Naked cake
Preppy Kitchen · ♥ 5.8K likes · 287.7K views · 15 min video
Read about layer cakes in the BrightCulinary Book
Timestamp
Ingredients
Method
Techniques
Heat the oven to 350. Butter and flour three 8-inch cake pans and line the bases with parchment rounds.
- 360 g all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 2½ tsp baking powder
Whisk 360 g all-purpose flour with half a teaspoon of salt and two and a half teaspoons of baking powder until well combined, and set aside.
- 284 g softened unsalted butter
Beat 284 g of softened unsalted butter on medium until creamy.
- 400 g granulated sugar
Add 400 g granulated sugar and mix on medium about five minutes until light and fluffy, scraping down halfway and again wherever packed butter and sugar sit at the bottom.
- 4 whole eggs
Add four eggs one at a time on medium, scraping the bowl down once or twice so the mixture does not break.
Adding the eggs and vanilla
- 15 ml vanilla
- 1 tbsp flour
Add 15 ml of vanilla; the batter should look cloudy and light and packed full of air, not like cottage cheese.
- 1⅓ cup milk
Add about a third of the flour mixture on the lowest setting, then half the milk, more flour, the rest of the milk and the remaining flour.
Alternating flour and milk
Stop the mixer before it is fully mixed, scrape the bowl down and finish by hand just until combined; over mixing gives a denser, gummier cake.
Wrap dampened cake strips around each pan to insulate the outside so the cake rises evenly instead of doming with a crisp edge.
Cool in the pan 20 minutes, run a knife round the edge and invert onto a wire rack to cool completely. Optionally firm them in the freezer for half an hour before decorating.
- 340 g butter
Frosting: cream 340 g of room temperature butter for about a minute until smooth.
- 5 cup powdered sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 5–6 tbsp room temperature cream
- 1–2 tsp vanilla
Add about five cups of powdered sugar, mixing on low to start, then about a quarter teaspoon of salt, about five to six tablespoons of room temperature cream and about one to two teaspoons of vanilla. Adding the sugar half a cup at a time alternating with the cream also works.
Whip until smooth and spreadable rather than thick, so it does not tear the delicate cake. As American buttercream rests the air bubbles connect and it goes foamy; five seconds of mixing brings it back silky.
- 1 cup frosting
Place a cooled layer on the cake stand and spread about one cup of frosting on top. Repeat with the second layer and another cup, then a fairly thick layer on top.
Stacking and filling the layers
For a semi-naked look, smooth the top, then with an offset spatula or bench scraper push a paper-thin layer of frosting into the sides, into the nooks and crannies, and smooth it so the cake still shows through. This is also a crumb coat.
Semi-naked finish and crumb coat
Variation: instead of leaving it naked, chill this coat until firm and then coat the cake completely with Swiss or Italian meringue buttercream or more vanilla frosting for a pin sharp, crumb free finish.
Scrape away the remaining frosting from the sides to reveal the layers, clean the side up, and pull the top edge in with the offset spatula as you turn.
Revealing the layers and topping