Monday, August 13, 2012

Red Velvet & Light Cheese Cake with Pink Ombré Roses

It was my mother's birthday last weekend, just one day after National Day. As usual, the whole family got together to celebrate this joyous occasion with her. We usually dine out at a nice Chinese restaurant of her choice and spent the night, dining and chatting away. I love family gatherings! And it goes without saying that I will bake a birthday cake for the birthday girl. No matter how many times I ask her what kind of cake she likes, she will always answer me the same thing, "Do whatever is convenient, don't need to be too elaborate. Or no need cake also can." That's my mum, forever worrying about troubling other people. Anyway,I figured that its not a bad thing too as I get to choose what I like to try out, hahaha! So I decided on something that I have been wanting to try like forever....Red Velvet & Light Cheese Cake with Pink Ombré Roses.
Baking the layers of the cake was easy, but I was pretty stressed out piping out the roses on this cake! It might look simple, but little did I know piping the roses on the side of the cake can be so difficult, especially when if one didnt get the right piping tip or the consistency of the cream is not right. It cannot be too cold or too warm. I had to redo a few times until I got it right and even so I felt it wasn't nice enough. :P And it was so rush in the end that I didn't have time to get nicer shots of the cake. *haiz!*
Despite of it all, I was still very happy how the cake turned out. It was one of those cakes that I actually won't mind having 2nds or 3rds....if I haven't already had a big dinner. ;P As you all know, old folks just can't stand sweet...so I have to reduce the sugar to considerable amount in the cake recipe and the cream cheese frosting as well. And adding a light cheddar cheese cake layer in the middle was one the best idea for making this, hahaha! Why? Because the light soft and slightly salty cheddar cake makes the taste so well balanced. ;) Perfect balance of sweetness and also making the cake lighter overall. Love it!
The red velvet cake recipe is none other then Martha Stewart's recipe. I have actually made this twice and it was very well received, so I knew I will use this recipe again soon. Was gonna post up the recipe earlier but my poor laptop gave in and I have no access to the photos as yet. Anyway, I will post the red velvet recipe (with slight modifications) here plus the frosting. Kindly refer to the light cheddar cheesecake here.

Ingredients for Red Velvet Cake (Makes 2 X 8" round)
285g cake flour, sifted
1 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
180g sugar
365ml vegetable oil
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon red gel-paste food color
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar
  • Preheat oven to 170 degrees. Line and greased two 8" round cake pan. Whisk together cake flour, cocoa, and salt.
  • With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, whisk together sugar and oil until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Mix in food color and vanilla.
  • Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and whisking well after each. Stir together the baking soda and vinegar in a small bowl (it will foam); add mixture to the batter, and mix on medium speed 10 seconds.
  • Divide batter equally between the 2 cake pans. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 30 minutes.
Note that I doubled the recipe since it was a 3 layer cake plus roses to pipe. But I will only post one portion of the recipe for easier reference:
Ingredients for Cream cheese frosting:
340g cream cheese, soften227g unsalted butter, room temperature200g-225g confectioner's sugar ( I can't really recall the exact amount)1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Beat butter and cream cheese with a mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Add sugar, 1 cup at a time, and then vanilla; mix until smooth.
To assemble, place one red velvet cake as the base and spread some cream cheese frosting over. The top it with the Cheddar cheese cake. Then spread some cream cheese frosting on top and lastly top it off with the 2nd layer of red velvet.
Ice the whole cake with a thin coat of the frosting and chill. Once chilled, decorate as you desire. If you wish to pipe roses, try using the Wilton's 1M or 2D piping tips. Also use Wilton's food coloring gel to tint the frosting. Remeber lightest to strongest. I actually used a very light shade of pink for the cake coat as shown above. I worry the pink roses against the white background might be too big a contrast.
The cake was moist, creamy and incredibly delicious. I really love it to bits! Everyone, even my brother in law whom doesn't fancy cakes, said it's very good and keep sneaking a few mouthfuls from his daughter's share, hahaha! My mum loved it too and polished off her slice pretty fast, heehee. Happy Birthday Mum!! :) As for this cake, I am very sure I will be baking this again.
Okay, gonna end this post here. Have a great week ahead everyone!

49 comments:

busygran said...

Very pretty cake! Wished my daughter would bake a birthday cake like that for me!

ann low said...

WOW! This birthday is so lovely!!
Happy belated Birthday to you Mum :)

Ashley @ Wishes and Dishes said...

This cake looks amazing! I might have to try this :) Your blog is so cute, by the way

Elin said...

Wow....it is beautiful! worth all your effort in making the cake and the roses are beautifully done. I am sure your mom had a wonderful birthday ! A belated happy birthday to your mom:)

Hearty Bakes said...

Happy Belated to Auntie!
Like your mum, mine said the same to me when I asked her what cake she wants. Hence, I'm going to crack my mind what to design for her since her bd is this Sunday.
I love your cake Bee! It's so beautiful! I love the different shades of pink and roses neatly piped.

Edith said...

Happy Belated Birthday to your mom. I wish my daughter will some day bake me a cake.

Anonymous said...

HI Bee Bee

wow, impressive cake! v v beautiful!
btw, may i know if you use your ka to knead bread dough? I am thinking of getting a KA mixer but heard it is not v good in kneading dough...
regards
octopusmum

Dumpling Love said...

Happy belated Birthday to your Mum! Though you say you had difficult with the piping, it looks fantastic!

Passionate About Baking said...

It's gorgeously beautiful! Hahaha... Your family "ritual" is very similar to mine. We like to gather during birthdays and definitely must have a cake to end the celebration. :) Wish your mum a belated birthday! She shares the same birthdate as my dad too! :)

Joyce said...

The cake is so beautiful !!!

Bakericious said...

Bee Bee, happy belated birthday to your mum. I piped these roses for my cake too but not as nice as yours, still in queue to post lol.

Mich - Piece of Cake said...

Wow wow wow! That's all I can say. This cake is a beauty. Look at those colours and perfect roses. Well done!

NEL, the batter baker said...

Absolutely gorgeous! I can just imagine the oohs and aahs when the cake was revealed. Awesome piping skills you have there! WOW!

DG said...

Delicious & such elegant roses cake. Happy belated birthday to your Mum :)

ICook4Fun said...

Happy belated birthday to your Mom. Wishing her the best of health! What a pretty cake. You pipe the roses so well and each and everyone look so well done. I can't even pipe one nicely on my cupcakes :)

Veronica said...

Wow! What a stunning cake! The roses are beautifully piped. I am sure your mom must be very happy and mighty proud of you.

WendyinKK said...

It's very very very very pretty.
They really look like roses to me.
Yeah, piping on sides is usually a lot more difficult, but they still looked good.
Happy birthday to your mom :)

Nadji said...

Very beautiful cake.
happy birthday to your mother.
See soon

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

what a coincidence my friend, you did pink Ombre cake too, hehehe..Yesterday I was busy the whole day which tied up with this cake, because i have to run out to buy butter as i was wrongly estimated the volume of the buttercream.
But you have pipe the rosette look so pretty, better than mine..I need more practise. Will your rosette (using 1M) drop out after several hours?
And i like you layer with light cheese cake as to balance the sweetness, my was way too sweet..Never mind i still have chance to try out this because my sister and brother already bookmarked this cake for their daughters.
Ya, Happy Belated Birthday to your mom.

鲸鱼蓝蓝蓝 said...

你和sonia心有灵犀
都上同一款蛋糕
你的也很美丽
颜色很温柔:)

HK said...

哎喲。。。。超棒!好厲害喲

Unknown said...

Hihi, love ur receipes! Would like to check if u take orders? Pls let me know if you do and we can touch base! Thanks! Audrey

mui mui said...

Hi Honey Bee sweets,
I saw you in Sonia's place. Was attracted by your so pretty Ombre cake, so I drop by to have a look and to say hello. Your rosette on the cake is so nicely done.
Love the colour shade of your cake too.
Have a lovely week ahead.

mui mui (Doreen)

lena said...

gd morning bee, just saw sonia's cake this morning! you two pakat kah? i'm so impressed with your cake, it's really a true beauty! you make me falling in love again!!

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Thanks so much busygran! I'm sure your daughter will get you a cake even if she doesn't bake it. It's that thought that counts. :))

Thanks Ann!

Thad Ashley! Welcome to my blog and your blog is very nice too. Hope to see you coming by again. :))

Thanks Elin! Yes, my mom was very happy indeed...all smiles the whole evening. :))

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Thanks so much Jessie! You know I have no doubt that your cake for your mom will be super nice! You are so good with your bakes, so I'm sure your mum will love it no matter what. :)) looking forward to seeing your lovely came to your mum!

Edith, thanks for dropping by! Hope you are doing better. ;) I'm sure no matter what your daughter give you on your birthday is from the bottom of her heart. :)) actually I don't expect or can't imagine my own daughter to do this for me, hahaha!

Hi octopusmum, thanks.
Actually my KA is great for my kneading! But my way of kneading is stoping for 2 -3 minutes between kneads. Example, if the dough requires 20 mins at medium speed, I let me KA kneads for 10mins, break 5 mins then kneads the next 10 mins. In this way, the dough dries up a little and reaches windows stage easier too. Hope you get your KA soon, its a lovely equipment that you will treasure!

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Thanks do much Dumpling. Love! Actually yoU probably have to see closer to see the imperfections...just like any other things! But again, why dig deep right, hahaha! Thanks again for dropping by. :))

Jane...really? Your dad also 10th Aug birthday? Hahaha, I'm trying to imagine our parents, crying out like babies on the same day in the hospital! Hahahah! Happy belated to your dad too!

Thanks so much Joyce!

Jessie, I'm sure yours is very nice lah. Don't be too high expectation lah, heehee. Looking forward to see your post...don't let your 粉丝wait too long ya!

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Thanks thanks thanks Mich! Hahaha....I do try, heehee. :D

Eelin, thanks so much ya! Terribly honored that you shared my post on your Batter Baker FB wall. ;))

Thanks Doris!

Thanks so much Gert! No lah, I only show the side that the roses are nicer, hahaha! Definitely have room for improvement. Actually the piping tip is very important, did you use the correct one? You know there are so many free tutorial on utube, which I spent sometime to learn it before attempting this, heehee.

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Hi Veronica, thanks for dropping by! Actually my mum was pretty happy but as for the proud part, not too sure, hahaha! Hopefully will churn out even better cakes next time. :))

Wendy, I know you can understand. Those roses were like falling off initially when I was using a larger tip to pipe on the sides! I panicked man! In the end I used a smaller tip and it worked. *phew* thanks ya...I wish I had done better though, heehee.

Thanks Nadji, welcome to my blog! Yes, hope to see you again soon!

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Sonia, you know I too run out of frosting half way piping the cake! Terrible right?. I had to pause and go buy cream cheese! Hahaha! We are really 同病相连! you know I love your cake leh, the different shades of pink inside is just so sweet and pretty! I had the same idea too but just too darn lazy to do it, hahaha! I went with the easier way, hahaha! Hey next time this kind of Ong happen again we must go buy lotto ya...what are the chances man, hahaha!

鲸鱼蓝蓝,我也是这么想呀!好巧!我就跟Sonia说, 我们应该去买六和彩,可能会中头奖也说不定!哈哈!

谢谢你HK!

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Hi Audrey! Thanks for dropping by and showing interest! ;) actually I rarely take orders, usually from close friends and family only. But thanks, I'm honored!

Thanks so much Doreen! Welcome to my blog! Hope you will come by again soon. :))

Ai ya Lena...how you know we pahkat! Obvious ah, hahaha! Oh I made you fall in love with my cake! Wait your other half will not be happy ya, heehee!

Jeannie said...

That is a fantastic looking cake, so gorgeous! Your mom is very lucky to have this cake for her birthday!

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

ya,next time happened again, we should both go to buy lottery, sure kena one, hahaha..Just checked your recipe, you chill the cake, maybe this was the reason my rosette drop down because i did not chill it.

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Thanks Jeannie! Actually my mum has done so much for me and my family, so this cake is really nothing compared to that. :))

Sonia, I chilled the cake only after the first later of coating not after piping the roses. Because I was already late! But when i reached the restaurant (held my breadth throughout the whole drive there) the restaurant ppl did help me chill it fir an hour when we eat our dinner. Actually hor, I think the piping tip is so very important! Initially I was using a bigger tip and the rosette keep falling off! I then change to Wilton 191 tip to pipe the sides, it worked better! Not as heavy as before. Perhaps next time u try that? But u are right, if u chill it right after piping it probably will hold better and Swiss Meringue buttercream is actually more "solid" after chilled compared to cream cheese frosting due to the higher butter content. ;))

Anonymous said...

Just beautiful! I love this pattern. I made an engagement cake with this same rosette pattern and it was lovely. I love the colors you chose with the red velvet cake. It has the wow factor!

Zoe said...

Happy Birthday to your mum!

Your cake is so pretty! The layers and colours are so beautifully made... Wow!

Anonymous said...

if i would want to make 2 of this cake, can i mix the batter and divide into 2? but im baking one at a time. will the cake deflate? tks!

Chloe

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Thanks so much Angela!

Thanks Zoe. ;))

Chleo, which cake are you refering to? The light cheddar cheese cake? Of course you can divide into 2 but it will be flatter of course. The red velvet cake is already divided into 2 cake pans when I baked it.

Anonymous said...

I baked the cake yesterday. is dense in the centre ): but the sides are nice soft crumbly ): will try again. tks for sharing!

Chloe

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Chloe, I suspect your batter is not mixed properly or your cakes under baked. Do double check your temperature again and test your cake, make sure the tester comes out clean before removing from oven. My oven temperature might not be the same as yours , so best u monitor carefully. :)

Janine said...

love the tip on adding the cheese layer because i usually find buttercream cakes too sweet! love how you did the ombre - my roses always turn out quite ugly so i've never ventured to trying out ombre roses

zephyr said...

Come across your recipe when I was looking for red velvet. If I do not have buttermilk, what would you advise to use as substitute, there were too many ingredient as replacements when I google, not sure which is the best.

Between it's such a nice and wonderful cake, love it!

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Zephyr, you can use 1 cup of fresh milk with 1.5 tsp fresh lemon juice. Let the mixture stand for 20mins then use it. It will look slightly thicken, it's ok. Happy baking

Jaques said...

Hi Bee Bee,
Like to check w u. Do u mean u doubled this recipe to make 2 8 inch? I m hoping to make this tmr..=) thanks in advance..=))))

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Hi Jaque, sorry for my late response. have been busy making my daughter's cake (will post tomorrow). Actually I didn't double the cheesecake recipe. I simply divide the batter into 2 equal portion into two 8" round cake pan. Hope this helps, happy baking!

Jaques said...

Hi Bee Bee,
Thanks for your reply . I just made the cheddar cc and wow, it is very soft & fluffy! ;)) I just made this red velvet
and it's cooling now. However, when I touched it, it is quite dense, is my texture right ? ;)) thanks and looking
forward to your girl's bd cake posting! ;)

Anonymous said...

Hi BeeBee, I noticed u stated 1 TBSP of cocoa powder. Unlike the original where there is 2 TBSP. Can you please advise if you modified the recipe or is it a typo. Thanks!

Jacqueline Tan said...

Hey babe! This is the exact cake I'm looking for, for my birthday. I'm wondering if you are interested in making it for my birthday this Friday, 7th (I'd purchase it)! Hope to hear from you, 81887518 -Jacqueline

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Hi Jacqueline,

I guess by now you have already found your birthday cake baker. Sorry about my late reply. P.S. I don't sell my bakes. :)