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Active Time
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Total Time
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The most dainty and cute of the three, this little pink cake was the one that propelled me into a life in cake making and was the original inspiration for the cakes I made at Miette. For the SFMOMA, I make the Thiebaud Pink Cake pink by cooking down strawberry syrup and adding it to the buttercream, and I top the frosted cake with either a red buttercream dot or a big, ripe raspberry if they're in season. I use lemon curd in the filling because, being the giant kid that I am, I love the combination of strawberry and lemon in a dessert—to me, it always tastes like Froot Loops.
Ingredients
Makes one 8-inch cake, serving 8 to 10
Strawberry Concentrate
Step 1
To make the strawberry concentrate, wash, dry, and hull the strawberries. Cut the berries in half or quarter them if they are especially big.
Step 2
Combine the strawberries, water, and sugar in a medium nonreactive saucepan and bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-low heat, stirring to help the sugar dissolve. Turn down the heat to the low, cover, and simmer until the berries are soft, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and let the berries rest, covered, for 5 minutes.
Step 3
Transfer the berry mixture to a fine-mesh sieve set over a medium nonreactive saucepan. Once all of the juice has drained, set the berries aside to use in another project. Bring the juice to a simmer over medium-low heat until it has reduced down to 1/4 cup (2.1 oz / 60 g), about 10 minutes, and set aside to cool.
Step 4
To assemble the pink cake, place the cooled cake on a flat, stable work surface. Using a long, serrated knife, slice off the rounded top of the cake so that it is perfectly level. An even, flat top is key to the look of this dessert.
Step 5
使用锯齿刀,把蛋糕卧式锻机lly into 2 even layers. Split each half in half again so that you have a total of 4 layers. Place the bottom layer on an 8-inch cardboard cake round or directly on the serving platter and set on top of a cake turntable, if you have one. Generously brush the surface of the cake with simple syrup.
Step 6
Prepare the buttercream by warming and whipping it to achieve a mayonnaise-like consistency (seeWorking with Buttercream). Measure out 1/2 cup (2.6 oz / 73 g) of buttercream and, using an offset spatula, spread it evenly on the bottom cake layer, being careful not to let it blop over the sides. As you spread the buttercream, let a small wall (about 1/4 inch high) form around the outer edge, creating a well for the lemon curd.
Step 7
Evenly distribute 1/4 cup (2.1 oz / 60 g) of the lemon curd in the well. Set another cake layer on top and brush with simple syrup; spread with buttercream, creating a well, and fill with lemon curd just as you did with the first layer. Repeat with the third layer. Top with the final cake layer.
Step 8
If necessary, warm the buttercream once again. Measure out 1 cup (5.2 oz / 146 g) of buttercream and use the offset spatula to apply it as a crumb coat, a thin coating covering all surfaces of the cake; a crumb coat will seal the exterior of the cake to help prevent crumbs from marring the final frosting. (It's important to measure out buttercream specifically for the crumb coat so that the unused buttercream remains crumb free.) Refrigerate the cake for 10 to 15 minutes to set the crumb coat.
Step 9
Reserve about 1/2 cup (2.6 oz / 73 g) of buttercream for the top of the cake. Using an offset spatula, apply a thick layer of the remaining buttercream to the sides of the chilled crumb-coated cake. At this point, it's not important that the cake look pretty—it's most important that the buttercream be evenly distributed around the sides. With the cake sitting squarely in the middle of the turntable and with the offset spatula held vertically against the frosting, begin spinning the turntable. Keep the cake moving steadily in one direction and apply light pressure with the spatula; the buttercream will begin to even out. I like to imagine the spatula as the needle that stays steady while the record (or cake) spins round and round on the turntable. My goal is to make the sides perfect before adding any Thiebaud personality. Make sure to watch the vertical line of the cake; I find it helpful to look at the right side of the cake at eye level while spinning the turntable. You can add more buttercream to any spots that seem thin and whittle down any thick spots with the spatula.
Step 10
Once the sides are perfectly vertical and smooth, create as much or as little texture as you want in the buttercream. I constantly refer back toDisplay Cakesas I try to capture the casual, slightly imperfect look of Thiebaud's cakes onto my neatly frosted sides. It's not easy! While spinning the cake on the turntable, I often hold my offset spatula vertically and gently wobble it back and forth, or I take a quick swipe at the cake with the spatula blade as the turntable spins.
Step 11
When the sides are to your liking, you'll find a ring of buttercream standing up above the surface of the cake. Lightly "grab" the excess buttercream in one area with the offset spatula and pull it toward the center of the cake, spreading it toward the center. Repeat until you have a nice, clean edge all around.
Step 12
如果有必要,温暖保留奶油乳酪,then mound it up on top of the cake in the center. Using a small offset spatula, start from the center and begin smoothing out the buttercream, inching it closer and closer to the edge of the cake. I work fairly slowly when doing this in order to get a nice, voluminous lip of buttercream where the sides and the top of the cake meet, re-creating the ring that appears around the top edge of Thiebaud's pink cake.
Step 13
Place the raspberry in the center of the cake.
Step 14
The cake is best served immediately.
Do Ahead:This cake has many different components that require preparation before the cake can be assembled. The cake needs to be baked and thoroughly chilled before assembly, so consider making it the day before. It will keep for up to 5 days in the refrigerator or for up 2 months in the freezer. The lemon curd takes 3 to 4 hours to set, so consider preparing it while the cake is baking. It can be kept for up to 1 week in the refrigerator or for 4 months in the freezer. The strawberry concentrate can be made ahead and stored for up to 1 week in an airtight container in the refrigerator or 4 months in the freezer, but should be at room temperature before using. The buttercream is easiest to use when it's freshly made, but it can also be made ahead and easily rewarmed before frosting the cake (seeWorking with Buttercream). It will keep for up to 1 week in the refrigerator or for up to 4 months in the freezer. The simple syrup can be made shortly before assembling the cake but, if made ahead of time, will keep for up to 3 weeks in the refrigerator. To store leftover cake, press plastic wrap against the cut sides and refrigerate for up to 1 week. Bring to room temperature before serving.
Above and Beyond:In the paintingDisplay Cakes, the pink cake is the smallest of the three. But since 6-inch cake pans aren't common in home kitchens, I've made this cake the same size as the other two. To make a more faithful replica of the painting, bake the cake batter in two 6 by 2-inch cake pans; seeVariations in Rose's Downy Yellow Butter Cakefor details. Split each baked cake into 2 even layers so that you have a total of 4 layers. Build the cake on a 6-inch cardboard cake round or directly on a serving platter, using slightly less simple syrup, buttercream, and lemon curd on each layer.
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Reviews (20)
Back to TopMade this for my daughter’s birthday party. Exquisite cake and well worth all the steps!
kbpoole
Redondo Beach, CA
11/16/2020
This cake definitely has potential. I actually had a printout of the recipe as it appears in the book, which was easier to follow than the format printed here. It is a very time-consuming cake with lots of steps, however many can be done in advance. I would have preferred to have the buttercream volume in between the layers to be greater - following the recipe amounts left you with thin layers of buttercream between layers and a ton for the outside of the cake. The strawberry buttercream was a little short on strawberry flavor, which was probably because the strawberries I used weren't terribly flavorful. This is definitely a cake you want to make when you have ripe, flavorful, in-season, small berries. It wasn't clear from the recipe whether you were to sub the two tbsp vanilla with two tbsp of strawberry concentrate or use all the concentrate that you had made, so I added it all and was glad that I did. I would make it again, but with these adjustments. RLB's downy butter cake was a perfect recipe and absolutely delicious.
callyn
3/30/2014
This recipe IS poorly organized and hard to follow. This is my first time making it, and I haven't baked a cake in years now. One of the major criticisms seems to be that it is not "strawberry" enough. I haven't made the whole cake yet, just the frosting today. I think a problem is that you are supposed to add the strawberry concentrate to the frosting, and no where else to the cake. It calls for a scant 1/4 cup of strawberry sauce. I am doing three things to fix this: 1)I used many, many more strawberries (3 boxed) for the concentrate; 2) I added 3/4 cup of sugar, plus a squirt of lemon juice and a pinch of salt to concentrate; 3) I pureed the strawberries to make a coulis. I added about a cup of the coulis to the frosting, but no more because it would get too watery. I then plan to bake the cake on Saturday, let it get a little dry over night, and then poke holes in it and pour more coulis to fill the cake. I think this will fix it, and pump up the strawberry flavor. I plan to the follow the rest of the recipe. I also recommend buying lemon curd, not making it. Making a cake from scratch is enough work.
mainelaw14
5/8/2013
YUM!
gourmetcreations
NJ
5/4/2013
This recipe was a LOT of work, poorly organized and confusing (at least it was to me) and I didn't think it was that good. I have cake recipes that are way easier and more delicious.
debmatz55
5/4/2013
It appears the baker needs to review the recipe a little more. I too was puzzled when to add the strawberry syrup to the butter creme frosting. Then I read in someone else's comments that the amount of strawberry syrup was inadequate to color or flavor the cake. That may have been simply a difference in taste preferences,but missing info never is. The baker and the site editor both need to do a better job reviewing the recipes. It is Epicurious and like Bon Appetit I hold it to a higher standard.
Anonymous
Texas
4/27/2013
For those having trouble with the instructions the link I have is m.fonts4kids.comrecipes/food/review s/Thiebaud-Pink-Cake-51159640 I had no trouble, when I clicked on the Yellow Cake recipe it came up without a problem. The author quotes other source recipes in putting together this cake and it's necessary to follow all the prompts (bold letter words) to complete the cake and put it all together. Your best bet if possible is to print out all the recipes; i.e. cake, frosting, curd and have them all on hand to construct this cake. Happy Baking. :)
hooper2
New Hope, PA
4/26/2013
This is the most poorly constructed recipe ever written.
kittkatptown
4/26/2013
I keep reading the recipe over, but I cannot see where the strawberry syrup is added anywhere. Is it in the cake? Is it put on the cake? Is it in the buttercream frosting? Please clarify.
LaurynB
4/25/2013
//m.fonts4kids.com/recipes/food/views/Roses-Downy-Yellow-Butter-Cake-51159420 is working for me.
Anonymous
Los Angeles
4/25/2013
Placed cursor over the yellow butter cake recipe and get to the recipe but there is no recipe, except for the title and the intro. Even went to the Epicurious site and looked up the cake recipe and got the same results. Others are having the same problem when you read the reviews. If you find out the correct link, please post. Thank you.
Anonymous
miami
4/25/2013
I have not made it yet but it looks yummy. To the poster who wondered where the cake recipe is, just click the bold lettering of Roses butter cake in the middle of the recipe, it will take you to,the recipe for the cake, the lemon curd is also a separate recipe.
darkebo
4/25/2013
Obviously placed cursor over cake recipe, but still no recipe comes up. Would like to try it whenever the cake gets posted.
MaryHelenCampbell
miami
4/25/2013
@leah1383 The styling for the link is just kinda subtle, but the listing for the Butter Cake is actually a clickable link to the recipe. (Just mouse over it and you'll see your pointer change to a hand.)
p8yton
4/25/2013
好吧,显然不是业余的蛋糕,甚至大街rage bakers! But I read the instructions three times before figuring out what one did with the strawberry reduction or how the buttercream became pink (hint: you have to follow the link that says Working with Buttercream and read down through the recipe to get to a note about the Pink Cake). Even then, it says substitute the strawberry reduction for vanilla, but there's a quarter cup of strawberry reduction and the recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of vanilla extract -- so do you use the whole quarter cup, or just 2 tablespoons? Maybe when the recipe is in book form it seems clearer ( and as I said I'm not an experienced baker, but I love the sound --and look -- of this cake).
Anonymous
Miami FL
4/25/2013
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