Once the caramel has reached desired color, remove from heat and immediately pour onto prepared cake layer (see specific directions below). Continue to stir the syrup so the caramel browns evenly. Once the sugar has dissolved into a syrup (about 5 minutes), add margarine and allow mixture to come to a boil. In a small skillet, stir together sugar and water on high heat.

Without the caramel, the last cake layer can be stacked between buttercream with the other layers. CaramelĬovering the seventh layer of the cake with this caramel is optional, but encouraged! (It is best made with butter for a dairy meal, but will work with margarine) The caramel shouldn’t be made until ready to cover cake. Allow cakes to cool in the pans for 1-2 minutes before transferring to cooling racks. When cakes are finished baking, the edges will turn light golden and will pull away slightly from the sides of the pan. Bake the layers either one or two at a time (any more than two cake pans in the oven will bring the temperature down) for 6-8 minutes, rotating pans halfway through baking time. Tap the bottom of the cake pans against the countertop to help some of the larger air-bubbles to release so that the cakes bake evenly. Measuring the batter will ensure that each layer be exactly the same thickness, creating a pretty finished product and also allowing each layer to have the same baking time. Measure out 1 cup of the batter for each cake pan and gently spread the batter into a thin, even layer in each pan. Once all the whites have been incorporated, slowly and in small batches, sift in the flour, folding after each addition of flour. Once the mixture has been beaten and has re-thickened, remove electric mixture and gradually and gently fold egg whites into the yolk mixture. Reduce mixing speed to low and add in the non-dairy milk mixture, a tablespoon at a time, along with the vanilla extract and the salt, and replace mixing speed to high. In a separate, large bowl, beat egg yolks and sugar on a high speed for 5-9 minutes, or until the mixture is thick and pale yellow. In a medium bowl, beat room temperature egg whites until they have formed soft peaks, and set aside. Unless you have 7 cake pans, you’ll have to bake the cake layers in batches (which isn’t a big deal since the cakes bake pretty quickly) and re-prepare the pans this way each time. It’s very important that this is done extremely thoroughly or the baked cakes will be very difficult to remove from the pans, as there is no fat in the batter itself. Line bottom of 9-inch round cake pans with parchment paper and margarine. Store the buttercream in a covered container in the refrigerator, and let it sit at room temperature for at least an hour before attempting to assemble the cake. Tips: I highly suggest making the buttercream the day before, as baking and assembling the actual cake is a pretty big project that can easily take up an entire day.

Spoon ¼ of the buttercream into a zip-lock or pastry bag and leave the rest in the bowl to be spread onto the cakes with an angled spatula. Cover and store the buttercream frosting in the refrigerator until an hour before ready to frost the cake. Once all ingredients have been incorporated, push entire mixture through a strainer and discard any undissolved coffee granules or solid egg parts. After both have been fully incorporated, gradually beat in the melted, cooled chocolate-coffee mixture, followed by the salt, vanilla, and rum extracts, beating well with the addition of each ingredient. Once the thick mixture has cooled, continue to beat while adding in, a couple tablespoons at a time, the margarine and shortening. Once all the hot syrup has been added, continue to beat on high until the mixture has thickened and cooled to room temperature (about 10 minutes). Once sugar syrup has reached 250 degrees, very slowly drizzle the syrup into the eggs by allowing it to flow in a steady stream down the side of the bowl gradually into the eggs while continuing to beat the mixture. While syrup is boiling, beat egg yolks in a large bowl until pale and thick, about 4 minutes. Allow boiling syrup to reach 250 degrees on a candy thermometer (also called the “soft-ball stage”), before removing from heat. Stir mixture for about five minutes or until the sugar has dissolved, and increase the heat to medium and, without stirring, bring the syrup to a boil. In a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine water and sugar and place on the stove over low heat. When chocolate is melted, stir in the coffee granules and remove from stove top to allow to cool slightly. Prepare a double boiler fitted with a medium glass bowl and melt the semisweet and unsweetened chocolate.

Traditional opera cake