Happy Belated Mother's Day! Sending much love and respect to all the amazing mothers and mommy's-to-be out there! I am lucky to be surrounded by so many strong women who have served as mentors and confidants. It's surreal to watch them take that first insane brave step into motherhood and grow as a parent. The journey is beautiful, terrifying, and rewarding. You ladies definitely deserve a day of recognition!
To celebrate our own wonderful mom, Joey and I cooked up some Portuguese classics for lunch. The brother killed it on the grill and the husband came to the rescue by rushing out to a busy grocery store to buy the right kind of rice. It's not a real meal if there isn't rice and beans! In all seriousness, there's no way that Joey and I can repay her for being such a great mother and person; hopefully these small tokens of appreciation will add up!
Naturally, I had dibs on making the cake.
This design from Cake Geek Magazine has been on my mind for several months. The grouping of tiny flowers captured my heart and I knew that nossa mãe would love it. She is a monster gardener with an affinity for roses, specifically the Mr. Lincoln. The base is a white cake modified from America's Test Kitchen that I have re-purposed several times including the Thai Iced and Blue Moon cupcakes. It is a bullet-proof base recipe that results in a light, airy cake. The filling is simple as a peach and the frosting is a smooth swiss buttercream from Smitten Kitchen.
If you want to frost the cake in the same style, hop on over to Cake Geek Magazine for step-by step directions! Please note that instead of using the Wilton 80 U-shaped Tip, I went with a "drop flower tip" Wilton 225 for the main flower. Additionally, I used a Wilton 7 Tip instead of a 6 for the border. I didn't do two shades of green for the leaves because let's face it.... at this point I was running late to lunch! Make it your own and work with what you have!
Muito obrigada mulher por tudo o que tu fazes para a nossa família! Te amo muito!
PS. You're next, mother-in-law!
PSS. Sorry for camera-phone shots- that's what we had on hand!
PSS. Sorry for camera-phone shots- that's what we had on hand!
Peach Bubble Cake with Swiss Buttercream and Peach Filling
Cake
2 3/4 cups cake flour3/4 cup champagne
1/4 cup peach shnappes
6 large egg whites (3/4 cup), at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar (12 1/4 ounces)
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened but still cool
6 large egg whites (3/4 cup), at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar (12 1/4 ounces)
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened but still cool
Frosting
Smitten Kitchen's Swiss Buttercream (9 inch cake measurements)
If you want to frost in the same style, hop on over to Cake Geek Magazine for step-by step direction!
Filling
1 medium peach, thinly sliced
NOTE: this recipe is for 8-9 inch round cake pans; I used two 6-inch rounds since it was serving only four. The remaining batter was used to make mini-cupcakes to bring into work.
For the cake: Set oven rack in middle position. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray two 6-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray; line the bottoms with parchment or waxed paper rounds. Spray the paper rounds, dust the pans with flour, and invert pans and rap sharply to remove excess flour.
Pour champagne, peach shnappes, egg whites, and extracts into 2-cup glass measure, and mix with fork until blended.
Mix cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in bowl of electric mixer at slow speed. Add butter; continue beating at slow speed until mixture resembles moist crumbs, with no powdery streaks remaining.
Add all but 1/2 cup of champagne mixture to crumbs and beat at medium speed (or high speed if using handheld mixer) for 1 1/2 minutes. Add remaining 1/2 cup of champagne mixture and beat 30 seconds more. Stop mixer and scrape sides of bowl. Return mixer to medium (or high) speed and beat 20 seconds longer.
Divide batter evenly between two prepared cake pans; using rubber spatula, spread batter to pan walls and smooth tops. Arrange pans at least 3 inches from the oven walls and 3 inches apart. Bake until thin skewer or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 23 to 25 minutes.
Let cakes rest in pans for 3 minutes. Loosen from sides of pans with a knife, if necessary, and invert onto wire racks. Let cool completely, about 1 1/2 hours.
For the frosting: If you want to frost in the same style, hop on over to Cake Geek Magazine for step-by step directions!
Prepare the frosting per Smitten's Directions.
Assembly: Thinly frost the top of one layer of cake; arrange thin slices of peaches from the center forming a ring and working your way out leaving about 1/2 inch wide free around the perimeter. Pipe outer perimeter with frosting and top with second layer of cake. Frost the cake as desired.