Species 014: Espresso Brown Sugar Cake with French Praline Buttercream

As an eighteen-year-old American living in Paris—making my way through pastry school, renting my first apartment, and navigating the idiosyncratic French way of life—I must admit that I became a tad disillusioned with the Francophilia that had consumed me for many of my formative years. I moved from Connecticut to Paris right after high school—I didn’t know anyone there, and I didn’t really speak the language. Somehow, I thought I’d get along fine. I had spent a decent amount of time traveling on my own during high school and felt as independent and capable as any high schooler around. I played on a field hockey team that toured Europe, I studied at Oxford University for a summer, and I spent most of the weekends during the school year in New York City, taking classes at Columbia and traipsing around with my sister, who danced at a ballet company in the city.

Despite all that “worldly” experience, I don’t think anything can prepare you for the first time you are living completely on your own—especially when you throw a new country, culture, and language into the mix. It took me a good six months to settle in and feel comfortable in Paris, and a mere six months later I moved back to the states to attend university. (I had deferred my enrollment before moving abroad.)

It took another two years or so after my whirlwind year abroad for my mind to settle down, but once it did, I saw my gap year for what it was: an incredible, challenging, eye-opening, educational, and fun-filled adventure. All the scorn I once felt for the French’s gelatin-laden mousses, molten sugar sculptures, crippling bureaucracy, and general aggression towards Americans had faded, and in its place was a sense of bemused wonderment for the distinctive, quirky, singularly French way of life.

Since having this epiphany, I’ve been trying to find ways to pay my respects to my French training while tying in aspects of my staunchly American personality. For this recipe, my goal was to create a dessert that was an ode to French buttercream—a silky, decadent, rich buttercream made from egg yolks, sugar syrup, and butter—but with an American twist.

Species 014: This American-style cake features a generous lathering of the venerable French buttercream—a rich, ridiculously smooth, and perfectly sweet alternative to American buttercreams.

Primary Traits

I knew that I wanted to create a layer cake, for this was my treat of refuge when I was feeling particularly homesick in Paris. There was an adorable American-style café called Sugarplum Cake Shop that I would retreat to whenever I needed to get away from the Parisian life. There, I would treat myself to a hefty slice of good ole American cake and feel immediately better about being in a foreign country, far away from my family and friends.

Each aspect of this cake was designed to complement or enhance the beautiful flavor and texture of a French buttercream. French buttercreams are very similar to Swiss meringue buttercreams, but instead of pouring sugar syrup over egg whites while whipping them vigorously, you pour it over egg yolks. After creating this light egg-sugar mixture, you beat in copious amounts of butter until you have a silky smooth buttercream. The result is remarkable not only for its velvety texture, similar to a Swiss meringue buttercream’s, but for its rich, custardy taste thanks to the egg yolks.

---

Don’t feel guilty, sometimes you have to get down to business…

---

Trait #1: Espresso Brown Sugar Cake

To complement the natural custard flavor of the French buttercream, I decided to create an espresso brown sugar cake. I pictured a light and tender crumb, similar to a yellow cake but with a deep coffee and molasses flavor. Quite by accident—and another point of proof that accidents can be essential to the evolution of delicious—I ended up creating a sturdy, heavy, Southern-style brown sugar and espresso cake. Starting with a yellow cake base, I substituted aggressive amount of the white sugar for brown sugar, which has a higher moisture content and is more acidic. The result was a denser, slightly chewier crumb. I also substituted some of the buttermilk for espresso, further messing with the balance of acid. Buttermilk and baking soda are a magical pair, as the acid in the buttermilk reacts with the baking soda to give wonderful lift. By taking away some of the buttermilk and replacing it with espresso, I took away some of that lift, despite the fact that espresso has some acid as well. I knew that these modifications would change the texture of the cake, but I wanted to see what my baseline was before making further modifications.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that although the result was wholly different than the base recipe, it was delicious in its very own way and paired beautifully with the French buttercream. The cake was fairly dense and moist, with a kind of caramel-flavored, chewy crust. The contrast between that texture and the silky French buttercream was surprisingly addicting. If I wanted to lighten up the cake, I could have then increased the amount of baking soda, to contend with the higher acid level of the batter, and perhaps used cake flour instead of all purpose. But this accidental result ended up being the perfect foil character to the French buttercream.

As a final note, the espresso in this cake is subtle—it simply complements the other ingredients in an orchestra of flavor. I would say that it’s suitable even for those who don’t like coffee.

Trait #2: French Praline Buttercream

I’ve already described French buttercream as being somehow light, silky, rich, and custardy all at once. After deciding to pair this flavor with the espresso brown sugar cake, I wanted to up the flavor ante but mixing in some nutty praline paste—made from toasted, caramelized hazelnuts and almonds. I knew that the caramel and toasted nut notes would highlight the full-bodied buttercream and complement the espresso and brown sugar in the cake.

Resulting Species

The resulting cake is dangerously addicting. What I love about it is that the flavor is not just one thing, nor does a single flavor come to the forefront of your tongue when you’re eating it—it’s got a depth and complexity that is hard to put your finger on. The espresso, brown sugar, toasted nuts, caramel, and custard flavors all come together to create a comforting, homey profile that makes me feel cozy and safe—just as I felt scarfing down an American-style cake at Sugarplum Cake Shop in Paris. I hope it does the same for you, wherever you may be.

Until next time,

The Culinary Darwinist

---

Espresso Brown Sugar Cake with French Praline Buttercream

Makes an 8-inch four-layer cake. Serves 10-12.

Ingredients

For the praline paste

2 cups blanched hazelnuts
1 cup blanched almonds
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 T water
1 tsp lemon juice
2-3 T vegetable oil

For the cake

2 2/3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

2 sticks butter, softened
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup espresso
3 T espresso powder
1 cup buttermilk

For the praline buttercream

5 egg yolks
1 whole egg

1 cup water
2 cups sugar

1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
Optional: This helps bring out the flavor of the praline.
5 sticks of butter, softened
Note: Try to use a high-fat, high-quality European butter, such as Plugra.
1/2 cup prepared praline paste

Method

Make the praline paste

1. Toast the hazelnuts and almonds in a pan on the stove or in the oven at 375º for about 15 minutes. The nuts should be very well toasted, as this will help both the flavor and the texture of the praline.
2. Combine the sugar, water, and lemon juice in a medium saucepan. Stir together until the sugar is evenly wet—this will help it caramelize evenly. Set over medium-high heat, and do not stir once the caramel starts simmering. Swirl the pan if it looks like it is heating unevenly. Use a pastry brush dipped in water to brush down the edges of the pan if you see caramel drying out on the sides.
3. Once the sugar turns a dark amber color, pour in the toasted nuts and stir to evenly coat. Pour the caramel into a thin layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Let cool completely until the caramel has completely set.
4. Break up the caramel into shards and place in a food processor. Process until the caramel turns into a fine dust then starts to turn into a paste. Drizzle in 2-3 T of vegetable oil to help encourage the process. Strain the praline paste through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl or container.

Make the cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350º. Grease and line two 8-inch cake pans. Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Combine the cooled espresso, buttermilk, and espresso powder in a small bowl and stir until the espresso powder has dissolved. Set these dry and wet mixes aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy (about 4 minutes, high speed). Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and vanilla, until light and fluffy once again (about 1 minute for each egg, high speed).
3. Add in half the flour mixture and mix until almost combined (about 30 seconds, medium speed). Add in the liquid mixture and mix until almost combined (about 30 seconds, medium speed). Add in the rest of the flour mixture and mix until fully combined (about 45 seconds, medium speed). Pour the batter into the greased pans and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before fristing.

Make the buttercream & assemble

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the water and sugar and set over medium-high heat. While the sugar is heating, place the egg yolks and whole egg in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, and whip at high speed for about 5 minutes. The eggs should reach the ribbon stage, i.e. you should start to see the whisk make trails through the mix, and when you drizzle some of the mixture over the top, it should maintain its ribbon shape for a few seconds before dissolving back into the mix. You can stop whipping at this point.
2. You can either use a candy thermometer, instant read thermometer, or—if you want to get French with it—test the temperature of the sugar with your fingers. I'll explain the lo-fi method here, but if you prefer to use a thermometer, cook the sugar to the 235º soft ball stage. To test the temperature with your fingers, get a small bowl of ice water. Hold your fingers in the cold water for 30 seconds or so, then quickly dip them into the hot, boiling sugar, pinch some of the syrup between your fingers, and bring them back into the ice water. Believe it or not, your fingers won't burn! Move quickly but don't panic. Once back in the cold water, you'll be able to feel the texture of the sugar between your fingers: when it creates a soft, pliable ball of sugar, then you've hit the right temp.
3. Immediately when the sugar hits the soft ball stage, turn the mixer back onto medium-high speed, and drizzle the hot sugar down the side of the bowl. Once all the sugar is in, turn the mixer to high speed, and whip for 3-5 minutes more, or until the sides of the bowl feel just warm. Drop a few tablespoons of butter in at a time, while still whisking at high speed, until you have a smooth buttercream. Finally, whip in the praline paste.
4. Split the two cooled cake layers in half, so you have four layers total. Frost the cake with generous amounts of buttercream, and decorate as you wish. This cake will save for up to 3 days at room temperature. ∎

This is a sneak peek article.

For the full suite of recipes, check back here in April.