I absolutely LOVE Valentine’s Day, its my favorite holiday hands down. I saw this really adorable Love Letter Tuxedo cake recipe from Sprinkle Bakes and had to share with you, especially if you like to bake like me. One day I will show one of the cakes that I make but mine never turn out quite like the photos lol. Check out the recipe inside…
Love Letter Cake
(Classic Tuxedo Cake)
Yields one 8-inch triple layer cake
Cake Layers
3 ounces fine-quality semisweet chocolate
1 1/2 cups (350 ml) hot brewed coffee or hot water
2 1/2 cups (300g) all-purpose flour
3 cups (600g) sugar
1 1/2 cups (150g) unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3 large eggs
3/4 cup (180ml) vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups (12 oz.) full fat sour cream
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
White vanilla buttercream and décor
1 cup/226g unsalted butter, softened
6 cups/770g confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Milk or heavy cream to thin
Red food color, optional
8-10 sheets wafer paper stamped with script motif (per blog post instructions)
Chocolate glaze
4 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup/ 117 ml heavy cream
1/4/ 85g cup corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Make the cake: Preheat oven to 300°F. Grease three 8-inch round pans with shortening. Line bottoms with rounds of parchment paper and grease paper.
Finely chop chocolate combine it in a bowl with hot coffee or hot water. Let mixture stand, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.
Sift together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. In another large bowl with an electric mixer beat eggs until thickened slightly and lemon colored (about 3 minutes with a standing mixer or 5 minutes with a hand-held mixer). Add oil, sour cream, vanilla, and melted chocolate mixture to eggs, beating until combined well. Add flour mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined. Divide batter between 3- 8” pans and bake in middle of oven until cake springs back when pressed in the center, approximately 40-50 minutes.
Cool layers in pans for 15 minutes on racks. Run a thin knife around edges of pans and invert layers onto wire racks. Carefully remove parchment paper and cool layers completely. Level if needed with a cake leveler or serrated knife. Cake layers may be made one day ahead and kept, wrapped well in plastic wrap, at room temperature.
Make the frosting: In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, cream the butter well and then add the confectioners’ sugar. Beat on low speed until crumbly and add milk or cream a little at a time until the mixture is no longer crumbly and begins to come together. Increase speed to high and beat for 3 minutes. Add vanilla extract and beat again for another minute. If you find the buttercream is too stiff, you may add milk or heavy cream 1 tablespoon at a time until the mixture is spreading consistency. If it’s too thin, add more confectioners’ sugar.
Remove 2/3 cup of frosting and place in a separate bowl. Tint the frosting with red food color and fill each layer with 1/3 cup of frosting. Frost the outside of the cake with the remaining white frosting. Please aim to make the edges of the cake as even as possible so the wafer paper will adhere smoothly. Measure the edge of the cake (height) and cut the stamped wafer paper to size. Place the paper pieces onto the cake side-by-side (do not overlap) and press them into the frosting evenly. The frosting must be fresh and tacky in order for the paper to stick. If the paper doesn’t adhere, apply a fresh coat of frosting. Pay special attention to smooth the edges of the paper into the buttercream so they do not peel away from the cake or pucker. Be careful not to move your hand around on the surface of the paper or you may smear the ink. Allow the cake to stand at least 30 minutes before applying the glaze.
Make the chocolate glaze: Combine chocolate and heavy cream in a small saucepan and heat over medium-high until the milk begins to steam. Remove from heat and let stand 2-3 minutes; whisk until chocolate and cream are smooth and combined. Add corn syrup and vanilla. Whisk again until smooth. Place mixture in the refrigerator for 5-10 minutes or until slightly thickened. Pour over top of cake and allow it to overflow and run down the sides of the stamped wafer paper.
Store the cake at room temperature in a cake cloche.
Images via Sprinkles Bakes
