Call me crazy, but I prefer to ring in the New Year quietly. Ideally at home, with a few friends, a partner (should there be one in my life at the time) or even, alone. No crazy parties, loud music or making small talk for me. Calm, quiet and intentional.
Why am I talking about New Years Eve nearly half way through January? Because I’ve got celebration and cake on my mind!
I’m getting ready to head down to Las Vegas to celebrate my girlfriend’s bachelorette, a weekend I planned and have been anxiously awaiting to see come together. Truth be told, I feel far too old to be planning a bachelorette, much less in Las Vegas! But alas, that’s where I find myself. While there will be much more on the bachelorette to come on the blog, for today, I’m sharing this delicious and might I say gorgeous Prosecco Cake.
Which brings me back to New Years Eve, because we rang in the New Year with this very cake. The inherent flavours of Prosecco make it perfect for baking, it’s sweeter and fruitier than Champagne and with undertones of hazelnut, vanilla, and banana cream, it works perfectly in this simple vanilla cake. Prosecco is also spritzer than Champagne resulting in a lighter cake, perfect for any celebration.
Cake
Ingredients
1 1/2 cup butter softened
2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
4 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 1/4 cups Champagne or sparkling wine room temperature
1 Champagne Butter Icing
food colouring
1 batch Meringue Kisses
Directions
Grease three 9-inch (1.5 L) round cake pans; line bottoms with parchment paper. Set aside.
In large bowl, beat butter with sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time. Beat in vanilla. In separate bowl, whisk flour with baking powder; stir into butter mixture, alternating with 2 cups of the Champagne, making 2 additions of each, until smooth. Scrape into prepared cake pans.
Bake in 350°F (180°C) oven until cake tester inserted in centres comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool in pans for, 10 minutes. Invert onto racks; let cool completely. Peel off parchment paper.
While cakes are cooling, remove 3 3/4 cups of the icing to separate bowl; using red food colouring, tint pale pink. Leave the remaining icing white.
Cut the rounded tops of each cake, so that you have a flat and even surface to work with. Place 1 bottom layer, cut side up, on cake plate; slide strips of waxed paper between edge of cake and plate (to keep plate clean). Brush all over with 1 tablespoon of the remaining Champagne. Spread 3/4 cup of the pink icing over cut side; top with second layer, cut side down. Brush second layer all over with 1 tablespoon of the remaining Champagne. Spread 3/4 cup of the remaining pink icing over top. Repeat with remaining cake layer, Champagne and pink icing, leaving top of stack bare.
Using large offset palette knife, spread thin layer of the ivory icing all over cake to seal in crumbs; refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
Using palette knife, spread icing all over cake, smoothing side and top. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour. (Make-ahead: Refrigerate for up to 4 hours.) Arrange Meringues on top and enjoy!
Prosecco Icing
Ingredients
3 cups butter softened
12 cups icing sugar
3/4 cups dry Champagne or sparkling wine room temperature
Directions
In a large bowl, beat butter until fluffy. Beat in icing sugar, 1 cup at a time, until smooth. Gradually beat in Champagne, scraping down side of bowl, until fluffy and smooth, about 2 minutes. (Make-ahead: Cover with plastic wrap; store at room temperature for up to 2 hours.)
Meringues
Ingredients
2 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
food colouring
Directions
In large bowl, beat egg whites with cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Adding
1 tbsp at a time, beat in 6 tbsp of the sugar; continue to beat until stiff peaks form. Fold in remaining sugar.
Using food colouring, tint mixture to desired shade of pink.
Spoon the mixture into piping bag fitted with 1/2-inch (1 cm) plain tip. Pipe mixture into 1- to 2-inch (2.5 to 5 cm) peaked mounds, 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart, onto parchment paper–lined rimless baking sheet.
Bake in top and bottom thirds of 200 F (100 C) oven, switching and rotating sheets halfway through, until crisp and no longer shiny, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Let cool in oven for 1 hour. Remove from oven; let cool completely on pans. (Make-ahead: Store in airtight container for up to 3 days.)
