For the Cake

• 3 cups cake flour,
• 1 3/ 4 cups granulated sugar
• 1 1/ 4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon coarse Kosher salt
• 2 large eggs
• 2 large egg whites
• 1 3/ 4 cups buttermilk
• 1/ 4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/ 2 cup unsalted butter,
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the Buttercream

• 2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/ 4 cup cherry jam or preserves, divided
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon meringue powder, optional
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons milk or cream, if needed to thin

For the Cake

Method

• Step 1

  Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease two or three 8-inch pans with non-stick spray.

• Step 2

  In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients and whisk for a minute or two until well combined. Divide the batter between the pans.

• Step 3

  Bake until a toothpick comes out clean or with moist crumbs, about 21-25 minutes (for three pans) or about 28-30 minutes (for two pans). Set the pans on a wire rack to cool completely, covered loosely with a clean kitchen towel.

For the Buttercream

Method

• Step 1

  Place the softened butter in the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment. Puree 1/2 cup of the jam in a small food processor so that no large pieces of fruit remain and the jam is mostly smooth. Scrape the pureed jam into the mixing bowl with the butter. Beat the butter and jam for several minutes until well combined.

• Step 2

  With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar by spoonfuls, the meringue powder and the vanilla. Increase the speed to medium, and whip for 4-5 minutes, scraping the bowl occasionally, until very light and fluffy. Add the milk, if needed for a thinner consistency, but the buttercream should be thick enough to hold its shape well for piping the rosettes.

For the Assembly

Method

• Step 1

  Remove the cooled cakes from the pans. Place one cake, bottom side up, on a cake board or cake pedestal. Spread with a layer of buttercream, and then carefully spread about 1/2 cup of cherry jam over the buttercream, stopping about 1/2 inch from the edge. Add the second cake layer, more buttercream, more jam, and then the third cake layer. Frost all over with a thin crumb coat of buttercream, and refrigerate for one hour. Cover the bowl of remaining buttercream with plastic wrap to prevent a crust from forming.

• Step 2

  Fit a piping bag with tip 1M and fill with buttercream. Starting at the bottom of the cake, pipe a horizontal row of rosettes all the way around the bottom edge of the cake. Pipe a second row of rosettes, positioning them as shown in the photos above so that the vertical rows are angled, and not straight up and down, or you'll end up with gaps between the rosettes. Continue piping rosettes in horizontal rows, then finish the top of the cake as pictured. The last rosette you pipe will be the one in the very center of the top of the cake.