Molly cake, presentation
In the kingdom of pastry, biscuits are legion and each base – sponge cake, dacquoise, spoon biscuit, madeleine, or even mona Lisa – is recommended in this or that preparation according to its attributes: thickness, softness, texture in the mouth, absorption capacity humidity, etc.
In the case of layer cake, you can opt for different biscuits but the molly cake remains the star in this area. For what ? In fact, this cake only has advantages for assembling a layer cake. It’s a cake that takes a lot of height – therefore ideal for creating different layers -, which takes into account the cutting – the basis for a layer cake -, and above all, the result when tasting is not overwhelming. This is one of the pitfalls of this type of pastry that holds back more than one person!
There particularity of molly cake
It’s all well and good to say – well, to write – that this cake is great, but what’s so special about it? The answer is simple: its dough – in addition to containing eggs, sugar, flour, and yeast – is topped with whipped cream. So yes, it’s always surprising the first time, especially since you can easily imagine that with the heat, everything will shrivel up… Nope! Proud as an I and straight as a rooster, the molly cake expands during baking, and allows you to obtain in one go a cake high enough to be divided into several layers. Good to know, for a two-layer cake, we will bake the molly cake in a high circle of 22 to 24 cm in diameter, while we will favor a smaller circle, 15 to 18 cm, for a three-layer cake.
Obviously, you can cut three layers from a 24cm cake but be careful with the size of each layer! The biscuit must have a minimum thickness to contrast with the filling – whipped or classic ganache, pastry cream, or whipped cream – and retain its hold when assembled. A cookie that crumbles and no longer holds its shape once cut is not ideal. Remember: when we make a layer cake, what we like is the regularity between the layers of biscuit and cream, and this stunning height. A layer that collapses because the biscuit was cut incorrectly, and the entire layer cake suffers.
Can you flavor molly cake?
The molly cake in the image of the sponge cake is a white canvas that adapts to all paints. Spices, citrus zest, cocoa powder, matcha tea, alcohols, as long as the added flavor doesn’t make the dough “fall back” everything is fine!
The requirements of this cake
If you are in a hurry and want a cake that is quickly prepared, cooked and ready to be assembled, go your way. Molly cake requires cooking time – 1 hour minimum – but also cooling time. We say it, we repeat it, and we will play the parrot for as long as it takes, but we do not add a cold filling – especially if it is whipped cream or buttercream – to a cake that is still warm. For what ? Because it’s simply chemical. The heat of the biscuit will melt the butter or fall the whipped cream, and the whole thing will liquefy before your teary eyes… Waiting is always the right solution, especially in baking. And remember, even if the whole thing doesn’t seem “too hot” to the touch, think about the effect that your body heat (around 37°C) has on chocolate or butter. Even at low temperatures, it melts, so don’t risk everything, and let time take its course.
The molly cake recipe
As for the recipe, we trust Linda Lama aka @hinalys who gave us one of her molly cake recipes.
For 8 people, whisk 4 eggs and 300 g of sugar for 10 to 15 minutes until the mixture whitens and doubles in volume. Add 300 g flour, 15 g yeast, 1 pinch of salt, and the seeds of a vanilla pod. We whip 300 g of whole liquid cream into whipped cream, which we delicately incorporate into the dough. Pour into a greased and floured 15 cm diameter mold, and bake for approximately 1 hour at 160°C.
Once the cake is cooked, it is cut into three layers which can be garnished with whipped ganache, pastry cream, whipped cream or other. As for decoration, you can leave the edges of the cake raw – naked cake style –, cover it with cream, or flow chocolate icing voluptuously over the edges, like the dripping cake.
Discover the recipe for dulcey and raspberry layer cake
