“Aha!” Christian Parker exclaimed. “I thought I recognized the underlying taste! That was an interesting choice, Miss Swensen.”
Chef Duquesne nodded. “Yes, and it was a good choice. It doesn’t overshadow the other flavors, but it adds another very pleasant dimension to the frosting.”
“Thank you,” Hannah said as the other judges began to praise her cake, describing it as innovative, surprising, and attractive on the plate. There were no negative comments and Hannah was delighted with their assessment.
“Would any of you care for a bit more coffee?” Michelle asked when she noticed that several of their coffee cups were empty.
“I would,” Helene Stone said, draining the last swallow in her cup.
Several of the other judges agreed, and this time Ross carried the silver carafe over to fill the cups. Then he returned the carafe to the tray and gave Hannah a hug. “I’d better get back to work.” He placed a kiss on Hannah’s cheek and then he was gone.
“I think you made a very wise choice, Miss Swensen,” Chef Duquesne said.
“Thank you,” Hannah responded, even though she wasn’t sure whether the head judge was approving her choice of husband or her choice of cake. Actually, she hoped it was both, but she’d have to wait for the reading of the scores to find out for sure.
DOUBLE RAINBOW SWIRL CAKE
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F., rack in the middle position.
1 and ? cups softened butter (3 sticks, 12 ounces, ? pound)
2 cups white (granulated) sugar
4 large eggs
? cup (8 ounces) cream cheese (I used Philadelphia cream cheese in the silver, brick-shaped package—half of it is equal to a half cup)
8 ounces white chocolate chips (I used half of an 11-ounce package of Ghirardelli white chocolate—it’s about a cup and that’s close enough for this cake)
? cup unflavored yogurt (I used Mountain High)
? teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups cake flour (DO NOT SIFT—use it right out of the box—just scrape it out and swoop, leveling off the top with a table knife.)
1 small package (makes 4 half-cup servings) raspberry Jell-O powder
1 small package (makes 4 half-cup servings) orange Jell-O powder
1 small package (makes 4 half-cup servings) lemon Jell-O powder
1 small package (makes 4 half-cup servings) lime Jell-O powder
1 small package (makes 4 half-cup servings) berry blue Jell-O powder
1 small package (makes 4 half-cup servings) grape Jell-O powder
Generously butter and flour two 9-inch round cake pans. (Don’t use Pam or any other nonstick cooking spray. Andrea says the Pam Baking Spray, the one with flour added, works just fine for her. But you can also butter the inside of the layer pans and sprinkle in flour to coat the bottom and the sides—that will work fine, too. Shake off any excess by thumping the bottom and sides of the pan and you’re good to go.
Personally, for a wedding cake, I don’t want any browning on the top, bottom, or sides of the layer. The only way I know to prevent this is to line the layer pans with a circle of parchment paper in the bottom, and a strip of parchment paper around the sides that extends at least two-inches over the top of the pan. Once you’ve coated all the parchment paper with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray, you’ve done all you could to prevent browning.
Beat the softened butter and white granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer until it is light and fluffy. (You can mix this cake by hand, but it takes some muscle.)
Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until they’re light and fluffy. Make sure they’re well mixed.
Soften the cream cheese in a microwave-safe container on HIGH for 1 minute. Let it sit in the microwave for 1 minute longer without heating.
Add the white chocolate chips, the half-cup unflavored yogurt, and the salt.
Heat the mixture you made on HIGH for 1 minute more and again, let it sit in the microwave for 1 minute. Then try to stir it smooth with a heat-resistant rubber spatula. If you can’t stir it smooth, heat it in 30-second increments with 30 seconds of standing time until you can stir it smooth.
Add this to the contents of your mixing bowl. Beat until everything is thoroughly combined.
Add the baking powder and the vanilla extract. Mix until they’re incorporated.
Add the cake flour one cup at a time, beating after each addition. Mix until the resulting batter has no lumps.
Divide the cake batter into 6 smaller bowls.
Hannah’s 1st Note: This is easier if you first divide the batter evenly into 2 larger bowls and then divide each of those bowls into 3 smaller bowls. They do not have to be perfect. The cake batter police will not be knocking on your door to measure each bowl. Just do it as best you can.