Confession #118: I Love Cake... Mini Vanilla Bean Ruffle Cakes

Vanilla Bean Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Butter two 4 by 2 inch round cake pans, line bottoms with parchment rounds, and dust with flour, tapping out excess. Spray four cups in a standard muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl and whisk together.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, sugar, and vanilla bean seeds on medium-high speed until light, fluffy, and smooth. Reduce the speed to medium and add the egg whites one at a time, beating each in until well-incorporated into the mixture. Wipe down the bowl and beater as needed.
4. Mix the vanilla extract into the buttermilk.
5. With the mixer on lowest speed, add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk mixture in thirds, alternating between each. Begin and end with the dry ingredients. Wipe down the bowl and beater as needed during this process and mix just until all ingredients are evenly incorporated.
6. Divide the batter between the two mini cake pans to fill each about halfway,and divide the remaining batter between the four greased muffin cups. Smooth out the tops.
7. Bake in the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes (cupcakes) and 30-35 minutes (cakes), until a toothpick inserted into the center of each comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool in pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes, and then remove from pans, peel off parchment, and cool on wire rack completely. Cool cupakes in the muffin tin for about 10 minutes, and then transfer to wire rack to cool completely (your may need to loosen the edges with something like a small offset spatula to get them out of the pan). Once cakes and cupcakes have cooled, wrap each tightly in plastic wrap. Freeze in a zip-top bag in the freezer for thirty minutes prior to decorating.*

Cream Cheese Frosting

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment, beat butter and cream cheese together on medium-high speed until smooth, wiping down the bowl and beater as needed. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the powdered sugar. Once it is all incorporated, increase the mixer speed to medium-high again and beat until smooth and creamy, again wiping down bowl and beater as needed. Beat in vanilla extract and salt. Use a spatula to gradually mix in icing color (if desired), until you're happy with the color.

Assembly

1. For the 4-inch cakes:* Remove cakes from the freezer and use a large serrated knife to slice the domed tops off of each one. Place one cake sliced-side down on a cake round or serving plate of choice***. Use an offset spatula to spread a thin layer of frosting over the top, and set the second cake on top, sliced-side up. Spread a thin layer of frosting (crumb coat) around the outside of the cake to seal in the crumbs and the frosting in the middle. Place in the refrigerator (covered if possible****) to chill for 30 minutes. Keep remaining frosting in the refrigerator until ready to use.
2. Use a long, thin skewer (like a metal cake tester) to make vertical lines around the side of the cake, about ½" apart, or however wide you'd like your ruffles to be. (This step is optional, but I find it really helpful to guide you as you pipe the ruffles). Fit a pastry bag with a petal tip (such as Wilton 104 ) and fill with frosting. Starting at the base of the cake with the pastry bag held at a 45º angle - so that the flat part of the piping tip is perpendicular to the cake - pipe ruffles up the sides of the cake using a consistent left and right motion. End each ruffle in the same direction, piping slightly over the top of the cake. Pipe ruffles around the top of the cake, starting at the outermost part and working circularly inwards. To do this, the piping tip should be in line with the top surface of the cake. The motion for piping the top ruffles is fairly similar to the sides, but instead of working upwards, you'll gradually move the piping time sideways.
3. Chill cake in the refrigerator until the ruffles have set and until ready to serve. If not serving immediatley, the cake should be stored in a cake keeper. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Cake is best eaten the same day it is assembled.
4. For cupcake cakes: Remove cupcakes from freezer and slice the domed tops off. Place bottom-up and use a 2-inch round cookie cutter to cut through the center of each cupcake, removing the slanted sides. Arrange 2 cupcakes bottom-up on separate cake rounds or serving plates. Spread tops with a thin layer of frosting and place a second cupcake, bottom-down, on top of each. Add crumb coat. Chill for 30 minutes (again, covered if possible).
5. Proceed with decorating cupcake cakes just as you did for the 4-inch cake. You may want to make your ruffles less wide than the ruffles for the larger cake. Once decorated, chill until set, and then serve. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.