KRISTEN CAKE

I have a new cake, lovely and uncomplicated. I made it for Kristen, our lovely granddaughter. It’s a basic piskóta with Nutella buttercream. A great combination and I don’t know why I haven’t thought of it before. Maybe I needed the inspiration of Kristen’s visit. Our grandchildren are coming into their own one after the other. Jimre how did we get so lucky?

I used two 9-inch spring form cake pans and made two piskóta layers from 8 eggs. I set out the unsalted butter a couple of days earlier so it was super soft. When making buttercream, beat the sweet butter with the icing sugar for at least 6 minutes, and add the rest of the ingredients, in this case the nutella, afterwards. In Canada and the U.S. powdered sugar contains cornstarch to counter humidity. Sifting it through a fine sieve and extra beating helps to diffuse its harshness. Believe it or not, not all icing sugars are of the same quality; some are more refined than others. I make it a standard practice to add 1/8 cup of whipping cream towards the end. The small amount of heavy cream tames and softens the buttercream. But alas Kristen is lacto sensitive and I had to leave off the cream. Alternatively, whipping the butter and the icing sugar for what seemed like an unreasonably long time accomplished the same result and the buttercream was as it should be, smooth, fluffy and delicate.

KRISTEN CAKE

8 eggs separated
8 Tbsp sugar
8 Tbsp cake flour, sifted
1/2 tsp baking powder

Nutella Buttercream

1-1/2 cups unsalted butter

2 cups icing sugar, sifted

3/4 cup Nutella

1/8 cup whipping cream [optional]

• Preheat the oven 350F.
• Line two 9 inch spring form cake pans with parchment paper.
• Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form.
• Add 2 Tbsp sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.
• Transfer meringue to a large mixing bowl.
• In the same bowl beat the egg yolks and the remaining sugar until very fluffy.
• Add the baking powder and mix to combine.
• Gradually add the sifted cake flour and beat to combine.
• Gently fold the egg whites into the yolk mixture.
• Bake until the cake tester comes out clean.
• Allow the cakes to cool to room temperature.
• In the meantime prepare the Nutella buttercream.
• On low medium speed, beat the soft butter, gradually adding the icing sugar until combined.
• Switch to high speed and beat the buttercream for 6 minutes.
• Add the Nutella and if using add the whipping cream.
• Beat for 2 minutes longer until the ingredients are fully incorporated.
• Transfer the cakes to the fridge and fully chill before assembly. 
• Cut the cakes in half horizontally and make sure to keep the knife flat for even layers.
• The two bottoms are the flattest. Those will go on the bottom and on the top. The rest of the layers will be sandwiched in between.
• Spread each layer with buttercream and apply a thin layer of buttercream all over the cake, this is called the crumbcoat.
• Chill the cake for 30 minutes before applying the final coat of buttercream.
• The cake will slice best when chilled; however it is most enjoyable at room temperature.