Strawberry Lemon Cake

Welcome to the second installment of Milk Bar Month! (Catchy, right?) 

This time, we’ve got the perfect summertime cake: Strawberry Lemon! And since it’s a Milk Bar cake, you know it’s not just any strawberry lemon cake. This is dense vanilla cake with a tangy lemon curd cheesecake filling and pretty pink pickled strawberry frosting.

The reason for this cake is because this week, I had the task of developing the dessert menu for my graduation party. It was backyard barbecue for about 20 people, so I wanted to do up some cakes that would not only be fun and delicious but would also appeal to a couple different tastes. If I’m feeding a large group, I always try to do something on the sweeter end of the spectrum and something else with zesty fruit flavours. Then (for the most part) you can guarantee that everyone’s happy.

I noticed that Milk Bar posted a few new recipes on their website that aren’t published in the book, so I was excited to try them out! (If you love their recipes as much as I do, it’s worth it to check the site once in a while to see what goes up.) I decided to go with the German Chocolate Cake to please the chocolate-lovers (recipe coming soon!), and the Strawberry Lemon Cake to keep the fruit-fans happy.

This cake was pretty amazing. As I mentioned, the flavor of the frosting actually comes from a pickled strawberry jam – a prospect I was a little scared of. But it turned out great! Who would have thought a little vinegar could make strawberries taste so much more… strawberry-ish?

All in all, this cake is really a combination of all the best things. The lemon curd cheesecake and strawberry frosting have a creaminess that plays against the crunch of buttery vanilla cake crumbs, all supported by rich, moist vanilla cake. Yes. Oh, yes.

It’s in cakes like these that the beauty of the “naked cake” really shines. Not only are the colours gorgeous, but at first glance, you get to see the full flavor profile of the cake. It turned out really vibrant and summery, perfect for the summer BBQ theme.

Stay tuned next week for the very special 4^th of July-themed edition of Milk Bar Month!

Strawberry Lemon Cake

Makes 1 6” cake
By Christina Tosi & Momofuku Milk Bar

Ingredients

1 recipe vanilla cake
1 ½ tbsp lemon juice
1 recipe pickled strawberry jam
1 recipe lemon cheesecake
1/2 recipe milk crumbs
1 recipe pickled strawberry frosting

Special Equipment

Parchment paper or Silpat
6” cake ring
Quarter sheet pan (9” x 13”)
2 strips of acetate, 3” wide and 20” long

Assembling the Cake

1. Put a piece of parchment or a silpat on the counter. Invert the cake onto it and peel off the parchment or silpat from the bottom of the cake. Use the cake ring to stamp out 2 circles from the cake. These are your top 2 cake layers. The remaining cake “scrap” will come together to make the bottom layer of the cake.

2. Clean the cake ring and place it in the center of a sheet pan lined with clean parchment or a silpat. Use 1 strip of acetate to line the inside of the cake ring.

3. Put the cake scraps together inside the ring and use the back of your hand to tamp the scraps together into a flat even layer.

4. Dunk a pastry brush in the lemon juice and give the layer of cake a good, healthy bath of half of the juice.

5. Use the back of a spoon to spread the pickled strawberry jam in an even layer over the cake.

6. Sprinkle half of the milk crumbs evenly over the pickled strawberry jam. Use the back of your hand to anchor them in place.

7. Use the back of a spoon to spread one-half of the lemon cheesecake as evenly as possible over the crumbs.

8. With your index finger, gently tuck the second strip of acetate between the cake ring and the top ¼ inch of the first strip of acetate, so that you have a clear ring of acetate 5 to 6 inches tall – high enough to support the height of the finished cake. Set a cake round on top of the lemon cheesecake, and repeat the process for layer 1 (save the prettiest cake layer for the top).

9. Nestle the remaining cake round into the frosting. Cover the top of the cake with the pickled strawberry frosting. Give it volume and swirls, or do as we do and opt for a perfectly flat top. Garnish the frosting with the remaining milk crumbs.

10. Transfer the sheet pan to the freezer and freeze for a minimum of 12 hours to set the cake and filling. The cake will keep in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.

11. At least 3 hours before you are ready to serve the cake, pull the sheet pan out of the freezer and, using your fingers and thumbs, pop the cake out of the cake ring. Gently peel off the acetate, and transfer the cake to a platter or cake stand. Let it defrost in the fridge for a minimum of 3 hours (wrapped well in plastic, the cake can be refrigerated for up to 5 days).

12. Slice the cake into wedges and serve

Vanilla Cake

Makes 1 quarter sheet pan

8 tbsp (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
¼ cup tightly packed light brown sugar
3 eggs
½ cup buttermilk
½ cup grape seed oil
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 ½ cups cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
Pam or other nonstick cooking spray (optional)

1. Heat the oven to 350°F.

2. Combine the butter and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream together on medium-high for 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the eggs, and mix on medium-high again for 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl once more.

3. On low speed, stream in the buttermilk, oil, and vanilla. Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and paddle for 4 to 6 minutes, until the mixture is practically white, twice the size of your original fluffy butter-and-sugar mixture, and completely homogenous. Don’t rush the process. You’re basically forcing too much liquid into an already fatty mixture that doesn’t want to make room for the liquid. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl.

4. On very low speed, add the cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix for 45 to 60 seconds, just until your batter comes together and any remnants of dry ingredients have been incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. If you see any lumps of cake flour in there while you’re scraping, mix for another 45 seconds.

5. Pam-spray a quarter sheet pan and line it with parchment, or just line the pan with a silpat. Using a spatula, spread the cake batter in an even layer in the pan. Give the bottom of your sheet pan a tap on the countertop to even out the layer.

6. Bake the cake for 30 to 35 minutes. The cake will rise and puff, doubling in size, but will remain slightly buttery and dense. At 30 minutes, gently poke the edge of the cake with your finger: the cake should bounce back slightly and the center should no longer be jiggly. Leave the cake in the oven for an extra 3 to 5 minutes if it doesn’t pass these tests.

7. Take the cake out of the oven and cool on a wire rack or, in a pinch, in the fridge or freezer (don’t worry, it’s not cheating). The cooled cake can be stored in the fridge, wrapped in plastic wrap, for up to 5 days

Pickled Strawberry Jam

½ cup strawberry puree
½ cup sugar
1 tsp pectin
¼ tsp kosher salt
½ tsp sherry wine vinegar
¼ tsp white wine vinegar

1. Whisk together the sugar, pectin, and salt in a medium pot or saucepan. Slowly whisk in the strawberry puree, sherry wine vinegar, and white wine vinegar and bring to a full, rolling boil. Reduce the heat and cook at a low boil for 2 minutes to activate the pectin and turn the puree into a beautiful jam.

2. Once the pectin has been activated and coats the back of a spoon, remove the jam from the heat. The jam can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Lemon Cheesecake

1 recipe liquid cheesecake (recipe below)
3/4 recipe lemon curd (recipe below)

1. Whisk together the liquid cheesecake and lemon curd.

Liquid Cheesecake

8 oz. cream cheese
¾ cup sugar
½ tsp cornstarch
½ tsp kosher salt
2 tbsp milk
1 egg

1. Heat the oven to 300°F.

2. Put the cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed for 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Add the sugar and mix for 1 to 2 minutes, until the sugar has been completely incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

3. Whisk together the cornstarch and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk in the milk in a slow, steady stream, then whisk in the egg until the slurry is homogenous.

4. With the mixer on medium-low speed, stream in the egg slurry. Paddle for 3 to 4 minutes, until the mixture is smooth and loose. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

5. Line the bottom and sides of a 6 x 6-inch baking pan with plastic wrap (Note: I did this. It went terribly – the plastic wrap melted! I had no troubles baking it directly in the pan). Pour the cheesecake batter into the pan, put the pan in the oven, and bake for 15 minutes. Gently shake the pan. The cheesecake should be firmer and more set toward the outer boundaries of the baking pan but still is jiggly and loose in the dead center. If the cheesecake is jiggly all over, give it 5 minutes more. If the cheesecake rises more than a 1/4 inch or begins to brown, take it out of the oven immediately.

6. Cool the cheesecake completely, to finish the baking process and allow the cheesecake to set. The final product will resemble a cheesecake, but it will be pipeable and pliable enough to easily spread or smear, while still having body and volume. Once cool, the cheesecake can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up 1 week.

Lemon Curd

3 lemons
½ cup sugar
4 eggs
1 gelatin sheet
8 tbsp (1 stick) butter, very cold
½ tsp kosher salt

1. Zest the lemons. Squeeze 1/3 cup juice from the lemons.

2. Put the sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a blender and blend until the sugar granules have dissolved. Add the eggs and blend on low until you have a bright-yellow mixture. Transfer the contents of the blender to a medium pot or saucepan. Clean the blender canister.

3. Bloom the gelatin:

In order to incorporate it seamlessly into a mixture, gelatin must be softened, or “bloomed,” first. To bloom any amount of sheet gelatin, soak it in a small bowl of cold water. The gelatin is bloomed when it has become soft, after about 2 minutes. If the gelatin still has hard bits to it, it needs to bloom longer. If it is so soft it is falling apart, it is overbloomed; discard the gelatin and start over. Gently squeeze the bloomed gelatin to remove any excess water before using.

To bloom powdered gelatin (any amount between 1/2 teaspoon and 2 teaspoons), sprinkle it evenly onto the surface of 2 tablespoons of cold water in a small cup. If you pour the powdered gelatin into a pile on top of the water, the granules in the center will remain hard and will not bloom. If you use too much water to bloom the gelatin, it will dilute the flavor of the recipe and its consistency will be looser than intended. Allow the granules to soften entirely in the cold water for 3 to 5 minutes 

Once it is bloomed, in order to incorporate either kind of gelatin into a mixture, you need to dissolve the gelatin in hot, but not boiling, liquid – usually a bit of whatever it will be mixed into. If the gelatin gets too hot, it will lose its strength and you will have to start over again.

4. Heat the lemon mixture over low heat, whisking regularly. As it heats up, it will be begin to thicken; keep a close eye on it. Once it boils, remove it from the stove and transfer it to the blender. Add the bloomed gelatin, butter, and salt and blend until the mixture is thick, shiny, and super-smooth.

5. Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a heatproof container, and put in the fridge until the lemon curd has cooled completely, at least 30 minutes. The curd can be refrigerated for up to 1 week; do not freeze.

Milk Crumb

½ cup milk powder
¼ cup flour
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp sugar
½ tsp kosher salt
4 tbsp butter, melted
¼ cup milk powder
3 oz. white chocolate, melted

1. Heat the oven to 250°F.

2. Combine the ½ cup milk powder, the flour, cornstarch, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Toss with your hands to mix. Add the melted butter and toss, using a spatula, until the mixture starts to come together and form small clusters.

3. Spread the clusters on a parchment- or Silpat-lined sheet pan and bake for 20 minutes. The crumbs should be sandy at that point, and your kitchen should smell like buttery heaven. Cool the crumbs completely.

4. Crumble any milk crumb clusters that are larger than ½ inch in diameter, and put the crumbs in a medium bowl. Add the ¼ cup milk powder and toss together until it is evenly distributed throughout the mixture.

5. Pour the white chocolate over the crumbs and toss until your clusters are enrobed. Then continue tossing them every 5 minutes until the white chocolate hardens and the clusters are no longer sticky. The crumbs will keep in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer for up to 1 month.

Pickled Strawberry Frosting

8 tbsp (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
¼ cup confectioners’ sugar
Small pinch citric acid
¼ recipe pickled strawberry jam (see above)
¼ tsp kosher salt

1. Combine the butter and confectioners’ sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream together on medium-high for 2 to 3 minutes, until fluffy and pale yellow

2. Meanwhile, whisk together the citric acid, pickled strawberry jam, and kosher salt.

3. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. On low speed, gradually stream in the strawberry mixture. Use immediately.