Discover Paper

French Vanilla Crepe Cake ft. Cappuccino Mousse + Edible Confetti

This remix is all about the paper. And birthdays. To celebrate Discover Paper's 2nd year of existence on the World Wide Web, blog owner Donaville reached out to see if I would like to collaborate on a remix. Discover Paper spotlights digital and hand-crafted paper products, as well as artists creating beautiful works of art including paper jewelry, upcycled books, and unique alphabets. Donaville also spends a good deal of time compiling an impressive holiday gift guide every year and has been kind enough to feature some of my diptych calendars in the past.

Anyways, it just so happens that Cake Remix is about to celebrate a birthday of its own - numero uno baby! My first Thai Curry remix was posted on April 30, 2012 and here we are - 23 remixes later and I haven't run out of ideas yet. So with paper as the inspiration and without further ado, I am so happy to present the Discover Paper remix:

I decided right away that this would be a crepe cake, also dubbed mille (French for 'thousand') crepe cake. Consisting of alternating layers of crepes and frosting/filling, this cake actually resembles a stack of flaky papers and when sliced, the interior looks like the pages of a book. The cake is relatively easy to make - though, time-consuming to pour and flip all of the crepes. A bit more work than just popping a cake in the oven for 45 minutes but this one looks impressive and hand-crafted, if you will. You can use those valuable seconds in between crepes to be productive - I did push-ups, put away dishes, and then caught up on my celebrity gossip.

Sticking with the theme of good books and curling up with a cup of coffee, I chose a cappuccino mousse to sandwich in between each crepe layer. I used brewed coffee and heavy cream in the recipe, but you could substitute a tablespoon or two of cappuccino or other flavored drink mixes for the coffee instead.

And what would a paper remix be without the paper? I had fun experimenting with edible rice paper for some decorative accents, and scroll down for mini crepe-cupcake versions as well. Happy Birthday Discover Paper - here's for many more to come!

Rice Paper - Two Ways
Edible rice paper or wafer paper is used as a wrapper in Asian dishes, such as spring rolls, and more recently in confectionery sweets such as the one you are currently reading about. Rice paper is not necessarily tasty (think dry and starchy like a Communion wafer), but it is edible so you can use it in a food dish and not have to worry about removing before eating.

The paper is fragile and usually comes wrapped in cellophane to prevent breakage. The paper will also shrivel and crinkle when it gets wet, so be sure to keep it as dry as possible while working.

Sweet Caroline

Korean Saeng Cream Cake ft. Whipped Vanilla Frosting + Fresh Fruit Filling

Today's remix comes from the wedding cake I made for Caroline + Phil last month. The cake is based on a traditional Korean Saeng Cream Cake, which is a buttery pound cake sealed with a sweet syrup and topped with light whipped frosting and colorful fruit. I pulled from several recipes to come up with the one listed above, and as always I went with a super fancy box mix.

The fruit is inside between the cake layers, which leaves the outside free to be decorated, and the pattern is based on the wood paneling found on the traditional Korean hanok. This version has strawberries and kiwis, and the actual wedding cake in May had sugared berries and pear slices. Any fruit works!

Finally, to keep this cake from getting too traditional (this was for Caroline's sweet tooth, after all) - there's the Funfetti interior and Nerd Rope border. Congratulations to Phil + Caroline!

saeng cream cake (caroline-style)
1 box Funfetti cake mix
4 eggs, separated
1/4 c. cold water
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
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Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and grease pans with butter or a non-stick spray like PAM. Separate eggs into yolks and whites into 2 bowls, and whisk until each begins to thicken. In a large mixing bowl, beat cake mix, oil, cold water, vanilla extract, cream of tartar, and egg yolks together for 1 minute on low speed. Fold in egg whites and mix on high for 1 minute. Pour batter into pans until each is 2/3 of the way  full. Bake according to the times on the back of the mix box, depending  on the types of pans you are using.

lemon-cinnamon syrup
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c.water
1-2 cinnamon sticks
1/2 lemon, cut into wedges
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In a small saucepan on the stovetop, combine water, sugar, cinnamon sticks, and lemon wedges over low heat, stirring for 5-7 minutes until the sugar dissolves and a syrup forms. Let cool and thicken for 1-2 minutes. Use a pastry brush to coat each layer of cake before filling with fruit, and also coat entire cake with syrup before frosting.

whipped vanilla frosting
1/2 c. shortening or butter
4 c. confectioner's sugar
3-4 tbsp. whipping cream
1-2 tsp. vanilla extract
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In a large mixing bowl, beat shortening, whipping cream, and vanilla extract until blended. Slowly add in sugar and continue to mix on high speed until frosting forms. Whipped frosting is very airy and great for the inner layers and coating the outside of the cake - if you are going to do any additional decorating or piping, it is best to use a regular (stiffer) buttercream recipe for that icing.

fresh fruit filling
strawberries, sliced
kiwi, sliced
asian pear, peeled and cubed
other fruit suggestions: peeled mandarin oranges, halved grapes, sliced bananas