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meringue buttercream

Almond Peach Biscoff Cake with Dulcey Faux Meringue Buttercream

May 23, 2022 By Ashley Leave a Comment

There’s a quite a few flavor components to this cake and it was so hard to actually figure out what to name this cake. Multiple flavors that make a balanced, and super delicious cake. My almond peach Biscoff cake with Dulcey faux meringue buttercream is made up of buttery, tender almond cake, filled with caramelized peaches, Biscoff cookie almond streusel, and roasted white chocolate (Dulcey) faux meringue buttercream. It’s out of this world delicious and a must bake for cake lovers.

Almond Dulcy Peach Biscoff Cake

Almond Cake

The almond flavor in this cake comes from almond extract. Very little, only 1 teaspoon is used in this recipe because almond extract is can be very strong. The small amount of extract in this cake gives just enough flavor without being overpowering or too artificial tasting.

Both white and brown sugars are used in this recipe. I added a bit of brown sugar to give the cake more depth and more of a caramel flavor. This almond cake is super tender, moist and fluffy.

Almond Dulcy Peach Biscoff Cake

Caramelized Peaches

I made both a peach compote and caramelized peaches for this cake, to see which one I preferred. The caramelized peaches won, hands down. Loads more flavor than a compote. Sauté fresh sliced peaches with butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt until tender and caramelized. Let the peaches cool to room temperature before assembling the cake.

The peaches can be refrigerated once cooled, but note that some of the butter will solidify again. Let the peaches come to room temperature, then give them a good stir. Now they are ready to use.

Almond Dulcy Peach Biscoff Cake

Almond Biscoff Streusel

I love adding crunchy elements to cakes. It adds texture to otherwise soft cake and soft fillings. I love Biscoff cookies, so I obviously needed to make a streusel with them. Biscoff crumbs, melted butter, brown sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon and sliced almonds are mixed to together, and baked for 8 minutes until fragrant and light golden brown. It’s hard to see if the streusel has reached golden brown, but you should be able to tell by looking at the almonds. Don’t over bake as the almonds can burn quite quickly.

Almond Dulcy Peach Biscoff Cake

Dulcey Faux Meringue Buttercream

So happy to introduce faux meringue buttercream to the blog today. It’s like Swiss or Italian meringue, without actually having to heat up egg whites or make a sugar syrup. For this recipe, pasteurized carton egg whites are used. These are safe to eat out of the carton. The whites are whipped with powdered sugar until thick, followed by softened butter, then whipped until light and fluffy. Melted Dulcey chocolate is then poured in and beaten on low speed until fully combined. This buttercream is much faster and easier than traditional meringue style buttercream. It’s also a lot sweeter, making it sort of like an American/meringue buttercream hybrid.

Dulcey chocolate is white chocolate that has been slowly heated and caramelized. It turns golden brown and has a deep nutty, caramelized flavor. It’s incredibly yummy. For this recipe, I used Valrhona Blonde Dulcey chocolate bars, but you can roast white chocolate in the oven if you aren’t able to source Dulcey.

Almond Dulcy Peach Biscoff Cake

If you make this almond peach Biscoff cake with Dulcey faux meringue buttercream, let me know! Drop a comment or tag me on Instagram. I love seeing your bakes and creations.

Enjoy!

Ash xx

For more delicious cake recipes, check out these posts:

Milk and Cookies Cake

Smoked Old Fashioned Cocktail Layer Cake

Chocolate Hazelnut Praline Cake

Champagne Strawberry Truffle Cake

Almond Dulcy Peach Biscoff Cake
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Almond Peach Biscoff Cake with Dulcey Faux Meringue Buttercream

Tender almond cake filled with caramelized peaches, Biscoff almond streusel and roasted white chocolate (dulcey) faux meringue buttercream
Prep Time40 mins
Cook Time40 mins
Assembly30 mins
Total Time1 hr 50 mins
Course: Dessert
Keyword: almond cake, biscoff almond streusel, cake, caramelized peaches, dulcey, faux meringue buttercream
Servings: 2 or 3 – 8″ cakes

Equipment

  • Electric Stand Mixer
  • Kitchen Scale
  • 2 or 3 8×2 inch cake pans
  • Ateco 808 round piping tip
  • 1 Piping bags
  • Cake turntable

Ingredients

Almond Cake

  • 14 ounces (397g) cake flour
  • 10 ounces (284g) granulated sugar
  • 4 ounces (113g) light brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 8 ounces (226g) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 12 ounces (340g) whole milk
  • 3 ounces (85g) canola oil
  • 4 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract

Caramelized Peaches

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
  • 2 cups (340g) fresh peaches, peeled and thinly sliced About 4 medium sized peaches
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon

Almond Biscoff Streusel

  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ¾ cup (64g) Biscoff cookie crumbs
  • ⅓ cup (40g) all purpose flour
  • ⅓ cup (28g) sliced almonds

Dulcey Faux Meringue Buttercream

  • 8 ounces dulcey chocolate ( I used Valrhona Blond Dulcey bars)
  • ¾ cup (170g) pasteurized egg whites
  • 4½ cups (568g) powdered sugar
  • 3 cups (678g) unsalted butter, softened and cubed
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Instructions

Almond Cake

  • Preheat the oven to 350F. Prepare the cake pans. You can use 3-8" pans for a 3 layer cake, or 2 -8" pans, then torte in half, for a 4 layer cake. Brush the bottoms and sides of your cake pans with melted butter. Line the bottoms and sides with parchment paper.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the cake flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. On low speed, mix for 1 minute to combine.
  • In a large measuring cup, whisk together the eggs, oil, vanilla, and almond extract.
  • With the mixer on low-medium speed, add in the softened butter pieces, one or two pieces at a time. Mix until the mixture resembles cornmeal. You should be able to gather a bit in your hand, squeeze and you have a solid piece. This means the butter is evenly distributed.
  • With the mixer still on low, stream in the whole milk and mix until the flour mixture is *just* moistened. The batter will be super thick.
  • Pour the remaining milk into the measuring cup with the eggs, oil, vanilla, and almond.
  • Turn the mixer speed to medium (4 or 6) and beat for *2-3 full* minutes. The mixture should be whipped, thick, and lighter in color.
  • Stop the mixer. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure everything is properly mixed.
  • Turn the mixer speed on low, add the eggs, oil, milk, vanilla, and almond mixture in three parts, scraping down the bowl after each addition has been mixed in.
  • Give the bowl a final scrape and mix with a spatula. Evenly divide the batter among the prepared pans.
  • Bake the layers for 30-40 minutes for 3 pans, 40-50 minutes for 2 pans. Start checking the cake at 30-35 minutes to test for doneness. Cakes are done when a toothpick comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, and the top of the cake feels springy and set when touched. Leave the oven on for the streusel.
  • Tap each cake pan firmly against the counter to remove excess steam. If your cakes dome at all, use a clean kitchen towel to gently push the domes down. Cool the cakes for 15 minutes in the pans.
  • Run a palette or butter knife around the cakes in their pans before turning them out to cool completely on cooling racks.
  • Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator.

Caramelized Peaches

  • In a skillet over medium-low heat, combine the butter and brown sugar and cook until melted and bubbling.
  • Add the peaches, lemon juice, salt, and cinnamon to the skillet.
  • Cook until the peaches have softened, and the sauce has thickened slightly, about 6-8 minutes. Allow the mixture to cool completely.

Almond Biscoff Streusel

  • Line a small cookie sheet with parchment paper.
  • In a medium bowl, melt the butter in the microwave, about 30-45 seconds.
  • Whisk in the brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon.
  • Add the Biscoff cookie crumbs and flour to the bowl and stir to coat.
  • Stir in the sliced almonds.
  • Pour the streusel onto the parchment paper in an even layer.
  • Bake for 8 minutes. Let the cool completely.

Dulcey Faux Meringue Buttercream

  • Finely chop the dulcey chocolate, and place it in a microwave-safe bowl.
  • Microwave in 30-second increments, stirring after every 30 seconds to prevent overheating.
  • Let the melted chocolate cool until it is completely room temperature. 
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, place the pasturized egg whites and powdered sugar. Mix on low speed until combined.
  • Turn the mixer up to medium-high speed and mix for 6-8 minutes.
  • Turn the speed down to medium-low and add the butter, a few pieces at a time.
  • Add the salt and vanilla. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl with a spatula.
  • Turn up the speed to medium and beat the buttercream for 10 minutes. It might look curdled at first, but keep mixing, it will come together to become creamy and smooth.
  • Add the room temperature melted chocolate and mix on low until completely combined.

Assembly

  • Work with chilled cake layers. Using a long serrated knife torte the layers, cutting them evenly in half. You will have four cake layers total. The tops of the cakes will be the center two layers of your cake. If you made your cake in 3 pans, skip this step.
  • Put one of the cake layers, cut side up onto an 8" cake board or directly onto a cake stand.
  • Spread a thin, even layer of the butter on the cake layer with an offset spatula. Pipe a rim (or dam) of buttercream around the edge of the cake layer.
  • Spread 1/3 of the peaches over the cake layer. 
  • Sprinkle the almond Biscoff streusel on top of the peaches. Pat into place.
  • Spread about one cup of the buttercream on top of the curd/crumble using an offset spatula to evenly distribute the buttercream.
  • Place the second cake layer on top, top up, and press down gently so that the layer is adhered to the buttercream. Repeat steps 3-6.
  • Place the third cake layer on top, top up, and press down gently so that the layer is adhered to the buttercream. Repeat steps 3-6.
  • Place final cake layer on top and frost with the remaining buttercream. Chill for 30 minutes.
  • Cut into slices and serve.

Notes

Cake layers can be refrigerated for up to 2 days, and frozen up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before using.
Buttercream can be refrigerated for up to a week, or frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge before using. Let fridge-cold buttercream come to room temperature on the countertop. Mix on low speed to recombine the buttercream and smooth out the texture.
Fully frosted cake can be stored at room temperature for up to 2 days.
It can be refrigerated for up to 3, fully frosted, before it starts to dry out.
Once cut, it will last in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Buttercream recipe adapted from Lauren Kitchens.

Filed Under: Cakes and Cupcakes Tagged With: almond, almond cake, biscoff, buttercream, cake, cake decorating, caramelized peaches, caramelized white chocolate, dulcey, faux buttercream, layer cake, meringue buttercream, streusel

How to Color Buttercream: A Comprehensive Guide

July 27, 2020 By Ashley 14 Comments

Coloring buttercream can be difficult, especially when it comes to very dark or very bright colors, and also in trying to achieve an exact color that’s needed to be reproduced for a cake design.  Matching colors and recreating specific colors isn’t always easy to do.  This guide will help you be able to properly color buttercream and frostings, as well as how to customize and create colors and color palettes. This guide will also help you understand color theory basics, help you troubleshoot any coloring issues and give you some tips and tricks for making specific colors, or color palettes.

Coloring Buttercream

This gradient was created by adding blue buttercream to white buttercream. The blue was made the day before and developed overnight. These gradient colors were mixed just before the photo was shot. You can notice some speckling in the mid/light blue colors because the blue hasn’t fully mixed with the white.

How do different types of buttercream adapt to color?

How well buttercream takes on color and how the color develops depends on what type of buttercream you use. American style buttercream, made with butter or shortening, tends to incorporate color the fastest and easiest. This type of buttercream is considered sugar based, so there is generally less fat in this type of buttercream compared to meringue style, or any other fat based buttercream which tend to contain far more butter or shortening. American style buttercream adapts to color easier as the water based gel color dissolves in the sugar/liquid mixture, so the color can penetrate and deepen before mixing with the fat.

Fat based buttercream takes a bit longer to develop color, and can be a more frustrating process, but it can still be done. Because gel food color is water based, so it takes more color to be able to thoroughly saturate buttercream, especially in larger batches, and with very dark or vivid colors. Fat and water repel, so it takes more time for the color to emulsify and develop into the buttercream, but it is still possible to achieve dark and vibrant colors with gel colors.

Less stable buttercream, like those made with custards, roux, whipped cream or cream cheese, tend to develop color similarly to American style buttercream, but oftentimes the texture and stability can be compromised depending on how much color is added. It is also possible that the buttercream can collapse or separate with over mixing (like a whipped cream buttercream). Avoid adding too much color to these types of buttercream as the stability decreases and the texture changes.

Coloring Buttercream

Top row: This buttercream has been colored black using gel color from chocolate buttercream. The first photo is after a couple hours and is still a charcoal color, but has darkened slightly. The second is black buttercream that was left overnight to rest. Bottom row: Buttercream that has been colored red from buttercream that was colored with electric pink, then red oil-based candy color. The first photo is after a couple hours, the second one is the results after resting overnight.

Buttercream also falls into two base color camps. Butter based buttercream is usually more yellow hued, while shortening buttercream is white. This can also make a slight difference in the outcome of a color, particularly if you’re trying to achieve a light or pastel color. If you add a touch of leaf green to white buttercream, it will most result in a hue that is more true to the bottle green color. If you add leaf green to a yellow-hued buttercream, that leaf green color will be have a warmer undertone from the yellow.

If you need your buttercream to be a pure white, you can use a concentrated bright white gel color, or you can also add very (very) small amounts (toothpick dots) of violet gel color to the buttercream to cancel out the yellow hue and create a white buttercream. I’ll explain more on how this works in the color theory section.

Coloring Large Batches of Buttercream

When coloring buttercream, fondant, ganache, etc., it’s good to invest in gel colors that are highly concentrated and true to color. Highly concentrated color requires you to use less color, making the color less likely to be tasted, and less likely for the texture to go off, which is particularly important in moisture sensitive mediums like ganache, gum paste, and fondant. There isn’t one specific brand of gel colors that I specifically use, and I’m always experimenting with new brands and colors, but I’ll list my preferred colors below.

Coloring Buttercream

When I say true color or true to color, I am referring to colors that are a more accurate representation of that specific color, and not color that has lots undertones of another color, or changes hues when added to buttercream. For example, some black gel colors either have a green or purple undertone that is noticeable when mixing into buttercream and fondant. Some brown gel colors have orange undertones. It takes more time to balance out the undertones, in addition to creating the desired color.

An alternative to gel color, for fat based buttercream, is to use candy color, or oil based colors. Usually these types of colors are created to be used with chocolate, and they work fantastically with fat based buttercream, and ganache and are probably my favorite use for meringue buttercream and ganache. I prefer using these colors when I can, particularly for coloring large batches of buttercream.

Coloring methods:

With a meringue style buttercream, you can color the meringue before the butter is added. Just add the color to the meringue, mix to combine, then add the butter. For a darker color, remove a small portion of the meringue, mix in the color until the desired color is achieved (it will more than likely deflate, that’s ok). Add the butter to the uncolored meringue and mix until the buttercream has reached the proper fluffy consistency. Add the colored meringue at the very end and mix to combine. Add more color if necessary.

You can also use the microwave method for buttercream. Remove about ¼ cup of finished buttercream and place into a microwavable bowl. Add gel color until the the desired color is achieved and microwave for 5-15 seconds until the color is incorporated, deepened and slightly liquid. Add the colored mixture to the buttercream and combine.

Coloring Buttercream

Pastels created using individual gel colors.

It’s important to let the colors develop and deepen for at least a few hours, preferably overnight. Particularly with fat based buttercream, not allowing the color to rest also results in speckling, which means that the color hasn’t fully emulsified into the buttercream. When mixing color into the buttercream, you want to bring it close to the desired color, then allow it to rest. Especially for very dark and bright colors. The buttercream will darken a couple shades. Alternatively, you can make a darker buttercream by starting with chocolate buttercream. Adding darker colors to an already naturally darker buttercream will help you achieve those colors a bit faster with less color.

If you’re concerned about tasting the gel color, or of the possibility of staining mouths, consider using the dark color buttercream only as a thinner outer layer of your cake, rather than piling on a lot of dark buttercream on the outside.

When it comes to mixing small batches of buttercream for painting on cakes, or for buttercream details, I mix gel colors directly into the buttercream with a palette knife to help blend and mix together, while also getting rid of any air bubbles. I particularly love this method because the buttercream gets super smooth and sort of shiny like oil paint.

Coloring Buttercream

When two colors that are opposite on the color wheel are combined, they create a neutral color. The paired colors on the left are pastel primary and secondary colors. The pairs were mixed to create the neutral colors on the right.

Color theory and why it’s important

Understanding basic color theory is fundamental for any artist that works with color. Understanding how colors work together, how to balance and create tones, tints, shades etc. is important in being able to create particular colors, and complimentary color palettes.

So, just a few general color theory basics.

Hues  – Hues are the pure colors in the color spectrum, and refers to the dominate color family of a specific color. It’s really the term we are referring to when we mention “color”, except it doesn’t include, white, black, gray (neutrals). Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple are hues.

Tints – Tints are created when white is added to a hue. Think of these as pastels, or hues that have been lightened and desaturated.

Tones – Tones are created when adding white and black (gray) to a hue. Tones can be darker or lighter than the original. In other terms, tones are created by tinting and shading the hue. Undertones can also refer to warm (red, orange, yellow) or cool (green, blue and purple).

Shades – Shades are created by adding black to a hue, making the hue darker.

Coloring Buttercream

Primary colors – These are the three colors that all other hues are made from, and cannot be made by mixing any other hues together. These colors are red, yellow, and blue.

Secondary colors – These three colors are made when two primary colors are mixed together. These colors are green, orange, and purple

For the best results and the most optimized colors, build color by adding a little bit at a time with multiple colors, rather than just trusting one bottle color. Building colors, especially to create purples and pinks also reduces the chances of fading, which can happen with these colors sometimes. For example, I noticed my purple would lighten and have a blue hue. So when I make purple, I start with electric pink (or a bright pink), then I use purple. The electric pink boosts the brightness of the purple and keeps the pink tone of the purple, if the purple starts to fade.

Be familiar with what a particular gel color looks like – whether it has warm or cool undertones, or if there are any alternative color undertones. Ivory is a color I recommend to always keep on hand,  Adding a little bit of ivory helps to tone down the saturation on bright colors, and can help mute a pastel. I add ivory to all my vintage colors as I like these colors to be muted and warm toned.

Coloring Buttercream

These are primary colors – red, yellow and blue. Notice that the red and yellow look throughly saturated and color is evenly distributed. The blue, being freshly made has more of speckle effect because the color isn’t fully disbursed.

Hues can be neutralized when a color is too overpowering. For example, if you have a  yellow hued buttercream, you can neutralize the color by adding the color opposite on the color wheel, so in this case, it would be violet. Adding a little bit of violet to yellow will “cancel” out the yellow, making it white. Another example is gray buttercream made with black gel color. The buttercream ends up looking a bit green. To neutralize the green, you would add very little red to cancel out the green since they are opposites on the color wheel, and end up with balanced gray.

Brands and Colors I like to use:

Americolor – red, black, royal blue, electric pink, electric blue, electric purple, green, bright white, lemon yellow, chocolate brown, ivory, avocado, moss, gold, dusty rose, regal purple

ProGel – purple, claret, gooseberry, navy

Artisan Accents 

Wilton –brown, kelly green, ivory

Chameleon colors (oil based color)

Coloring Buttercream

The top three colors (red, orange and yellow) were mixed the night before the photo was taken. The bottom three colors (green, blue, and purple) were mixed right before this photo was taken. I mixed primary colors together to create the secondary colors.

Color mixes for popular colors:

Masala/Burgundy – more red and less purple, with a little bit of brown to tone down the brightness

Coral – more orange, less pink and a little bit of ivory to tone down the saturation

Wine – equal red and purple, a touch of brown, a touch of black

Mint – more green, a touch of blue, ivory to mute the saturation

Chocolate brown – brown, touch of black

Moss green – leaf green, touch of brown

Royal blue – electric blue, a touch of purple, a touch of black

Navy – more royal blue, less black and a touch of purple to tone the blue and make it less smoky looking

I hope I’ve helped answer any questions you may have regarding coloring buttercream. I’ll be working on separate coloring posts for pastes, chocolate and royal that will be coming soon-ish. If you have any questions, please leave them below so I can get them answered for you!

For more on buttercream, check out these posts:

Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Italian Meringue Buttercream

Filed Under: Frostings and Fillings, Resources Tagged With: american buttercream, butter, buttercream, candy color, color, food color, frosting, gel color, icing, meringue buttercream, neutrals, shortening

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