Breakfast at Tiffany's Cake

This Christmas, Mr. Pixie Crust bought me my first blue box. He got me a delicate sterling silver and aquamarine necklace from Tiffany & Co. I'm not really one to get super excited about jewelry just because it's from Tiffany's, or to be into a brand because it's fancy or has certain social meaning (unless we're talking L.A.M.B by Gwen Stefani- that's my one weakness). I must say, though, I was pretty excited to see the little blue box under our Christmas tree that morning.

One thing I love about Tiffany & Co is the history of it. Is Breakfast at Tiffany's not one of the sweetest, coolest romantic comedies ever? 52 years after it was released and Audrey Hepburn is still a major fashion and beauty icon. Gap certainly had me sold on its black skinny pants a couple years back simply because images and footage from "Funny Face" starring Audrey Hepburn was used in the ads. Did I mention that it's also my goal is to re-decorate my apartment just like Holly Golightly's- complete with the bathtub sofa?

Believe it or not, the first time I saw Breakfast at Tiffany's was with Mr. Pixie Crust a couple of years ago. I think I find it to be an even more romantic movie because I shared it with him the first time and it makes me sentimental.

In the spirit of Valentine's Day and all things vintage and cool, I've created this Breakfast at Tiffany's cake. The flavor of the cake is Caramel Frappuccino, recreated from these cupcakes in cake and gluten free form.

For the Coffee Cake:
Non-Gluten Free readers may sub the rice flour, sorghum flour, and starches for 1 3/4 cups cake flour. Do not add xanthan gum.

*Makes four 7-inch round layer cakes

2/3 cup superfine sweet white rice flour
1/4 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup, plus 1 1/2 tbsp potato starch
1/4 cup corn starch
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp instant coffee (I used two envelopes of Starbucks Via Coffee)
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
1 cup milk (you may also use another non-dairy milk)
3 tbsp unsalted butter
4 large eggs
2 cups granulated sugar

Butter and flour pans and line bottoms with circles of parchment paper. Set aside. Pre-heat oven to 330 degrees. Sift flours, starches, baking powder, and salt together. Set aside.

Using a stand mixer, beat eggs until foamy. In the meantime, heat milk and butter together on stovetop until milk is hot and butter is melted. Turn off stove.

Add sugar to eggs and continue beating for 5-6 minutes until batter becomes creamy and fluffy. Add vanilla extract.

Add milk and melted butter and beat until combined. Add flour mixture 1/4 cup at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Once batter is fully combined, pour equal amounts into each pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 330 degrees. Insert a toothpick and gently press the tops of the cakes to check if done.

Allow cakes to cool in pans for about 15 minutes.

Please refer to the Caramel Frappuccino cupcakes recipe for mousse, swiss meringue buttercream and caramel recipes.

To assemble the cake:

Place the baked cake layers in the freezer for about 30 minutes. Place one layer on a cake board right side up. Spread a thick layer of cooled caramel on top of the cake. Next, spread a layer of mousse on top of the caramel. Place a second cake layer on top of the first layer and repeat until all layers are assembled. Spread top layer with a thin layer of caramel.

Place assembled cake in freezer for 30 minutes or fridge for one hour. Once cake is chilled, apply a thin layer of swiss meringue buttercream to the cake to absorb crumbs. Place cake in the freezer for another 15-20 minutes. Apply final layer of buttercream. Decorate as desired.

For the Audrey Hepburn Fondant Cake Topper:

I created the top of the cake by finding a pop art image of Audrey Hepburn online and tracing over it with a toothpick onto a round 7" inch of white fondant. With the faint outlines of the drawing leftover on the fondant, I used an edible food pen to draw the details in with color.