If you’re anything like us, when you find a cookbook called “Sky High: Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes”, your first impulse might be to run out and buy every size and shape of cake pan, piping tip and vintage cake stand you can get your hands on. Who doesn’t want to churn out show-stopping birthday and special event cakes? One recipe that stood out, though, was the Vanilla Buttermilk Cake with Instant Fudge Frosting. It struck a chord for two reasons. Firstly, Kyle’s childhood birthday cake of choice (i.e. insistence) was yellow cake with chocolate frosting, and this was a deliciously grown-up version of that old favorite. Secondly, the words “Instant” and “Fudge” should never appear without one another. Anywhere. Ever.
The cake recipe itself is a study in simplicity. You whisk together the wet ingredients in one bowl, combine the dry ingredients in another, fold them together and before you can say “Happy Birthday!” you have a delicious batter with tangy buttermilk notes and just the right amount of sweetness. It’s neither too bland, nor too cloying. This simplicity also made this gluten free adaptation supremely easy.
Rather than going the triple layer cake route, we wanted to make the batter more accessible for non-special occasion treat seekers. We scaled the recipe down to half so that it yielded 16 cupcakes instead. In a happy accident, everything got cut in half except the buttermilk. The resulting cupcakes were super moist, with a delicate crumb and none of the “off” taste or sawdust-y dryness that can plague many gluten free baked goods, which probably makes it more of an “ecstatic” accident.
For as simple as the batter is, the frosting is almost ridiculously more so. If you can throw a bunch of ingredients into a food processor and give them a good whirr for ten seconds or so, you’re in business. No sifting, no nothing. The greatest challenge to this frosting is actually getting it onto the cupcakes before you eat it all in one sitting. For real.
The original frosting recipe called for melted, cooled unsweetened chocolate, thus requiring another bowl and more time. No, thank you. Taking a suggestion from the back of the cocoa powder box, we used cocoa and vegetable oil instead, making this instant fudge frosting even more instant, which is both magical and dangerous.
Adding a pinch of salt gave a subtle, savory base note that balanced the flavor of the frosting, and using some of the buttermilk leftover from the cake recipe in place of the heavy cream tempered both the bitterness of the cocoa and the sweetness of the confectioner’s sugar. (And yes, there was leftover buttermilk, despite the extra half cup that ended up in the batter. Cheeky.)
Word of warning: This instant frosting is, well, “instantly” addictive. (insert rimshot here) You, like us, will want to put it on E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G. We expect to receive notice soon that it has filed a restraining order against us. One word: Obsessed.
Adapted from Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes.
- For the cake:
- 2 whole eggs
- 1 egg yolks
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 212 grams (about 1 ½ cups) all-purpose gluten-free flour blend
- ¾ teaspoon xanthan gum (if flour blend does not already contain it)
- 198 grams (1 cup) granulated sugar
- 2 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 113 grams (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- For the frosting:
- 45 grams (about ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon) cocoa powder
- 42 grams (3 tablespoons) vegetable oil
- 281 grams (2 ¼ cups) powdered sugar (no need to sift)
- 170 grams (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3 tablespoons buttermilk
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- Pinch salt
- To make the cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with 16 cupcake liners.
- Whisk together the eggs, egg yolks, 2 tablespoons of the buttermilk, and the vanilla extract in a bowl. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the flour, xanthan gum (if using), sugar, baking powder, salt. Add the butter and remaining 1 cup of buttermilk. Mix on low speed until moistened, then increase the speed to medium high and beat until light and creamy, about 3 minutes, scraping the bowl down as necessary.
- Add the egg mixture to the mixer in 3 additions, mixing only until incorporated and scraping the bowl down between each addition.
- Divide the batter into prepared cupcake pans. Bake until tops are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few dry crumbs, about 18 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto into wire racks to cool completely.
- To make the frosting:
- Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse to incorporate. Process until smooth, about 1 minute.
- Spread or pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes.
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