A Naked Cake

 

I've been wanting to make a naked cake gobbed in fruit for awhile, but I don't have many reasons to make a full cake. I finally got my reason :) We also happened to have a bunch of free fruit around this week- with blackberry season, free plums from someone at work's tree, and blueberries from a lovely friend it was an easy decision to drape the cake in fresh berries and stone fruits (also red currants are such eye candy!)

I wanted a light flavored cake with a stark white lightly sweetened frosting and I really ended up loving this flavor combo: cardamom orange scented cake with almond frosting:

2 3/4 cups sifted flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 tsp cardamom

4 egg whites

1 1/2 cups white sugar

3/4 cup butter

1 1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

zest of 1 orange

 

 

first things first line 2 8x8 cake pans with parchment paper, spray with oil and four them

preheat oven to 350 degrees F

 

1   Sift flour, baking soda, salt, and cardamom until it is all fine powder, no clumps.

2   In yet another bowl beat the butter until creamed and then add 1 cup sugar and beat 3-5 minutes

3   Add the 1/3 flour mixture and 1/4 cup milk, mix in slowly

4   repeat in 2 more batches with remaining flour and milk

4   Mix vanilla and orange zest, don't overmix
5   In another bowl beat egg whites until foamy and add 1/2 cup sugar gradually until it forms soft peaks

6   With a spatula fold the egg whites into cake mixture 

7   Pour 1/2 of mixture into each cake pan and bake 25-30 minutes, toothpick should come out clean

8   let cool completely

 

almond frosting:

 

1 cup butter; room temperature

4 cups powdered sugar

2-3 tbs cold milk

1 tsp almond extract

 

1   beat butter until light and fluffy

2   slowly beat in powdered sugar

3   add in milk on low 1 tbs at a time

4   beat in extract

 

to assemble:

 

1   place one layer on cake plate or stand

2   place 1/2 the icing onto cake and smooth around in an even layer

3   add the next layer and smooth around the second half of the icing on the top of that cake

4   slice up fruit some fruit and start assembling berries and peach slices around the bottom and top of the cake, the currants are nice to drape over the side or tilt up so they stand in the icing in the center layer of the cake