Vanilla, Almond & Dulce de Leche Cake
Because no great birthday ever started with celery, did it?
Enough for a tall four layered 15cm round cake (serves 12 - 16)
VANILLA & ALMOND CAKE
ground almonds/almond flour, 50g (125ml or 1/2 cup)
plain/cake flour/all-purpose flour, 350g (580ml or 2 + 1/3 cup)
baking powder, 30ml (2 tablespoons)
fine salt, 1.25ml (1/4 teaspoon)
eggs, 6
caster sugar, 300g (375ml or 1 + 1/2 cup)
vanilla bean paste, 15ml (1 tablespoon)
oil, 200ml (just shy of 1 cup about 4/5 cup) - a neutral flavour oil works well (I use grapeseed oil)
cold water, 200ml (just shy of 1 cup about 4/5 cup)
Dulce de Leche, 400g
VANILLA CREAM CHEESE ICING
unsalted butter, 125g
cream cheese, 500g
icing sugar, 200g (about 1 + 1/4 cup)
vanilla bean paste, 5ml (1 teaspoon)
To start, preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan) and line the bottom and sides of two 15cm diameter round cake tins with baking paper.
Sieve together the ground almonds, flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl, then set aside.
Separate the eggs. Place the egg yolks, vanilla bean paste and sugar in a large mixing bowl and using an electric mixer, beat together until pale in colour.
Add the oil and water and combine using a hand whisk.
Combine the dry and wet ingredients, whisking by hand until the mixture is uniform.
In a clean, dry mixing bowl, whisk the egg whites on a high speed until stiff peaks.
Fold the beaten egg whites into the batter mixture using a large metal spoon or spatula (at first just a little to loosen the mixture, then gently fold in the rest).
Divide the batter among the tins and bake until golden and a skewer inserted in the middle of each cake comes out clean (approximately 1 hour but will depend on your oven).
Once baked, remove the tins from the oven and leave the sponges in the tins to cool completely (cover with a clean tea towel to prevent moisture from evaporating).
To prepare the vanilla cream cheese icing, roughly chop the butter then soften it for a few seconds in the microwave before transferring to a large mixing bowl. Using electric beaters or an electric mixer (use the paddle attachment), beat until smooth.
Add the cream cheese, icing sugar and vanilla bean paste and beat together for a few minutes until light and fluffy.
To assemble the cake (easiest done with a cake turntable, but not essential):
Once completely cool, divide each sponge in two using a sharp bread knife - turning the cake as you cut in order to see the sides and ensure it is cut evenly (the cakes should not have domed too much in the oven, but you can even the top with a knife if needed).
Place the first cake layer on a cake board or serving plate.
Pipe a cream cheese icing border (If you do not have a piping bag, a clean plastic food storage bag with one of the corners snipped off will do just fine. I flatten the border ever so slightly with a palette knife).
Spoon a good dollop of dulce de leche in the center and spread it out, then place the second cake layer on top.
Repeat the layering until all the cake layers have been added (finishing with the last cake layer having the bottom facing upwards).
Using a spatula or knife, cover the top and sides with a thin layer of cream cheese icing (this is the crumb coat to trap all the loose cake crumbs, so do not stress if there are a few crumbs visible in the icing).
Refrigerate the cake for about 10 minutes until the icing is a bit firmer.
You can add a drop of icing whitener (available from baking/speciality shops) to the remaining cream cheese icing if you wish for the second covering.
Coat the top and sides of the cake for a second time (thin if you prefer the semi-naked finish or thicker if you want the cake completely covered).
For a sharp finish, use a dough/cake scraper to smooth the sides then flatten the top ridge by scraping with a spatula or scraper in an inward motion.
Decorate and enjoy!
