Tuesday, May 08, 2012

the cake


Mabel and I chose the cake for Elliot's birthday. We were flipping through my Baking Handbook, and this one stopped us in our tracks. We didn't think Elliot would mind. I was coming off of a sugar-free week, and I had a load of fancy chocolate that I inherited when my brother moved burning a hole in my pantry. So we went all out.

Our cake had a subtle mint-chocolate ganache, instead of the plain chocolate called for in the link above. (Just add 1 1/2 teaspoons of peppermint extract along with the corn syrup and salt.) I mostly used a very dark chocolate, which made the ganache a tad bitter, so when I was whipping it for the filling, I added about a cup and a half of powdered sugar. Then I decided that I didn't want to coat the cake in the final, glossy layer, so I left it just like this. I could have quartered the ganache recipe and still had plenty, I think. I baked it for the minimum time listed in the recipe, but that was just a tiny bit too long. If you decide to try it, make sure to check the cake before the timer beeps!

Like most of Martha's recipes, this one takes a while and dirties lots of bowls, but it was worth it. And it tasted even better the next day.

3 comments:

  1. That cake looks delicious! Martha recipes are great for special occasions but you are right, they make for a lot of dishwashing. I make a similar chocolate layer cake with a chocolate ganache topping but for a filling I use this:

    1/2 cup butter
    1/2 cup brown sugar
    1 can Eagle brand sweetened condensed milk.

    Melt butter in saucepan, add sugar and condensed milk cook over medium until thickened like pudding whisking the entire time (about 5-7 minutes). Cool to room temp and use between cake layers.

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  2. Looks and sounds sooo delicious. You are right it is best for special occasions.
    Love you

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  3. it was delicious, dense and moist and best of all, the leftovers stayed at our house.

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