Recipe of the week: An old-fashioned summertime cake

“Whatever happened to good old-fashioned cake?” asked Alex Witchel in The New York Times. In my childhood, summer seemed like one big, three-month-long birthday party—“a continuous loop of ice cream, hot dogs, fries, burgers, ribs, fried clams, and corn on the cob.” Not to mention homemade cakes. Now, in the age of the Atkins diet and flourless cakes, the traditional multi­layered cake is virtually an endangered species. This recipe is adapted from Junior’s, the legendary Brooklyn restaurant that’s most famous for its cheesecake.

Recipe of the week

Yellow Layer Cake With Chocolate Frosting

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For the cake:

Butter, for greasing cake pans

1-2/3 cups sifted cake flour

1 tbsp baking powder

¾ tsp salt

10 extra-large eggs, separated

1-1/3 cups sugar

1 tbsp vanilla extract

½ tsp pure lemon extract

¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

½ tsp cream of tartar

For the macaroon crunch:

1½ cups finely chopped nuts (almonds, pecans, and/or walnuts)

½ cup sweetened coconut flakes

For the chocolate frosting:

8 cups (2 lbs) sifted confectioners’ sugar

1-2/3 cups unsweetened cocoa powder

½ tsp salt

1½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

½ cup margarine, at room temperature

¼ cup dark corn syrup

2 tbsp vanilla extract

¾ cup heavy cream, or as needed

For the cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter two round 9-inch cake pans; line bottoms with parchment or wax paper. Sift cake flour, baking powder, and salt together. Using a stand mixer, beat egg yolks on high for 5 minutes. With mixer still running, gradually add 1 cup sugar

and continue beating until thick, light yellow ribbons form in bowl, about 5 minutes more, scraping bowl two or three times. Beat in vanilla and lemon extracts. Sift flour mixture over batter; stir it in by hand until blended. Add melted butter; stir until completely incorporated.

In large, clean bowl, using mixer’s whisk attachment, beat egg whites and cream of tartar together on high until frothy. Gradually add remaining 1/3 cup sugar, and continue beating until whites are stiff but not dry. Stir 1 cup of white mixture into batter, then gently fold in remaining whites until blended. Divide batter between prepared pans. Bake until golden and center springs back when lightly touched, about 25 minutes. Cool on wire rack for 15 minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely.

For macaroon crunch: Toss nuts and coconut together; spread on baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees until golden and crunchy, 10 to 15 minutes, tossing twice. Set aside to cool.

For chocolate frosting: Sift confectioners’ sugar, cocoa, and salt together. Using a stand mixer, cream together butter and margarine on high until light yellow and slightly thickened, about 3 minutes. With mixer still running, add corn syrup and vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add sugar mixture in two batches, beating well after each. Blend in ¾ cup cream until frosting is at spreading consistency, adding more if needed. Increase speed to high and beat until light and creamy, about 2 minutes more; there will be about 8 cups of frosting. Spoon about 1 cup into a pastry bag fitted with medium star tip.

For assembly: Using long serrated knife, cut each cake horizontally into two equal layers. Spread first layer with about a fifth of frosting, then place second layer on top of it and frost it, too. Repeat with third and fourth layers. Frost sides with all remaining frosting except what is in pastry bag. Pat macaroon crunch on sides of cake (not top) until covered. Using frosting in pastry bag, pipe 6 rosettes on top of cake. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate, allowing cake to stand at room temperature for about an hour before slicing.