Daniel’s Boozy Birthday Cake

I can count on one, maaaaayyybe two hands, the number of people I will do anything for. Anything. Daniel is one of them.

As one of my oldest and dearest friends, he gets all kinds of food love, including custom birthday cakes. Last year, he wanted lemon and chocolate together – not an easy challenge considering those flavors exist on opposite ends of the culinary spectrum. It took me a couple of days to figure out the perfect bridge, but once I came up with the solution, I just knew. People continue to wax poetic about his luscious butter cake filled with lemon curd and hazelnut praline, drenched in satiny chocolate ganache.

Daniel is not a big sweets guy, but he sure does love his cocktails. His regular habit is the Negroni, a slightly sweet, aromatic, bitter cocktail made with gin, campari and sweet vermouth. He began ordering it with greater frequency a couple years ago, and the thought of combining these flavors in a cake intrigued me.

First, what kind of cake? It had to be relatively neutral to allow the Negroni components to shine through. Since gin is the backbone of the cocktail, I decided that a sponge cake soaked in gin would be a fine anchor for the bittersweet campari and the complex savory-sweet vermouth. Luckily, I found a recipe for a campari buttercream frosting, which I adapted into a lighter, meringue-like consistency. I love butttercream, but it can be awfully heavy and rich.

The only thing left was the sweet vermouth. What to do? I thought about making a sauce….bad idea. We were celebrating at a restaurant, and having to deal with plating issues where I had very little control of the final presentation was a disaster in the making. How about candied vermouth bits, like a brittle? An even worse idea considering I wanted a light, refreshing cake. The aha moment came when I remembered a jello cake my ex’s mom made over the summer. Sweet vermouth gelee? Kinda like a grown-up jello? It suited the lightness of the cake, and it was ridiculously easy to make. A week of floating thoughts had finally come together. Daniel’s Negroni Cake: gin-soaked sponge cake with sweet vermouth gelee and fluffy campari frosting. The whole mess topped with heart-shaped orange zest. Now, that’s love!!!

Gin-soaked sponges

The sweet vermouth gelee reminded me of stained glass

The multi-tasking dessert!