A Romantic Slice of Kiawah Island

If you can’t visit Kiawah Island Golf Resort for Valentine’s Day, give your sweetheart a romantic slice of Kiawah Island. After all, just because your Valentine’s Day plans may look a little — OK, perhaps a lot — different than in past years, that doesn’t mean you have an excuse to drop the ball in showing your significant other how much you cherish them. Running the risk of your sweetheart social distancing you from at least six feet because you let the day for romance slip by unobserved should not be your goal.

Just because you may not feel comfortable taking him or her out for a big romantic dinner doesn’t mean you’re bereft of romantic options. But if you’re fresh out of ideas, we’re here to help. To be more specific, Kiawah Island Golf Resort Executive Pastry Chef Shannon Lee offers step-by-step instructions for making her über-romantic Pink Velvet Cake with Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting. This stacked cake provides the perfect amount for two servings, just as Cupid would dictate. So this Valentine’s Day, consider bringing a romantic slice of Kiawah Island home to your sweetie if you can’t bring your snookums to Kiawah Island.

Ingredients

Pink Velvet Cake

1/4 Cup Unsalted Butter, softened
1 Cup Sugar
2 Eggs, separated
1/2 Cup Oil (Chef Lee’s Note: Either vegetable or canola works equally fine.)
2 Tablespoons Vanilla (Chef Lee’s Note: Pure vanilla extract is better, but any vanilla extract will do in a pinch.)
1/2 Cup All-Purpose Flour
2 Tablespoons Cornstarch
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Cup Buttermilk
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon White Vinegar (Chef Lee’s Note: I typically prefer distilled white vinegar.)

Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting

4 Ounces Cream Cheese, softened
2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, softened
1/4 Cup Powdered Sugar
1 Tablespoon Seedless Red Raspberry Jam
1/4 Teaspoon Lemon Juice (Chef Lee’s Note: fresh juice is always better and the amount is so negligible I don’t bother removing pulp, but make sure no seeds escape into the mix. Bottled juice works fine as well, but the “fresher” bottles work better.)

Directions

Pink Velvet Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit
2. In a stand mixer with paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy
3. Scrape down sides of bowl and add egg yolks, setting aside egg whites for later use), and combine
4. Add the oil and vanilla, and mix until completely combined
5. Sift together flour, cornstarch and salt
6. Add the dry ingredients to mixing bowl, alternating with buttermilk until thoroughly combined
7. Mix together baking soda and vinegar, and wait for it to bubble, then add to batter
8. Drop in food coloring and combine
9. In separate mixing bowl, whip egg whites until stiff peaks form, then fold into the batter
10. Line a 9 × 13 baking sheet with parchment and lightly coat with cooking spray
11. Evenly spread batter on pan and bake until a toothpick, carefully slipped into top center of cake, comes out clean, approximately 10 to 12 minutes
12. Remove cake on sheet and let sit to cool
13. After cooled, punch out six 4-inch circles with a cookie cutter

Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting

1. In stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat cream cheese until soft
2. Add butter and combine with cream cheese
3. Add powdered sugar to mixture and beat until light and fluffy
4. Add in raspberry jam and lemon juice and mix util combined

Assembly

1. Place one circle of cake on a plate
2. Pipe or spread frosting over top of cake in one even layer
3. Stack second round on top of frosted piece, and spread frosting
4. Repeat step 3
5. Frost the outside and garnish with fresh raspberries for a pop of color and flavor (Chef Lee’s Note: Feel free to cut and decorate the cake however you wish — get creative and have fun with it! If you’d prefer not to make a layer cake, this recipe works perfectly for cupcakes.)