2020-04-01 Taste of Home

68 APRIL/MAY 2020 TASTEOFHOME.COM

TEST KITCHEN INSIDER

Best Vanilla Cake

Prep: 20 min. + standing

Bake: 30 min. + cooling

Makes: 16 ser vings

1 ¹₂ cups sour cream

1 Tbsp. vanilla bean paste

1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

4 cups cake flour

2 ¹₂ cups sugar

4 ¹₂ tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. salt

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

¹₄ cup canola oil

6 large egg whites,

room temperature

2 large eggs, room temperature

1. Preheat oven to 350°. In a small
   bowl, mix sour cream, vanilla paste
   and vanilla extract until combined.
   Let stand 10 minutes. Line bottoms
   of 3 greased 9-in. round baking pans
   with parchment; grease paper.


2. S i f t t h e c a ke f l o u r, s u g a r, b a k i n g
   powder and salt together twice into
   a large bowl. Add butter and canola

DISHING WITH

Maggie

Knoebel

TOH Culinary Assistant

This really is a cake

perfect for any occasion.

I bake so many layer

cakes professionally

and for fun—this

one is delicious and

sturdy enough to hold

a mountain of luscious

buttercream. The

texture is dense but

f luffy, and so incredibly

moist. I love its strong

vanilla f lavor—it tastes

like an expensive cake

from a fancy bakery but

is super easy to make!

Best Vanilla Buttercream

Prep: 30 min. + cooling • Makes: 5 cups

6 oz. white baking chips

¹₄ cup heavy whipping cream

1 Tbsp. vanilla bean paste

1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

6 large egg whites,

room temperature

oil; beat until the mixture is crumbly.

Add egg whites, 1 at a time, beating

well after each addition. Add eggs,

1 at a time, beating well after each

addition. Beat in sour cream mixture

just until combined.

3. Transfer batter to prepared pans.
   Bake until a toothpick inserted in
   center comes out clean, 30-35
   minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes
   before removing to wire racks;
   remove paper. Cool completely.
   Frost cake as desired.
   1 SLICE WITHOUT BUTTERCREAM
   399 cal., 16g fat (8g sat. fat),
   54mg chol., 462mg sod., 59g carb.
   (32g sugars, 1g fiber), 5g pro.

1 ¹₂ cups sugar

¹₂ tsp. cream of tartar

¹₂ tsp. salt

2 cups unsalted butter, cubed

1. In a microwave, melt baking chips
   with cream until smooth, stirring
   every 30 seconds. Stir in vanilla paste
   and extract. Set aside to cool slightly.
   Meanwhile, in a heatproof bowl of a
   stand mixer, whisk egg whites, sugar,
   cream of tartar and salt until blended.
   Place over simmering water in a
   large saucepan over medium heat.
   Whisking constantly, heat mixture
   until a thermometer reads 160°,
   8-10 minutes.


2. Remove from heat. With the whisk
   attachment of a stand mixer, beat on
   high speed until cooled to 90°, about
   7 minutes. Gradually beat in butter,
   a few tablespoons at a time, on
   medium speed until smooth. Beat
   in the cooled baking chip mixture
   until blended.
   2 TBSP. 144 cal., 11g fat (7g sat. fat),
   27mg chol., 43mg sod., 10g carb.
   (10g sugars, 0 fiber), 1g pro.