Extra egg yolks? no problem!

Well, I consider myself pretty thrifty (or at least I’m trying…), so when I used TWELVE egg whites for Becky’s birthday cake, I knew I didn’t want to just throw away all those juicy yolks.

Yes… I know the recipe only called for 8, but I screwed up 4 of them using the wrong buttermilk… long story… suffice to say, I kept 12 egg yolks tightly sealed in the fridge overnight.

So what could I do with these?  Well, I happened to stumble on the perfect complementary recipe that uses 12 egg yolks and buttermilk!  Talk about using leftovers….

The original recipe can be found on this website, and I’ll post the recipe at the end of my post.

The cake was a lot simpler to make than Becky’s birthday cake.  Not only was the batter much simpler, but cream cheese frosting is waaaaaaaaaaay easier than buttercream!  I used a simple cream cheese frosting recipe from Dorie Greenspan’s book, and traditional bittersweet ganache to go along with the filling…. I just love the flavor combination of chocolate and orange 🙂

Beating the egg yolks was simple.  I added about a TBSP of water to the yolks to make up for any drying that occurred during the fridge, then beat the yolks with my electric mixer until they formed a ribbon.

After baking the cakes, I cut them in half like before, and spread the cream cheese frosting between each layer.  I then added a thin layer of chocolate ganache on top of the cream cheese frosting.

After stacking all 4 layers, I placed a thin layer of frosting over the top and sides to catch the crumbs, and chilled the cake in the fridge for a few hours.  This is known as the crumb layer, and is useful because it will “trap” any stray cake crumbs within this layer, making the final product that much smoother.

Lastly, as seen in the first picture, I used a simple red sugar icing to spell out our church’s motto: Faith, Love, Hope.

I brought it to church this morning, I hope everyone enjoyed it!

Pastor Ted and me

The cross section was much more even this time… maybe I’m finally getting better at cutting these layers? 🙂

Cross section

The aftermath

Recipes as follows:

Amazing Orange Gold Cake

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 c cake flour, sifted
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 12 egg yolks, room temp
• 12 tbs unsalted butter, room temp
• 2 tsp orange extract
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 c sugar
• 1 c buttermilk (not low fat buttermilk)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350,  Grease and flour two 9 inch layer cake pans.
2. Sift the flour with the salt and baking soda.  Set aside.
3. Beat egg yolks until thick and lemon colored (or as close as you can get), and a ribbon forms when beaters are lifted.  This will take about five minutes.  In another bowl beat the butter until creamy. Add 1/4 c of sugar  and flavorings, and beat well. Continue to add the rest of the sugar slowly, beating well and scraping bowl often.  There should be no graininess to the butter when all of the sugar is incorporated.
4. Add 1/3 of the yolks and beat well.  Continue adding yolks, 1/3 at a time, beating well after each addition.
5. Add flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour.  Mix just until blended. Divide batter evenly between the pans and bake for 30 minutes.
6. Check cakes.  Whn done they will be golden, and a toothpick inserted in center will come out clean.  Coll in the pans for 10 minutes, and then turn out to cool completely before frosting.

Dorie’s Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients:

• 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 stick ( 8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 pound or 3 and ¾ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice or ½ teaspoon pure lemon extract
• ½ cup shredded coconut (optional)
• Finely chopped toasted nuts and/or toasted shredded coconut (optional)

Directions:

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the sugar and continue to beat until the frosting is velvety smooth. Beat in the lemon juice or extract.

If you’d like coconut in the filling, scoop about half of the frosting and stir the coconut into this position.

Dorie’s Bittersweet Ganache

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
• 1 cup + 2 TBSP heavy cream
• 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature

Directions:

Put the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl.

Bring the cream to a boil, then pour half of the cream over the chocolate and let it sit for 30 seconds.  Working with a whisk or rubber spatula, gently stir the chocolate and cream together in small circles.  Pour in the rest of the cream and repeat.

When the ganache is smooth and shiny, stir in the butter piece by piece.

Once cooled, it can be used as frosting.  If you want to use it as a glaze, apply while still warm.