March Madness or a R.S. Cake!

So as you know, if you know me at all!, I love to bake! I usually bake a cake for your Birthday
(if you live close enough to me), I make desserts for pot-lucks, Diner's Club's,
and generally any function which needs treats of some sort. 

So when they asked for a volunteer to bring a sheet cake to a Relief Society activity to Celebrate it's Birthday my hand went up before I even knew what I was really volunteering for! 

What they expected was for that volunteer to "buy" a sheet cake from a Grocery store :( 

You should have seen the looks from the Sisters when I said I'm not buying one, I would just make one!! They really have no idea what is coming to them on Saturday!

I started with this recipe: Black & Raspberry Lemon Chiffon Cake. 

Then I got creative, as I usually do! The following is my Version of the above recipe:

So what you'll Need is:

2 9×3 inch rounds of lemon chiffon cake, cut horizontally
12 oz Lavender simple syrup
1 cup Black & Raspberry curd
2 cups Blueberry buttercream frosting, room temperature
Lemon Chiffon Cake **
(makes 2 11×17 sheets or 2 9×3 rounds)
14.5 oz cake flour
8.75 oz confectioner’s sugar
6.75 oz whole milk
6 oz canola oil ***
3.25 oz eggs
0.5 oz baking powder
13 oz egg whites
9.5 oz granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3-4 oz lemon juice

Oven 375°F.

Prep pans by buttering bottom and sides ( I used Wilton's Cake Release - This stuff is AMAZING!!!!) .

Place parchment in pan and butter the parchment. Sift dry ingredients (except granulated sugar) into a large bowl. Mix all ingredients (except the 13 oz of egg whites and granulated sugar) in the large bowl until combined. Whip whites and granulated sugar to medium peaks. Fold into batter gently. Bake until set, about 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and remove from pan. Let cool on a rack. With a large serrated knife, cut four even layers (I went for 3/4 inch layers) from the two 9×3 rounds (or the sheets if you like quadrangular cakes). If cutting from the 9×3 rounds, you’ll likely have leftover cake from the tops.

** I made two batches for this, one as is, and one replacing the vanilla extract with Lavender Extract found at Sur la Table.
*** I also used Hazelnut Oil instead of Canola.

Lavender Simple Syrup
1 cup sugar
8 oz water
2 cups Lavender Flowers

Heat water and Flowers in a pot until fragment.  Strain the flowers, keeping the water. Add the sugar to the water and bring to boil heat until dissolved and turn off heat. Let cool.

Raspberry and Blackberry Curd
2 cups blackberries, fresh
2 cups Raspberries
1/2 cup water
1 tsp orange zest
1 cup sugar
2 oz. butter
4 tbsps cornstarch
4 tbsps cold water

Place the blackberries, water, and orange zest in a pan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes. Press the mixture through a food mill or you can purée the berry mixture in a food processor and press through a sieve. Pour the berry liquid back into the saucepan over medium heat. Stir in 1 cup sugar and 2 ounces butter. Mix the cornstarch and water together in a small bowl. While whisking the berry mixture, pour the cornstarch into the pan. Stir until thick and bubbly and stir for another 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Pour the contents into a bowl or vessel and cover with plastic wrap. Let cool. Makes about a pint (and extra can be used as Jam for toast - Heavenly!!).

Blueberry Buttercream Frosting/Filling
2 sticks (1 cup) of unsalted butter softened
4 cups Confectioner's Sugar (icing sugar)
6 tablespoons Blueberry Jam or Preserves
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 tsp Raspberry Extract

Beat butter on medium speed with a mixer, stand or hand, until fluffy - about 2 minutes. Slowly add 1 cup of the sugar, and beat until smooth. Add Blueberry jam, vanilla and Raspberry extracts, blend until smooth. Add remaining sugar a half a cup at a time, blending fully each time. After all the sugar has been added, beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

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*** Assembly: Set a cake base layer, browned-side down, onto your serving plate.

  

Cut 3-inch wide strips of wax or parchment paper and tuck them under the perimeter of the cake layer so that the edge of the entire cake is not touching the serving plate. 

Brush the simple syrup onto the cake layer (use about 2-3 ounces – use more than you think). 

Spread a layer of blackberry curd over the cake. 

Gently spread a layer of buttercream over the curd. Because the curd will move around, I was easiest to either pipe buttercream on top and smooth it over with a spatula, and carefully spread it out with an icing spatula. 

Place the second cake layer on top. 

Set the layer – browned-side up – on the cake and make sure all of the layers are lined up. 

Repeat the soaking syrup, curd, and frosting process. 

Spread buttercream around the sides of the cake for the crumb-coat and to fill in any gaps between layers. When the crumb coat is smooth, finish frosting the sides and top of the cake. 

Now for a Perfectionist like me the "Crumb Coat" is the hardest part of making a cake!!