Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter and flour your Bundt pan, or grease and flour three 6-inch round cake pans and line each with a parchment paper round.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, all-purpose flour, sifted Dutch-processed cocoa powder, baking soda, and kosher salt. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla extract until well combined. Add this wet mixture to the dry ingredients and mix until smooth. Gradually add the hot coffee and rum to the batter, whisking until totally blended and smooth, about 2 minutes. The batter will be thin.
- Divide the batter evenly into the prepared pans. Bake until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Allow the cakes to cool completely in the pans before inverting them onto a wire rack. Keep covered until ready to assemble.
- For the Champagne Buttercream, combine the granulated sugar and egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir over a double boiler until the sugar is completely melted and the mixture feels smooth between your fingers. Transfer the bowl to the stand mixer and beat with the whisk attachment on medium-high speed until light, fluffy, glossy, and the bowl is at room temperature.
- With the mixer on medium speed, gradually add the unsalted butter, about 2 tablespoons at a time. The mixture may look curdled and runny after adding about half the butter; this is normal. Continue adding the butter and mixing until the buttercream is creamy and glossy.
- Add the vanilla extract, champagne extract, and kosher salt. Mix until combined.
- For the filling, place about 2 cups of the buttercream in a separate mixing bowl and stir in the cherry preserves. Reserve the remaining buttercream for the exterior of the cake.
- To assemble, place one cake layer on a cake turntable. Spread a 1/4-inch-thick layer of the cherry buttercream over the first layer. Repeat with the remaining cake layers and cherry buttercream, stacking them and ending with a cake layer on top.
- Apply a thin layer of the reserved vanilla buttercream over the entire cake for a crumb coat. Freeze the cake for about 20 minutes to set the crumb coat.
- Ice the cake with a thick layer of the remaining vanilla buttercream. Use a metal spatula or cake comb to smooth the sides and top of the cake.
- To decorate, use a pastry bag fitted with a star tip to create a border around the top edge of the cake.
- For buttercream roses, place a small amount of buttercream in a bowl and add a few drops of pink food coloring, if using. Fit a pastry bag with a rose tip. Paint a line of the colored buttercream down the inside seam of the bag with a fine paintbrush. Fill the pastry bag with the plain white buttercream. Form each rose on a rose nail, then use kitchen shears to transfer the roses to the top of the cake. Repeat to create desired number of roses.
- If using, finish the cake with edible luster dust and a ring of edible sugar pearls around the base.
Notes
This recipe is adapted from “Zoë Bakes Cakes: Everything You Need to Know to Make Your Favorite Layers, Bundts, Loaves, and More” by Zoë Francois © Ten Speed Press 2021. Provided courtesy of Zoë Francois. All rights reserved.