Lychee Cake

Instructions

1. Step 1

   Make the lychee glaze: Drain all the canned lychee liquid into a large (12-inch) skillet, setting aside the lychees. Bring the lychee liquid to a simmer over medium-high heat and cook until reduced to a slightly thickened syrup that coats the back of a spoon, 15 to 20 minutes. You should have 1/2 to 2/3 cup light-golden glaze. Set aside to cool.

2. Step 2

   Make the lychee filling: Place the lychees in a high-speed blender and purée until as smooth as possible, about 30 seconds. Pour the lychee purée through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium bowl, pressing the solids to extract the juice. Reserve the juice. Combine the lychee solids, 1/4 cup of the pressed lychee juice and the lemon juice in a medium (10-inch) skillet and place over medium-low heat. Bring the mixture to a simmer, then stir in the fruit pectin. Simmer, stirring often, until the mixture thickens and does not come back together when a spoon is run through it, 7 to 10 minutes. Stir in the 1/4 teaspoon rose water and set aside to cool. You will have about 1/2 cup filling.

3. Step 3

   Make the lychee sauce: Place another medium skillet over medium heat and simmer the remaining pressed lychee juice, stirring often, until reduced to a slightly thickened sauce that coats the back of a spoon, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. You should have about 3/4 cup.

4. Step 4

   Make the cake: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two 8-by-2-inch round cake pans by lining the bottom with a circle of parchment and spraying the bottom and sides well with baking spray.

5. Step 5

   In a medium bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the lemon zest, sugar and egg yolks and whisk until just fully combined. Place this bowl over a medium saucepan of simmering water. (The base of the bowl should not touch the water.) Whisk continuously until the sugar is melted and the mixture is just warm to the touch, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and return the bowl to the stand mixer. Whisk on high speed until the mixture is very pale yellow and almost doubled in size, 7 or 8 minutes.

6. Step 6

   Decrease speed to low, and gradually pour in 1/2 cup of the lychee sauce from Step 3, reserving the rest. Add the 1/4 teaspoon of rose water; the mixture will deflate a little. Continue to whip for 1 to 2 minutes. Using a flexible spatula, gently fold the flour mixture into the egg yolk mixture until just combined.

7. Step 7

   In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites with a pinch of tartar to medium peaks. (You may also do this by hand or using a handheld mixer in a separate bowl.) Fold the whipped egg whites into the batter until just combined, being careful not to deflate the whites too much. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans and tilt the pans to distribute the batter evenly.

8. Step 8

   Set the pans on a baking sheet and bake until the cakes are light-golden brown and spring back when touched, 23 to 28 minutes. A cake tester inserted into the middle of each cake should come out clean.

9. Step 9

   Remove cakes from oven and allow to cool in pans for 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edge of the cakes and flip the pans onto a wire rack. Remove the parchment paper and allow the cakes to cool to just warm to the touch, about 15 minutes. Prick each cake several times with a toothpick and then brush the remaining lychee sauce on the tops and sides of each cake. Set aside to cool fully, at least 30 minutes. (At this stage, you can wrap the cakes and refrigerate up to 2 days. The longer the layers sit, the more intense the lychee flavor will become.)

10. Step 10

    Make the cream filling: Combine the heavy cream, mascarpone, confectioners’ sugar and the 1/8 teaspoon rose water in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip to stiff peaks, 2 to 3 minutes.

11. Step 11

    Assemble the cake: Place one layer of the cake on a plate or cake stand, puffy side down. Smooth a heaping 1/3 cup of the lychee filling from Step 2 evenly on top. Smooth one-third of the whipped cream filling on top of the lychee filling. Place the second cake on top, puffy side down, and smooth the remaining lychee filling on top, followed by half of the remaining cream filling. Frost the sides of the cake with the remaining cream filling.

12. Step 12

    Decorate the top of the cake with the lychees, strawberries, kiwi and mandarin orange slices, then brush the fruits with the reserved lychee glaze so that they are glossy. If desired, you may pour any remaining glaze along the cake’s edges and allow it to drop down the sides. Chill cake for 10 minutes before serving and store leftover cake in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.