Fourth Quarter Cake

This cake (as many of my cakes are) was made for my husband's homebrew club meeting, more specifically their fourth quarter meeting. It was based around one of the few beers I will actually drink: Blue Moon, though I was informed (loudly but politely) that Blue Moon isn't real beer and the proper name for the cake is a Hoegaarden Cake. Despite the name, this is a non-alcoholic cake that can be served year round. It has the simple honesty of yellow cake, chiffoned for lightness and brightened by a hint of citrus. Even picky eaters love it!

This cake was adapted from smitten kitchen's Best Birthday Cake recipe.

Ingredients:
2 large oranges, zested*
1 tsp. coriander, powdered
4 2/3 cups cake flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. + 1 pinch salt
18 Tbsp. butter, unsalted
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
5 large eggs
2 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 quart heavy whipping cream
1 cup powdered sugar
white chocolate curls

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350F. Grease and flour three 9-inch pans. Put a metal mixing bowl in the freezer. Bring butter, eggs, and buttermilk to room temperature. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Mix in powdered coriander and the zest of both oranges. Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Separate your eggs. Add yolks one at a time to butter, scraping down bowl after every egg. Slowly add in buttermilk just until combined. Don't worry if it looks curdled. In sections of three or more, carefully add in the dry ingredients, again scraping down the bowl after every addition.

In another bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Carefully fold egg whites into batter, one third at a time, until no streaks remain.

Divide batter evenly among pans and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden and springy to the touch. Invert layers onto parchment paper to cool. Remove mixing bowl from the freezer. Pour in the whipping cream and beat until it thickens and begins to leave ribbons behind. Sprinkle in powdered sugar and continue beating just until cream holds peaks. Level each layer and assemble with thickly layered whipped cream icing. Decorate top with a sprinkling of orange zest and white chocolate curls. * NOTE: The orange flavor continues to develop over time. If you aren't going to serve the cake for a day or two, cut back the orange to only one tablespoon of zest.