Pink cake

Total time	1 ½ hours
Baking time	22 to 25 minutes
8 to 12 servings
Tools
8 by 2-inch round cake pans, greased, bottoms lined with greased parchment paper circles	3
Wire whisk
Sifter
Stand mixer with whisk and paddle attachments
Rubber and metal spatulas
Wire racks
Cake
Chocolate, unsweetened, chopped	4 ounces
Cocoa, Dutch processed, lightly packed	1 ounce
Water, boiling	¾ cup
Sour cream, full fat	6 ¾ ounces
Vanilla extract	1 tablespoon
Flour, all purpose	10 ounces
Baking soda	¾ teaspoon
Salt, sea, fine	1 teaspoon
Butter, unsalted, room temperature	4 ounces
Sugar, light brown, firmly packed	7 ½ ounces
Sugar, granulated	5 ¼ ounces
Oil, canola	½ cup
Eggs, room temperature	3 whole + 3 yolks
Frosting
Raspberries	10 ounces
Eggs	6 whites
Sugar, granulated	8 ¾ ounces
Cream of tartar	¼ teaspoon
Butter, unsalted, room temperature, cut into cubes	2 cups
Vanilla extract	2 teaspoons
Salt, sea, fine	1/8 teaspoon

Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F, and ensure a rack is in the middle. 
2. In a small bowl, combine the chocolate and cocoa, and add the water; steep 1 minute. 
3. Whisk together, and then whisk in the sour cream and vanilla; set aside. 
4. Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl, and then whisk the mixture by hand to ensure the ingredients are well incorporated. 
5. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter with both sugars on medium-high speed, and beat until light, about 3 minutes.
   As you make the batter, stop the mixer frequently and scrape the paddle and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. 
6. On low speed, drizzle the oil into the mixture until blended. 
7. Increase the speed to medium-high, and beat until the batter is fluffy, about 3 minutes more. 
8. Blend in the eggs, one at a time, adding the next one as soon as the previous one has disappeared into the batter. 
9. Reduce to low speed, add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the chocolate mixture in two parts (beginning and ending with flour).
   After each addition, mix until just barely incorporated, and stop to scrape the bowl. 
10. Stop the mixer before the last of the flour has been incorporated, and complete the blending by hand with a rubber spatula to ensure you do not overbeat the batter. 
11. Divide the batter equally among the pans (approximately 1 pound 2 ounces per pan). 
12. Smooth the tops, and tap the pans on the counter to settle the batter and eliminate any large air bubbles. 
13. Bake until the centers spring back when lightly touched, 22 to 25 minutes. 
14. Cool the cakes in their pans on a wire rack for 30 minutes. 
15. Flip the cakes out of the pans, leaving on the parchment paper until you assemble the cake. 
16. Let them continue to cool, top sides up, until they reach room temperature. 

Frosting

1. Press the raspberries through a sieve, discard the seeds; set purée aside. 
2. Using a hand whisk and the stand mixer bowl, whisk together the egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar. 
3. Place the bowl over (not in) a saucepan of simmering water. 
4. Gently whisk the mixture until it is very hot (130°F on a candy thermometer). 
5. Move the bowl to the stand mixer and, using the whisk attachment, whip the whites on medium-high speed until they have tripled in volume and are thick and glossy and hold stiff peaks, 3 to 4 minutes. 
6. Reduce speed to medium-low, and continue for another 1 to 2 minutes, until the bowl is just cool to touch. 
7. Increase speed to medium-high, and add the butter, one piece at a time, adding the next piece just as the previous one is incorporated. 
8. Stop the mixer every so often to scrape down the sides.
   At some point, the buttercream appears curdled; don’t worry, this is normal. 
9. After all the butter is incorporated, and the frosting is light and fluffy, add the purée, vanilla, and salt. 
10. Rewhip the frosting by hand or with a mixer just before frosting the cake. 

Assembly

1. Lay one of the cakes, top side up, on a cake plate. 
2. Using a metal spatula, frost the top with ¾ cup of frosting, spreading it out to the edge (the filling will be about ¼-inch thick). 
3. Stack the second cake, top side up, on the frosted cake, and spread another ¾ cup of frosting. 
4. Stack the last layer of the cake, top side up, and spread any frosting that may have oozed out from between the layers along the sides. 
5. Apply a thin layer of frosting all over the cake the create a “crumb coat,” and refrigerate for about 10 minutes. 
6. Frost with remaining frosting, using your spatula to make decorative swirls. 

Recipe from Vintage Cakes by Julie Richardson.