Ultimate Sampler Cake

Why choose one cake flavor when you can have them all?!

I think now is a good time for a cheerful-looking cake, don’t you? It’s been a tough week year+ for many of us. We all have our own way of dealing with these things, and I did what I usually do (aside from snuggling these faces), I baked things – a whole bunch of things. I whisked and whipped and folded and I may have listened to my favorite song on repeat for two hours straight.

During this time I decided to complete a recipe I’ve been working on for a long time. It’s lengthy, so I’d never quite committed to its final scheme. The inspiration comes from a cake I saw at a local restaurant, and its mixed up layers had me awe-struck. My first thought was “Who allowed them to do that?” and my second thought was “I can’t wait to do that!”

The person who thought up this cake to sell at restaurants was a smarty, indeed. I mean, no doubt it makes a fantastic party cake, but from a diner’s perspective, I don’t have to choose a single cake flavor because I can have them all in one slice! For this reason I think this cake would be great for bake sales, too. Last year I had inquired about ordering a whole ‘sampler’ cake from the restaurant (ahem, for ‘research’), but it turned out to be too pricey. After that I was bound and determined to make my own.

My version of the cake differs from the original in a few ways: It’s scaled down to 8-inches (instead of 10.5), I added a chocolate mousse layer and I swapped out their carrot cake for my hummingbird cake. Here’s a rundown of each flavor from top to bottom: chocolate mousse, hummingbird cake, red velvet cake, sour cream vanilla cake, and chocolate cake. The entire cake is filled and covered with cream cheese frosting, which gives it a little bit of cheesecake flavor.

I wish I hadn’t waited so long to make the final version of this cake because it wasn’t as difficult or drawn-out as I’d expected. I found a rhythm to washing my pans and mixing bowls in between baking layers. I divided the task over the course of two days: I made all of the cake layers on day 1, and then day 2 was dedicated to stacking, filling, frosting and sprinkling, so maybe that’s why it didn’t seem too taxing.

Speaking of sprinkling, I am often asked how I get sprinkles onto the sides of my cakes. The short answer is, I press handfuls of sprinkles onto the tacky icing. This is always a fun but messy job. No matter how neat I try to be, sprinkles usually end up within a three foot radius of the cake I am decorating. If I’m trying to be super conservative with my sprinkles ,then I’ll line my kitchen sink with plastic wrap and place the cake in the sink, then toss or press the sprinkles onto the sides of the cake. This allows the excess to fall onto the plastic wrap. They can be gathered up in the plastic after the cake is all sprinkle-ified, and then funneled back into a bottle.

My usual application looks like the picture above. I put the cake on a cake stand, and the cake stand sits in a large baking pan. Then I pick up a large handful of sprinkles and press them onto the cake. The idea is that the sprinkles will fall back into the pan, but as you can see they sometimes hop out of the pan. In other words, have the broom and dust pan handy (smile).

I would make any one of the 5 cakes that make up this quintuple decker to enjoy as a single layer cake (and I have!), however, together the flavors have a surprising harmony. The cream cheese frosting does a good job of unifying all the flavors (also, it’s the usual topping for both red velvet cake and hummingbird cake). It has a nice contrast of texture too, with fluffy chocolate mousse on top and the lovely pieces of pineapple and pecans in the hummingbird cake layer. It’s tasty, and good to make when you’re feeling ambitious, or if, like me, you need the meditation of whisking, whipping, and folding. There’s comfort in these rituals. ♡

Ultimate Sampler Cake (a.k.a. Everything Layer Cake)

Begin this recipe one day ahead of time. The mousse layer needs to freeze solid overnight. If you have Bake Even Cake Strips, then I suggest using them for the cake layers. They will sometimes eliminate the need to level the baked cakes (which was my result except for the red velvet layer). I used (and recommend) Baker’s Joy flour-based baking spray to grease the pans. This reduces the amount of crumbs on the outside of the cake and eliminates the need for lining the pans with parchment paper. When all of the cake layers are baked and ready to be stacked, the flavors can be arranged to your liking; however, the red velvet layer is soft and should not be used as the bottom tier. Because the mousse layer is fluffy and light, it should always be on top. You’ll need about 1 1/2 cups of sprinkles to cover the outside of the cake. Check the ice cream toppings aisle at the grocery store for large containers of sprinkles. If transporting this cake, make sure it is well chilled before departing, and consider doweling it in the center so the layers don’t shift while traveling.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 1 hr 20 mins

Cook Time 1 hr 20 mins

Freeze mousse layer 8 hours or overnight 8 hrs

Total Time 10 hrs 40 mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 18

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

Chocolate mousse layer

• 2 teaspoons one .25 oz. packet powdered gelatin
• 2 tbsp. cold water
• 3 egg yolks with whites reserved
• 1/2 cup 100g sugar
• 1/2 cup 120 ml milk, hot (put in the microwave for 45 seconds)
• 8 oz. semisweet chocolate chopped
• 1 1/2 cups 360 ml heavy whipping cream

Hummingbird cake layer

• 1 cup 120 g all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup plus 2 T 125 g granulated sugar
• 1/3 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/3 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 egg whites use the ones reserved from the chocolate mousse layer
• 1/2 cup 120 ml vegetable oil
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 3 oz. crushed pineapple drained
• 1/3 cup 1.5 oz. chopped pecans
• 1 overripe banana mashed

Red velvet layer

• 1 1/4 cups 150 g all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup 150 g granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp. cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup 180 ml vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup 120 ml buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• 1 Tbsp. red food coloring
• 1/2 tsp cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Vanilla sour cream cake

• 1/2 cup about 4 oz. full fat sour cream
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup 100 g granulated sugar
• 2 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 plus 1/8 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1 cup 120 g all-purpose Flour

Chocolate cake layer

• 1 cup 120 g all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons about 50 g unsweetened natural cocoa powder, sifted
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup 4 oz. unsalted butter, melted and warm
• 1 1/4 cups 250 g packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup 120 ml hot coffee or hot water

Cream cheese frosting, toppings and assembly

• 8 oz. cream cheese at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups 12 oz. unsalted butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 lbs. sifted confectioners’ sugar
• 1 1/2 cups about 12 ounces rainbow jimmies/sprinkles
• 6 maraschino cherries drained on paper towels
• Rainbow nonpareils

Instructions

 

Chocolate mousse layer

• Sprinkle gelatin evenly over the water in a medium saucepan. Let stand for 1 minute. Whisk in egg yolks and sugar together well (save the egg whites for the hummingbird cake layer). Stir in hot milk. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Mixture will thicken after about 5 minutes. When done, it should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Stir chopped chocolate into the cooked gelatin mixture and blend until chocolate has melted and even in color with no streaks of the yolk mixture. Allow to cool for 20 minutes, or until just warm.
• Line and 8-inch round pan with plastic wrap so that the inside is completely covered and plastic wrap overhangs all sides of the pan. Whip cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold whipped cream into the chocolate mixture until well blended. Pour mousse into the plastic wrap-lined pan and smooth the top. Cover and freeze until solid, overnight. When mousse layer is frozen solid, remove from pan and remove plastic wrap. Transfer to a plate and store in the freezer while the other layers are baked and assembled.
• Hummingbird cake layer
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch round cake pan.
• Combine the first five (dry) ingredients. Add egg whites and oil, mix well. Add vanilla, pineapple, nuts and banana; stir to combine. Pour into the pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Let cool in pan 5 minutes. Turn out on a wire rack to cool completely.

Red velvet layer

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch round cake pan.
• In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients (first 5 ingredients). In a separate bowl, gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, egg, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla with an electric mixer. Slowly add in the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until thoroughly combined. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 25-28 minutes. Remove from oven. Let cool in pan 5 minutes. Turn out on a wire rack to cool completely.

Vanilla sour cream cake

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch round cake pan.
• Whisk together the sour cream, egg, sugar, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract.
• Sift the salt, baking powder, baking soda and flour over the wet ingredients; mix until smooth. Pour the batter into the pan. Bake the cake for 20-25 minutes, until it is beginning to brown on top. Remove the cake from the oven, and after 10 minutes turn it out of the pan onto a rack to cool.

Chocolate cake layer

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch round cake.
• In a small bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl, combine the melted butter and brown sugar with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Add the eggs and vanilla; stir until well blended. Add the flour mixture all at once and stir just until all the flour is moistened. Pour the coffee or hot water over the batter; stir just until it’s incorporated and the batter is smooth. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake 30 to 40 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Turn the cake out of the pan onto a rack to cool completely

Cream cheese frosting, toppings and assembly

• In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until light and smooth. Add the sugar and beat on low speed until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy.
• Place the chocolate cake layer on a sturdy cake stand. Spread 1/3 cup of cream cheese frosting over the layer and top with the vanilla cake layer, spread with frosting as before and top with red velvet layer; cover with cream cheese frosting and top with hummingbird cake layer, spread with frosting and top with the frozen chocolate mousse layer. If the chocolate mousse layer is larger than the cake layers (they shrink a little in the pans, the mousse does not), trim the edges of the mousse layer so that it is flush with the sides of the other cake layers. Cover the entire cake, except for the very top, in a layer of cream cheese frosting. Place the frosted cake in a large baking pan and press handfuls of sprinkles onto the sides of the cake, allowing the excess sprinkles to fall back into the pan (do the best you can with this *wink). Please note! It’s important to cover the cake with sprinkles while the frosting is still tacky, so do this soon after covering the cake with frosting. Transfer leftover frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large star decorator tip. Pipe approximately 12 swirls of frosting around the top edge of the cake. Place a maraschino cherry on every other icing swirl. Sprinkle the swirls and cherries with pinches of rainbow nonpareils.
• Store cake wrapped in plastic wrap in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Keyword chocolate mousse, hummingbird cake, red velvet cake, vanilla sour cream cake

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