intensity before tinting the whole batch.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 420
- Sugar: 35 g
- Sodium: 160 mg
- Fat: 22 g
- Saturated Fat: 13 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 50 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 5 g
- Cholesterol: 85 mg
Keywords: Korean buttercream flower cake, Swiss meringue buttercream, piped flowers, floral cake, celebration cake, Korean dessert, pastel buttercream