CAKE
6 c Sugar 2 tb Baking powder
2 lb (8 sticks) butter, softened 5 ts Baking soda
1 Dozen large eggs 2 ts Salt
2 tb Vanilla extract 7 c Buttermilk
9 1/2 c Unsifted cake flour Cardboard rounds (15, 12, &
3 c Unsweetened cocoa powder -9-inch)
———————-CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE FILLING———————-
6 8-oz pk semisweet 2 1-pt containers sour cream
-chocolate squares 3/4 c Orange-flavored liqueur
DECORATOR FROSTING
4 1-lb pk confectioners’ sugar 8 tb To 12 T milk
1 c Vegetable shortening 1/4 ts Salt
1/2 c Orange-flavored liqueur Light corn syrup
-GLAZED BERRY TOPPING-
3 pt Baskets small fresh 1/4 c Seedless red raspberry
-strawberries -preserves
4 Half-pint baskets fresh 2 tb Orange-flavored liqueur
-raspberries 2 Dozen pesticide-free white
1/2 c Water -roses
1 tb Cornstarch
Separator Sets: You will need 2 separator plates (a 10-inch and an
8-inch), and a 5-inch and 7-inch (or two 7-inch) set of pillars. (For
the photo, we used crystal-clear- plastic twist legs inside a piece
of white plastic tubing, which is usually used for support in place
of dowel rods. White plastic spiked Grecian pillars may also be
used.) Be sure to get the separator plates that fit the kind of
pillars you are using. Assemble set well ahead of time to be sure it
fits correctly.
1. Up to a month ahead, prepare cake: Grease and flour bottoms and
sides of a 9-inch, a 12-inch, and a 15-inch petal- shaped cake pan.
2. Heat oven to 350’F. In large bowl (5-quart or larger), with
heavy-duty electric mixer, beat together 3 cups sugar and 1 pound (4
sticks) butter until light and fluffy. Add 6 eggs, one at a time,
beating well after each addition. Scrape side of bowl with rubber
spatula and beat in 1 T vanilla extract.
3. In another large bowl, sift together 4 1/4 C flour, 1 1/2 C cocoa
powder, 1 T baking powder, 2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda, and 1 teaspoon
salt.
4. Starting and ending with flour mixture, alternately add flour
twxture and 3 1/2 C buttermilk to butter mixture, beating at low
speed after each addition, until batter is smooth. Scrape side of
bowl frequently.
5. Fill 9-inch and 12-inch prepared pans with batter. (Pans will be
three-quarters full.) Bake 50 to 60 minutes or until centers spring
back when lightly pressed with fingertip. Cool cakes 15 minutes in
pans. Loosen edges and invert cakes onto wire racks; cool completely.
6. Repeat with remaining ingredients to make cake batter again, using
all of batter to fill 15-inch pan. Bake and cool cake as in Step 5.
Place all cakes, right-side up, on cardboard rounds. (At this point,
cake layers may be tightly wrapped and frozen for up to a month. Day
before serving, thaw and continue with step 7.)
7. Center the 9-inch petal-shaped cake pan on the 12-inch cake layer
to use as a pattern. With tip of knife, score around pan; remove pan.
Using 12-inch cake pan as a pattern, repeat on top of 15-inch cake.
8. To mark location for inserting pillars later, center 10-inch
separator plate on 15-inch cake. Press just enough so feet of plate
make indentations in top of cake clearly. Repeat with 8-inch
separator plate on top of 12-inch cake. Wash feet of separator
plates, if necessary. Recipe continued-Country Living/June/90 Scanned
& fixed by DP & GG
Yields
120 servings