One thing is for sure: Almost all American women love chocolate cake with strawberries and cream cheese filling/frosting… and vanilla whipped cream on top. So this is what I made for Mother’s Day.
Happy Mother’s Day!
CHOCOLATE LAYER CAKE WITH YUZU CREAM CHEESE FILLING
2016-05-17 17:33:47
Serves 8
This is layered sponge cake, a great alternative to the typical cheese cake if you like cream cheese-based desserts. The neutral flavor of cream cheese is a perfect base for the sour notes of yuzu juice that is mixed into it. Yuzu, a Japanese citrus fruit, has a very fragrant rind and sour flesh and juice. The fresh fruit is hard to find in the United States, so using bottled juice or Meyer’s lemon juice is recommended.
Prep Time
1 hr
Cook Time
30 min
Total Time
1 hr 30 min
CHOCOLATE CAKE
- 2/3 cup (60 grams) Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- 4 ounces (120 grams) unsalted butter, soft
- 1 1/3 cups plus 1 tablespoon (280 grams) granulated sugar
- 3 large egg yolks
- 1 ¾ cups (180 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
YUZU CREAM CHEESE FILLING/FROSTING
- 1 pound (450 grams) cream cheese or mascarpone at room temperature
- 1 ¾ cups (225 grams) confectioners’ sugar
- 5 ounces (150 grams) unsalted butter cut into 20 pieces, at room temperature
- ¼ cup (60 grams) yuzu juice or Meyer’s lemon juice
GARNISH
- 1 cup whipped cream, one pint fresh strawberries and 2 tablespoons apricot preserve mixed with
- 1 tablespoon water to glaze the strawberries
Make the cake
- Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F. Grease the sides and bottom of a round 9-inch cake pan with butter or cooking spray. Dust it with flour, shaking off the excess. Cut a 9-inch round piece of parchment paper and place it at the bottom of the pan. Set the pan aside.
- Bring 1 cup (240 grams) water to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the cocoa powder and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat and set it aside.
- Combine the butter and sugar in a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until the butter turns lighter in color and becomes creamy. Reduce the speed to low and add the yolks one at a time, waiting until an egg is completely incorporated before adding the next.
- Sift the flour and baking powder together over a bowl or a piece of wax paper. With the mixer still on low speed, add this mixture slowly to the butter mixture. Add the cocoa mixture and mix until it is well incorporated, but not over mixed.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 35 minutes, until a wooden skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean and the sides slightly pull back from the edges on the pan. Remove the cake from the oven and let it sit for 5 minutes. Invert the cake over a wire cooking rack, remove the mold, and allow the cake to cool completely.
Make the filling
- Put cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment and beat it on medium-high speed until it becomes lighter and fluffy. Turn the machine to low speed and incorporate the confectioners’ sugar into the cream cheese until it is very smooth.
- Replace the paddle attachment with the wire whisk. With the mixer on medium–high speed, whisk the butter into the cream cheese mixture, 1 piece at a time, until all the butter is incorporated and the mixture is smooth. Add the juice and whip the mixture until it is light and fluffy. Leave the mixture out at room temperature while you prepare the cake for filling.
Assemble the Cake
- If necessary, trim the top of cake with a serrated knife to make it even and flat. Cut the cake horizontally into two even layers.
- Invert the top layer of the cake on a 9-inch cardboard cake round or cake stand, so that it is cut side up. Spread a ½-inch–thick layer of filling evenly onto the cake. Place the bottom layer of the cake, bottom side up, over filling. With a large offset spatula, spread the remaining filling all over the cake, smoothing it out as much as possible to achieve an even look.
- Decorate the cake with whipped cream, strawberries, and then glaze strawberries with the apricot preserve.
- If the cake was not on a cake stand, transfer it to a serving platter. You can make it up to one day ahead, and keep it refrigerated.
Notes
- This recipe originally called for cutting the cake horizontally into 3 pieces to make 3 layers. It is not easy to slice a round cake into 3 layers, so I did it for just two pieces/layers, but it came out beautiful. I also used two 9-inch cake pans instead of one. So you do not have to slice it at all. It makes it easier and speeds up the process.
- It is very important to use quality/light cream cheese to make this cake special. That is why I used mascarpone cheese. KA
Adapted from "Chocolate Epiphany", by Francois Payard
Adapted from "Chocolate Epiphany", by Francois Payard
CocoBeat https://cocobeat.net/
Excelente chef
Obviously, I cannot help noticing one ingredient not listed Love to achieve this
So delicious looking treat !
Put on your apron, turn on the oven…soon your kitchen will be filled with this incredible aroma combo !
Congratulations Chef Ko ! Thanks for sharing your personnal recipes and know-how !