Buddy Valastros Vanilla Cake Recipes

BUDDY VALASTRO'S VANILLA CAKE

Steps:

• Position a rack in the center of the oven, and preheat the oven to 350F
• Put the flour, sugar, vegetable oil, baking powder, vanilla and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment
• (If you dont have a stand mixer, you can put the ingredients in a bowl and use a hand mixer with the blending attachments
• ) Mix on slow just until the ingredients are blended together, a few seconds, then raise the speed to low-medium and continue to mix until smooth, approximately 1 additional minute
• With the motor running, add 1 egg at a time, adding the next one after the previous one has been absorbed into the mixture
• Stop the motor periodically and scrape the bowl from the bottom with a rubber spatula to integrate ingredients, and return the mixer to low-medium speed
• After all the eggs are added, continue to mix for an additional minute to ensure the eggs have been thoroughly mixed in
• This will help guarantee that the sugar is dissolved and that the flour has been thoroughly mixed in, which will help produce a luxurious mouth-feel in the final cake
• RELATED: How to Make Frosting With the motor running, add the milk, 1/2 cup at a time, stopping the motor to scrape the sides and bottom between the two additions
• Continue to mix for another minute or until the mixture appears smooth
• Before baking, be sure the batter is at 70-73F or the cake will crown
• Grease two 9-inch cake pans (2 inches high) with the butter, and flour them
• Divide the batter evenly between the two cake pans, using a rubber spatula to scrape down the bowl and get as much batter as possible out
• Bake until the cake begins to pull from the sides of the pan and is springy to the touch, 25 to 30 minutes
• Remove the cakes from the oven and let cool for at least 30 minutes, preferably an hour
• The cakes should be at room temperature before you remove them from the pan
• Put a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet, top with sugar, and one at a time, turn the pans over and turn the cakes out onto parchment; the sugar will keep it from sticking
• Refrigerate or freeze until ready to decorate

FUNNEL CAKES

Steps:

• Put the pancake mix in a bowl. In another bowl, whisk the milk, 2 tablespoons of the oil, the egg, yolk, and vanilla. Pour this mixture over the pancake mix and stir to combine well. Put the batter in a measuring cup with a spout or similar vessel, such as a small pitcher.
• Line a plate with paper towels. Pour oil into a cast iron skillet to a depth of about 1/2 inch. Heat the oil over medium heat to a temperature of 325 degrees F to 350 degrees F.
• Hold a funnel over the oil, a couple of inches from the surface.
• Working very carefully to avoid splashing hot oil, pour about one-quarter of the batter into the funnel and, working from the center, drizzle a web of batter over and around to create a disk approximately 6 inches in diameter. It's desirable to have some gaps or holes in the disk, but it should be whole enough to facilitate turning it over.
• When the bottom of the funnel cake is lightly browned, about 1 minute, turn the cake over, moving it away from you, and cook until golden on the other side, about 1 more minute.
• Transfer the funnel cake to the paper-towel-lined plate and dust immediately with sugar.
• Repeat with the remaining batter, letting the oil reheat between cakes, and serve immediately.

ITALIAN CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• For the dough: In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and granulated sugar together. Scrape down the sides and add the lemon and orange zests. Turn the mixer back on to low speed. Add the milk and egg. Turn the speed to medium and mix until well combined (scrape the sides of the bowl if necessary). Turn the mixer off and add the flour. Carefully turn the mixer on a slow speed and mix just until a dough forms, scraping down the sides as necessary.
• Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface dusted with flour. Knead until it forms a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until firm.
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• For the filling: Combine the ricotta cheese, granulated sugar, custard/pudding, lemon zest, orange zest and semolina flour in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until combined. Add the vanilla orange and blossom water. Add in the whole eggs and egg yolks in 3 batches. Mix on slow speed in between each addition.
• Grease the inside of a 9-inch nonstick springform pan with pan spray. Roll the dough into a circle approximately 14 inches wide. Roll the dough into the pan and press it out into an even layer across the bottom and up the sides of the pan.
• Pour the filling into the pan and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until cheesecake is golden brown, 80 to 90 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before removing from the pan.
• Remove from the pan and put onto a decorative plate or platter. Dust the top with powdered sugar using a small mesh strainer. Decorate the center with fresh cranberries and sprigs of rosemary.

EASTER BASKET CAKE

Steps:

• For the chocolate fudge frosting: Put the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and paddle on low speed until smooth, with no lumps, approximately 3 minutes. With the motor running, add the sugar, one cup at a time, adding the next cup only after the previous
• addition is absorbed.
• Stop the machine and add the cocoa, vanilla, and salt. Paddle on low-medium speed until completely smooth, approximately 2 minutes. Add the water and continue to paddle until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Put the chocolate fudge frosting in a pastry bag fitted with a #48 interchangeable basket weave tip.
• For the white American buttercream: Combine the butter and shortening in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
• Sift in the confectioners' sugar and mix on low speed to prevent the sugar from spilling out of the bowl. Increase the speed to medium and mix until the mixture aerates and becomes smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and turn down the speed to low.
• With the motor running on low speed, add the salt and slowly pour in the vanilla and oil in a thin stream. Increase the speed to medium and combine until the mixture is light, fluffy and smooth.
• For the green American buttercream: Put 3 cups White American Buttercream in a large bowl.
• Add a small amount of the green food coloring gel and combine with a rubber spatula until the cream is uniformly colored. Add more gel as you mix until the frosting is the desired shade of green.
• Put the green buttercream in a pastry bag fitted with a #233 interchangeable grass tip.
• To assemble: On a turntable, prepare a double-layer cake of your choosing on a doily-lined cardboard circle, filling it with the filling of your choice.
• Put 3 cups of the White American Buttercream in a pastry bag fitted with a #6 star tip. Dirty ice the cake with the buttercream by covering the cake with a thin layer to create a crumb coat.
• Take the chocolate fudge bag in hand, and working from bottom to top, using the straight side of the tip (the basket weave tip has a plain/straight side and a ruffled/serrated side), pipe vertical lines around the side of the cake, 1/8-inch apart, turning the turntable after each line.
• Next, starting at the bottom, and turning the turntable as you work, pipe horizontal bands over every other vertical line. Pipe another set of bands above the first set, piping them over the lines you skipped on the first level.
• Continue in this fashion, piping over alternating sets of lines, until you have created a basket weave that covers the entire side of the cake.
• Take the green buttercream bag in hand and squeeze-and-pull grass around the border, letting the grass come slightly over the edge. Cover the entire top of the cake with grass.
• Top the cake with the jelly beans, Peeps, Reese's peanut butter cups, and other candies.