Signature Cake?

Thanks to everyone for the kind words on my blog. The feedback has been great. I hear you guys on fashion tips. Not sure I have any so far, except guys don’t peg your jeans if you want to hit on me. C’mon, really?

I’m also getting a lot of pressure to cook with booze, so here we go. A Kir Royale is my all-time favorite drink. I don’t have them too frequently so I have wonderful memories attached to the flavors - from New Years to escargot. I had my first Kir Royale in a small bistro in Le Marais and fell in love. You might say now this is my signature cocktail – something EVERY girl should have.

Most important thing to remember – a Kir Royale is made with Crème de Cassis. It is not made with Chambord. If anyone is in LA, please remind the bartender at Koi of this.

When thinking up this cake recipe, I had three things that I wanted to incorporate – the bubbliness of the champagne, the blackcurrant flavor and zest of lemon used as a garnish on the traditional drink. A chiffon immediately came to mind. From that starting place, I developed the recipe below. Please try it out… I hope you have as many wonderful times enjoying this cake as I have with the drink.  

Kir Royale Cake

Chiffon Infused with Champagne, Black Currant Filling and Lemon and Champange Whipped Frosting

*Ingredients*

For the cake…

2 ¼ cups cake flour (not self-rising)

1 ½ cups sugar

1 tablespoon double-acting baking powder

½  teaspoon salt

½  cup vegetable oil

7 large egg yolks

¾ cup chilled champagne  

2 tablespoons freshly grated lemon zest

2 teaspoons vanilla

9 large egg whites

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

For the filling…

½ cup currant jelly

4 tablespoons crème to cassis

1 cup confectioners sugar

For the icing…

2 cups heavy whipping cream

4 tablespoons granulated sugar

3 tablespoons champagne or sparkling wine at room temperature

              

Zest of 3 lemons for the topping

* Instructions *

For the cake…

1.   Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2.   Sift together flour, ¾ cup of sugar, baking powder and salt.

3.   Whisk together oil, egg yolks, champagne and lemon zest.

4.   With an electric mixer, beat egg whites until foamy. Add cream of tartar. Beat until soft peaks form. Add in remaining ¾ cup  sugar.

5.   Grease and flour 2 8-inch cake pans.

6.   Bake for 45 min or until the middle springs back to touch.  

For the filling…

1.   Heat jelly and crème de cassis over low heat until bubbly in small sauce pan.

2.   Remove from heat.

3.   Stir in confectioners’ sugar and stir until smooth.

4.   Spread between layers.

For the icing…

1.   Beat whipping cream in chilled bowl with an electric mixer with 1 tablespoon sugar.  

2.   Fold in champagne.

3.   Frost cake and garnish with lemon zest.