practically perfect palate pleaser?

Many, many moons ago, the Daring Bakers made Dorie Greenspan’s Perfect Party Cake. A few months later, the Tuesdays with Dorie group also chose it as a challenge. If nothing else, I’ve revealed my utter disregard for bandwagon-jumping by waiting so long to follow suit.


But follow suit I did. I made the cake. I slathered sweet, cinnamon-laden cranberry relish between the layers. Most importantly, I filled and topped the beast with velvety cream cheese frosting.

My verdict? Frankly, I was let down. I wouldn’t be surprised if I goofed up along the way or missed an important component (to which I’m still oblivious), but for me, the cake was neither impressive nor memorable. Using relish as a filling, however, was something akin to a stroke of genius (that’s as close as I come), and the frosting (always and forever my favorite) was delicious.


At least I can say I did it. I jumped aboard the Perfect Party Cake train, and now I’m jumping right back off.

Perhaps for Thanksgiving this year I’ll try shmearing cranberry relish between the layers of a carrot cake. A carrot cake topped with cream cheese frosting, of course. And, if I'm feeling spunky, plastered with toasted coconut.


It's as if the cake sensed my displeasure and therefore refused to photograph nicely.
How rude.

**Incidentally, today is my little brother's birthday. He would hate this cake, as he is irrationally anti-coconut. Celebrate wisely, Professor, and by that I mean use caution when rounding bases and go easy on the sauerkraut.

[Potentially] Perfect Party Cake
From Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From My Home to Yours

Cake:
2 1/4 cups cake flour (I used 2 cups of all-purpose flour and 1/4 cup cornstarch--could this have been my gaffe?)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
4 large egg whites
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons lemon zest (I omitted this)
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon pure lemon extract (I used vanilla)(lemon's not my favorite flavor)

Frosting:
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1-2 tablespoons milk
dash vanilla

1 cup seedless cranberry relish, stirred vigorously or warmed gently until spreadable
1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut, toasted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter three 9-inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each pan with a round of buttered parchment or wax paper.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl. Put the sugar and lemon zest (if using) in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Add the butter and beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light. Beat in the extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed. Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated. Add the rest of the milk and eggs, beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients. Finally, give the batter a good 2-minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly-mixed and well-aerated. Divide the batter between the three pans and smooth the tops with a spatula.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and springy to the tough--a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean. Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unmold them and peel off the paper liners. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up. (The cooled cake layers can be wrapped airtight and stored at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to 2 months.)

To make the frosting, cream the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla until smooth. Add the powdered sugar a bit at a time and beat until creamy. Add the milk to obtain the proper consistency.

Put one cake layer on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper. Spread it with one half of the relish. Cover the relish evenly with about one quarter of the frosting. Top with another layer, spread with remaining relish and another quarter of the frosting. Place the last layer on top and use the remaining frosting to coat the sides and top. Press the coconut into the frosting, patting it gently all over the sides and top.

The cake is ready to serve as soon as it is assembled, but it’s best to let it set for a couple of hours in a cool room. Serve it at room temperature.

They say that the cake is best the day it is made, but I found that refrigerating it made it a better product.