fluffy white mini egg cake with vanilla robin's egg specked butter cream frosting
Oh hiiiii!! You know what time it is. MINI EGG TIME!!
I'm obsessed with them, as is any sane human around this time of year. I love eating them by the handful, but I also love putting them in dessert. It's tradition. Last year I put them in cheesecake (recipe here), and the year before that I made ice cream with them (recipe here). So, naturally I decided that a fluffy white cake was next.
I've always had fomo (aka fear of missing out) when I would see everyone making pretty blue robin's egg cakes around Easter, so I decided that this year I wouldn't be left out! I saw Marcella's (from Hey Modest Marce blog!) recipe for her version and I knew I just *had* to make one this year. And I'm so glad I did!
The divine, NOT DRY, fluffy white cake that is the base of this recipe comes from Tessa over at Style Sweet Ca, aka Queen of Cake. This is the recipe that has taught me not to fear white cakes anymore....which is a BIG DEAL. I have tried soooo many recipes where they came out dry, and I was firmly in the "chocolate cake camp" for many many years. Tessa's recipe is so wonderful, and has become my new go-to recipe to work with when I can't make something chocolate. Ha!
This cake is perfect for Easter. Or Spring. Or just because.
fluffy white mini egg cake
recipe: adapted from Tessa - Style Sweet Ca
yields: three 6-inch cake layers
ingredients:
5 large eggs whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup whole milk - divided
2 1/2 cups cake flour (*this is a must - don't sub all-purpose flour here)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups mini eggs, coarsely chopped
Topping:
1 tablespoon cocoa powder mixed with 1 tablespoon water - for making brown speckles
mini eggs
large flake coconut
directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease three 6-inch cake pans, line just the bottoms with parchment (to keep mini eggs from sticking) and set aside.
In a small bowl, stir together the egg whites, vanilla extract, and 1/4 cup of the milk, and set aside.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix on low until combined. Add in the softened butter and 1/2 cup of milk, and mix on low until just moistened. Turn the mixer to medium-high and mix until completely combined. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally.
With your mixer on medium-low, slowly stream in the egg white mixture. Add it in 3 batches, and each addition should take about 15 seconds to pour in each time. Ensure everything is completely incorporated before adding the next batch, but try not to over-mix since it can make the cake dry. Use a spatula to gently fold in mini eggs.
Distribute the batter between the prepared pans. I use a kitchen scale to make sure an even amount is in each one. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. I like to carefully rotated my pans a couple times while cooking to ensure even heating.
Allow cakes to cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans. Let cool for another 20 minutes, and then use a large serrated knife to carefully level each one.
Cool cakes completely before frosting. I like to make the cake the day before, and wrap each layer in plastic wrap and keep it in the fridge or freezer. Cool cake layers are easier to handle, and means less crumbs in your icing.
*Tip: I like to use a cookie scoop to ensure an even amount of frosting goes between each layer. For this cake I used 3 scoops between each layer, and the rest of the frosting went on the outside of the cake.
Mix together 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder with 1 tablespoon of water. Dip just the tip of a pastry brush into the mixture, and flick onto the cake to form speckles. And repeat until desired speckle amount is reached.
*note: I practiced in my sink to get my technique down. It's a bit messy, but cleans up easily if you miss the cake at all.
Press large flaked coconut around the base of the cake. Form a nest on the top of the cake with coconut, and fill with mini eggs.
vanilla robin's egg frosting
ingredients
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1-3 tablespoons cream (milk works fine too)
2 1/3 cups powdered sugar
royal blue and teal gel food colouring
directions
In a large mixing bowl, beat room temperature butter with vanilla and 1 tablespoon of cream on low speed until incorporated. Continue mixing on low while gradually adding in powdered sugar. Scrape down sides of the bowl, and add another tablespoon of cream if needed. Mix on medium-low until completely smooth.
*mixing on low helps keep air bubble formation to a minimum. If your frosting seems to be full of bubbles, simply mix on low for a couple minutes, or run a spatula through the frosting several times to press air out.
Happy mini egg eating!