Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter three 6-inch round cake pans and line each with a parchment paper round.
- In a large bowl, combine the granulated sugar, all-purpose flour, sifted Dutch-processed cocoa powder, baking soda, and kosher salt. Whisk together until combined. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla extract until well combined. Add this egg mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until smooth. Slowly add the hot coffee and rum to the batter and whisk until totally blended and smooth, about 2 minutes. The batter will be quite thin.
- Dust the prepared pans with cocoa powder. Divide the batter evenly into the prepared pans. Spread evenly using an offset spatula. Bake until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Allow to cool completely in the pans. Keep covered until ready to fill and frost.
- Remove the cakes from the pans and invert onto 6-inch cardboard cake rounds.
- For the Champagne Buttercream: In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the granulated sugar and egg whites. It will be very thick and grainy.
- Place the mixer bowl over a double boiler and stir the mixture with a rubber spatula until the sugar is completely melted. Brush down the sides of the bowl with the spatula to ensure all sugar is melted. Feel the mixture between your fingers to check for graininess. Once it is completely smooth, place the bowl on the stand mixer. Beat with the whisk attachment on medium-high speed until the mixture is light, fluffy, and glossy, and the bowl feels just about room temperature. If the egg whites are not cooled sufficiently, they will melt the butter when you add it.
- Once the egg whites are whipped and cooled, add the butter, 2 tablespoons at a time, beating on medium speed to combine. The mixture may look curdled and runny after adding about half the butter; this is normal. Continue adding the rest of the butter. Once all butter is added and mixed on medium speed for about a minute, the buttercream will be creamy and glossy.
- Add the vanilla extract, champagne extract, and salt. Mix until combined.
- For the Filling: Place about 2 cups of the buttercream in a mixing bowl. Stir in the cherry preserves. Reserve the remaining buttercream for the exterior coat.
- For Assembly: Place one cake layer in the center of a cake turntable. Cover the first layer with a 1/4-inch-thick layer of the cherry buttercream. Repeat this with the other layers of cake and buttercream, stacking them on the first layer and ending with cake.
- For the crumb coat, spread a thin layer of vanilla buttercream over the top and sides of the cake. Freeze the cake for about 20 minutes.
- Place the cake back on the turntable. Ice the cake with a thick layer of buttercream. Then, using a metal spatula or cake comb, smooth out the sides and top of the cake.
- For Decoration: Using a pastry bag fitted with a star tip, create a border around the top of the cake.
- To decorate the center of the cake with buttercream roses: Place about 2 tablespoons of the buttercream in a small bowl. Add a few drops of pink food coloring, if using. Fit a pastry bag with a rose tip. Use a fine paintbrush to paint a line of the colored buttercream down the seam inside the bag (for pink details on the roses). Fill the pastry bag with plain white buttercream. Form each buttercream rose on a rose nail, then use kitchen shears to transfer it to the top of the cake. Repeat, creating as many roses as you like.
- If using, finish the cake with a little luster dust and a ring of edible sugar pearls around the base.
Notes
Adapted from “Zoë Bakes Cakes: Everything You Need to Know to Make Your Favorite Layers, Bundts, Loaves, and More” by Zoë Francois © Ten Speed Press 2021. Provided courtesy of Zoë Francois. All rights reserved.