When life gives you lemons, put them in a bowl and pour a glass of champagne. This Gluten Free Champagne Cake with Yuzu Swiss Meringue is a celebration of flavors, and a cake worth toasting with a glass of bubbly.
This light and delicate layered cake is as delicious as it's stunning. The bubbly champagne lends to an airy cake. With it's bold bright kick of citrus, the yuzu perfectly compliments the champagne while balancing the sweet frosting.
Light as Air
As airy as this cake is, the creamy cloud of marshmallow like Swiss meringue frosting is equally as light. Let's break down both what Swiss meringue is, as well as how to make it.
The easiest way to describe a Swiss meringue frosting is to compare it to marshmallow fluff. In fact, you aren't that far off from making a marshmallow base when you make a Swiss Meringue. The two components of a Swiss meringue are egg whites and sugar, making this naturally dairy free.
To begin with you're going to add your egg whites and sugar to a metal or glass bowl and whisk for 4 minutes, or until the sugar begins to dissolve and it starts to get a little lighter in texture.
The second part of this process begins with making a double boiler. Bring a pot of water to a low simmer and put a glass or metal bowl over it, ensuring the bottom of the bowl never touches the water. Wisk continually for 5-8 minutes, or until the mixture reaches 160 degrees. At this point it will look slightly foamy.
The next step in the making of your frosting for your Gluten Free Champagne Cake with Yuzu Swiss Meringue is pouring the hot mixture into the bowl of your mixer. Be careful not to splatter, because ouch!
You are going to mix at high speed for 10 minutes. At this point the mixer is going to do all of the work aerating and increasing the volume. Continue mixing until it's beautifully glossy, white, thick, and luscious, like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man in Ghostbusters.
Putting the Yuzu in Gluten Free Champagne Cake with Yuzu Swiss Meringue
This frosting is taken over the top with the addition of yuzu chocolate. Yuzu is a citrus fruit with a taste mashup of grapefruit, lemons, and mandarin oranges. Like I said, when life gives you lemons, make Gluten Free Champagne Cake with Yuzu Swiss Meringue.
Naturally dairy free, Yuzu Inspiration is melt in your mouth, or meringue, creamy with cocoa butter, and bright and citrusy with yuzu. The only thing that could make this cake better is a generous sprinkle of fresh juicy berries. You'll want to add them between the layers and pile them on top as the yuzu compliments the sweet-tart berries.
Pop open that bottle of champagne, and let's make a Gluten Free Champagne Cake with Yuzu Swiss Meringue.
Top Tip
When you create a double boiler, it allows you to cook or melt something at a gentle heat without worry of over cooking it. This is useful for making custards, meringues, melting chocolate, etc. The best part is you don’t need any special tools.
Armed with a pot of simmering water and a glass bowl, you can easily create a double boiler at home. The key is to make sure the water never touches the bottom of the bowl. You want the steam created from the seal to do all of the work.
Love citrus? Make sure you check out my recipe for Easy Pesto Chicken Citrus Quinoa Salad.
Gluten Free Champagne Cake with Yuzu Swiss Meringue
Equipment
- mixing bowls
- 2 8" cake pans
- stand mixer
- Double boiler
- thermometer
Ingredients
Champagne Cake
- ¾ cup Dairy Free butter, room temperature
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 5 egg whites
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 2 ¼ cups Gluten Free 1.1 flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 cup champagne
- *optional-fuchsia gel color
Yuzu Swiss Meringue
- 6 egg whites
- 2 cups sugar
- ½ cup yuzu flavored chocolate
- *A variety of berries for filling and topping
Instructions
Champagne Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Spray 2 8" cake pans with nonstick spray.
- In a mixing bowl add room temperature butter and sugar. Mix for 5 minutes until light and fluffy, and lighter in color.
- Add the vanilla and egg whites and mix well.
- Add your flour, salt, and baking powder, folding in to just combine.
- Add your champagne and if using fuchsia gel color and gently fold to just incorporate.
- Evenly divide your batter between the two cake pans.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the tops are lightly golden and a toothpick comes out clean.
- Allow cakes to cool completely before frosting
Yuzu Swiss Meringue
- Add the egg whites and sugar to a glass bowl. With a hand whisk, whisk briskly for 5 minutes.
- Place the bowl over a sauce pan of simmering water, creating a double boiler. The water should not touch the bottom of the bowl.
- Whisk continuously for 5-8 minutes until the mixture is light and foamy and it reaches 160 degrees.
- Gently pour the hot mixture into the bowl of your mixer. Mix on high for 10 minutes.
- While the egg mixture is mixing, place a bowl with your yuzu chocolate over the pot of simmering water and slowly allow to melt, gently stirring.
- Pour the melted chocolate into the fluffy egg and sugar mixture and mix for 5 more minutes. Your frosting should be glossy, thick, and luscious like marshmallow fluff.
- Spread half of your yuzu Swiss meringue on one layer of your cake. Sprinkle with your berries.
- Gently place the second layer on top and spread your remaining Swiss meringue over the top. Top with your remaining berries.
- Snap a pic of your beautiful creation, slice, and enjoy!
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