Vanilla bean cake and berry trifle

Vanilla Bean Cake

1. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit if using a convection oven, otherwise 325 degrees without convection. I highly recommend using a convection oven if it’s available. 2. Combine dry ingredients with the addition of butter into the bowl of your stand mixer.

3. In a separate vessel, combine all the wet ingredients, except the water.

4. Put ingredients aside and prepare your cake pans. Trace a single cake pan on a piece of parchment, and cut circles that will go at the bottom of each pan.

5. Spray pans with cooking spray and place parchment circle at the bottom of all three pans. Your pans are ready and can be put aside.

6. Attach bowl with dry ingredients into the stand mixer and attach the paddle attachment. Start at a low speed and let the butter incorporate into your dry ingredients. This is a crucial step in achieving the perfect crumb, and also why room temperature butter works best.

7. Mixing time will vary on the temperature of your butter, but after 7-8 minutes, the dry mixture should look crumbly but fine to the touch. Butter should be totally incorporated and no large chunks should be visible. If you have any chunks of butter, keep mixing.

8. Turn your mixer on low and slowly add in the wet ingredients. Let them fully incorporate into your dry mix. Once incorporated, add the 1/4 cup of water in two increments. As soon as the water has combined, turn your mixer off. Try not to over mix at this point.

9. Divide your batter between the three cake pans. If you’re doing this for the first time, or want precise layers, use a scale to measure the amount going into each pan.

10. Place your cakes in the oven for 30-35 minutes. Before taking them out, take a toothpick and poke one of the cakes. If it comes out clean, your cakes are ready. If not, bake a few minutes longer.

11. Let the cakes cool. Once they are cool to the touch, flip them on a piece of parchment paper and let them rest upside down for half an hour. This will give you flat tops so that trimming is not necessary when assembling.

Berry Trifle 

1. In a vessel of your choice, spoon in three tablespoons of fudge sauce.

2. Layer with half a cup of vanilla cake cubes.

3. Again, layer with three tablespoons of strawberry sauce.

4. Spoon in or pipe in desired amount of whipped cream. Note that more whip results in a lighter and more balanced trifle.

5. Add in preferred amount of berries.

6. Spoon in more fudge sauce and top the vessel off with a dollop of whip cream.