Champagne and Strawberry Mascarpone Cake

(serves 10)

This year my (30th) birthday was celebrated much differently than I had originally planned due to having to spend it in quarantine. It was still a lovely day spent with my parents, friends driving by, and virtual celebrations. However, the one of the biggest differences was cooking my own birthday dinner and baking my own birthday cake. Don’t worry, my mom offered to cook but there’s nothing I love more than spending the day in the kitchen.

I was originally planning a short trip to NYC with some girlfriends to celebrate filled with a boozy brunch and a nice dinner, and I certainly intended to keep at least part of those plans! The morning started a little behind schedule in the kitchen. I was planning on making some homemade donuts, but that was short lived once I realized they take nearly 4 hours to make. After a morning virtual hiit workout it was a little to late to get the process started. I quickly changed the plans and made some cinnamon roll waffles that hit the spot (see previous post for recipe). For lunch, I made pepperoni pizza bites and dinner was fresh pasta with lobster tails. I’ll be posting about these in the future, so keep your eyes peeled. However the highlight of the day was dessert, a modified Camille Styles recipe.

Dessert was a champagne cake that had an almond mascarpone and fresh strawberry compote filling and was topped with a strawberry Swiss meringue buttercream. Let me tell you, it was to die for - seriously! This may be the only time my dad has agreed to actually take home some leftovers, and 1/4 of the cake at that! The cake itself is light and not too sweet (thanks to the champagne), the filling screams elegant and the buttercream is unique and reminds you every so slightly of a marshmallow flavor, in the best way possible. This cake definitely took a bit of effort to make, but it was a labor of love and one of the best cakes I’ve eaten!

Ingredients

Champagne Cake

- 2 cups all-purpose flour - 2 teaspoons baking powder - 1 1/3 sticks butter, room temperature - 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar - 4 egg whites, room temperature - 1 1/3 cups champagne or sparkling white wine Strawberry Compote - 8 oz strawberries - 1/4 cup granulated sugar - Juice from 1/2 lemon Almond Mascarpone Filling - 4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature - 4 oz. mascarpone cheese, room temperature - 1/4 cup heavy cream, cold - 1/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted - 1 teaspoon almond extract Swiss Meringue Buttercream - 2 large egg whites, room temperature - 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp. granulated sugar - 1 1/2 sticks of butter, room temperature and cut into tablespoon pieces - 1/8 cup strawberry compote (recipe above)

Directions:

Champagne Cake:

Preheat the oven to 350 and spray (2) 8 inch cake pans with cooking spray and flour.

Using a stand or hand mixer, cream together your butter and sugar until fluffy, approximately 5 minutes. Slowly add in the egg whites one at a time until well blended.

Next, add in the baking powder and 1 cup of flour. While continuing to mix, add the champagne followed by the remaining flour. Be sure not to over mix the batter as you want to keep the champagne as bubbly as possible.

Divide the batter between the two cake pans and bake for 20-25 minutes. Let cool completely.

Strawberry Compote:

Combine all ingredients in a pan over medium heat and cook until the strawberries begin to break down. The mixture should begin to thicken and resemble the texture of a loose jam. Store in the refrigerator and cool until ready to use. (If using frozen strawberries, be sure to drain some excess liquid)

Almond Mascarpone Filling:

Using your mixer, cream together cream cheese and mascarpone until well combined. Add in the heavy cream and almond extract and mix on medium speed until it begins to thicken. Approximately 2-3 mins. Add the powdered sugar and mix until smooth.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream:

Combine the egg whites and sugar in a double boiler over low to medium heat and wisk until the sugar has completely dissolved.

Transfer the mixture to your mixer (or bowl) and mix on a medium to high speed until stiff peaks have formed and the mixture has cooled. This takes about 10 minutes.

Add in you butter 1 tablespoon at at time. Once the buttercream is smooth, add in the strawberry compote and continue to mix until all combined. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use and in between frosting the cake.

Assembly:

Making sure your cake is completely chilled, place one layer of cake on your serving dish, top with the mascarpone filling and remaining strawberry compote. Place your second cake layer on top.

To create a crumb coat, frost the outside of the cake with a very thin layer of buttercream and place in the refrigerator to firm up for 20-30 mins. Once the frosting is firm, finish frosting the cake with the remaining buttercream.

Top with fresh strawberries, meringues, sprinkles, etc.

As always, be sure to use salted butter with this recipe.