Christina Tosi Recipe

Ingredients:

Steps:

• For the vanilla cake, heat the oven to 350°F
• Combine the butter and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream together on medium-high speed for 2 to 3 minutes
• Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the eggs and mix on medium-high again for 2 to 3 minutes
• Scrape down the sides of the bowl once more
• On low speed, stream in the buttermilk, oil and vanilla
• Increase the mixer speed to medium-high and paddle for 4 to 6 minutes, until the mixture is practically white, twice the size of your original fluffy butter-and-sugar mixture and completely homogenous
• Don’t rush the process—you’re basically forcing too much liquid into an already fatty mixture that doesn’t want to make room for the liquid
• Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl
• On very low speed, add the cake flour, baking powder and salt
• Mix for 45 to 60 seconds, just until your batter comes together and any remnants of dry ingredients have been incorporated
• Scrape down the sides of the bowl
• If you see any lumps of cake flour in there while you’re scraping, mix for another 45 seconds
• Spray a quarter sheet pan with cooking spray, then line it with parchment or just line the pan with a nonstick baking mat
• Using a spatula, spread the cake batter in an even layer in the pan
• Give the bottom of your sheet pan a tap on the countertop to even out the layer
• Bake the cake for 30 to 35 minutes
• The cake will rise and puff, doubling in size, but will remain slightly buttery and dense
• At 30 minutes, gently poke the edge of the cake with your finger: the cake should bounce back slightly and the center should no longer be jiggly
• Leave the cake in the oven for an extra 3 to 5 minutes if it doesn’t pass those tests
• Take the cake out of the oven and cool on a wire rack or, in a pinch, in the fridge or freezer (don’t worry, it’s not cheating)
• The cooled cake can be stored in the fridge, wrapped in plastic wrap, for up to 5 days
• For the strawberry shortcake truffles, using your hands, break the cake into small pieces and crumbs
• Combine these cake scraps and the strawberry soak in a medium bowl and toss with your hands until moist enough to knead into a ball
• If it is not moist enough to do so, slowly add more soak, kneading it in
• You want the filling to be quite moist and soft, not chewy
• Using a tablespoon, scoop even balls, each about half the size of a ping pong ball
• Roll each one between the palms of your hands to shape and smooth it into a round sphere
• Put the outer coating/crumb of choice in a medium bowl and set aside
• With latex gloves on, put 2 tablespoons of the melted white chocolate coating in the palm of your hand and roll each ball between your palms, coating it in a thin layer of melted chocolate; add more chocolate to your palm as needed
• Put 3 or 4 chocolate-covered balls at a time into the bowl of coating/crumb
• Immediately toss them with it to coat, before the chocolate shell sets and no longer acts like a glue
• (If that happens, just coat the ball in another thin layer of melted chocolate)
• Refrigerate for at least 5 minutes to fully set the chocolate shells before eating or storing
• The truffles will keep for up to 1 week in an airtight container in the fridge