Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream

This past week the cake hotline rang with a request for a birthday cake.  This cake was for a young man with simple tastes who was turning 14.  I took a moment to figure out the cake plan. 

Chocolate and Strawberry are two flavors I knew he enjoys; this one was going to be a cinch!  A rich chocolaty layer cake filled with sliced strawberries and Swiss meringue buttercream, frosted with a sinful chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream and some homemade chocolate covered strawberries.  No frills, simple and classic, the kind of cake you might see in a coffee shop bakery cabinet.  It is the perfect cake for any occasion.

Sliced strawberries and Swiss meringue buttercream fill this chocolate cake...

My sister presented me with a copy of Martha Stewart’s new cupcake cookbook…love it!  I made her classic Swiss meringue buttercream and then jazzed it up by folding in some melted, cooled chocolate.  This frosting is so good you could serve it all by itself!

Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Makes about 6 cups

Ingredients:

• 1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 6 egg whites
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 6oz. melted and cooled semi sweet chocolate

Directions:

1. Beat butter with electric mixer until fluffy and pale. Transfer to small bowl.

2. In double boiler over simmering water, whisk sugar and egg whites until warm and sugar is dissolved, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to clean bowl of electric mixer; beat on high with whisk attachment until fluffy and cooled, about 10 minutes.

3. Reduce mixer to medium-low; add butter a scant 1/4 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in vanilla. Fold in the cooled melted chocolate.

4. Switch to paddle attachment; beat on lowest speed 3 to 5 minutes. Leave at room temperature if using same day. Or store airtight in refrigerator up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature; beat until smooth.

Happy Birthday Paul!

Chocolate Cupcake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Some think Memorial Day Weekend is time to relax, I feel the opposite.  No rest for the Cake Lady!  Grandma Marion is turning 87!  Holy Moley!  My family and I spent our relaxing Sunday celebrating Grandma’s birthday and putting in my mother’s garden. 

I love Sunday’s at my parent’s house, they just feel good.  Growing up, my sister and I spent every Sunday at my mom’s parent’s house swimming with our cousins and then having a huge feast towards the end of the day.  Thinking about it brings a smile to my face. 

Another thing that brings a smile to my face is Grandma Marion.  Chocolate is the way to her heart so I baked her some extra large chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting…YUM!  Once again, Ina Garten provided me with a great recipe which I swear by – Beatty’s Chocolate Cake. 

Chocolate Cupcake Batter

The cake comes out just the right, great texture and the perfect amount of chocolate.  Cream Cheese Frosting, who doesn’t like that?  Simple and easy, plus it compliments the chocolate oh so well. These chocolate cupcakes are sure to be crowd pleasers.

More Chocolate Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Cream Cheese Frosting

What You’ll Need:

• 1 8oz. package of cream cheese (not whipped)
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 8oz. powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

 1.) Make sure cream cheese and butter are room temperature. Cream butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Add vanilla, blend. 

2.) Slowly add powdered sugar and blend until smooth.  Quick note; this is not a stiff frosting and does not pipe well.  I use this frosting for cupcakes and simple cakes…Tastes great!

Grandma Garretson's Chocolate Cake in Cupcake Form

I love receiving recipes – so of course, I was pleasantly surprised when my sister in law, Geri, sent me the recipe for her grandmother’s chocolate cake. 

My sister came over to help me prepare the cake – we decided to make an evening out of it.  We called this evening a  ”study in gum paste” since we were going to decorate the cupcakes with gum paste flowers. 

The evening started with a quick trip to the local Hobby Lobby for gum paste making tools.  Cupcake wrappers, gum paste mix, gel food coloring, and a set of gum paste tools and we were out the door.  I already had the gum paste flower cutters from a previous occasion.

Then, off to the local grocery store for snacks and wine – yes, I did mention we made an evening out of it

Wine of the Evening - Oberon

Once we were home, Jody began preparing the cake batter, which we must note, turned out very thick – almost similar to a brownie batter.  We decided to do cupcakes instead of cake, since cupcakes are so much cuter.   

Very Thick Chocolate Cake Batter

We smoothed the batter out with a spatula – then into the oven.  At that point, I was already working on mixing up the gum paste.  I have worked with gum paste in the past, but had forgotten how labor intensive it really was.  We dyed it four colors with the gel food coloring – green, two shades of blue and an orangey-yellow. 

Colored Gum Paste

Jody then prepared the icing for the chocolate cupcakes that were now cooling on the stove.  This icing comes out very shiny – similar to a ganache.  The end result is a very delicate looking cupcake.    The chocolate cupcake was very chocolatey and very tasty, and suprisingly moist for how thick the batter was.  If you are a chocolate lover, these are for you.

Overall, we found that working with the gum paste was harder than we expected…but as you can see from the photos – they were adorable.  I have a new appreciation for gum paste or sugar flowers – it truly is an artform.

Thanks again Geri for sending me this recipe – we are sure it will be enjoyed by many.

Gum Paste Flowers on Chocolate Cupcakes

• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 2/3 cup butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. boiling water
• 1 cup cocoa

Directions: 

1.) Mix sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla in a large bowl until blended.

2.) Add flour, buttermilk, soda and salt. Mix well.

3.) Combine the boiling water and cocoa in a separate bowl. Add to large bowl and mix.

4.) Spoon cake batter into cake pans. Cake batter with be thick, so you will need to smooth it out with a spatula.  Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until a toothpick comes out clean in center. For cupcakes, our cook time was about 15  – 18 minutes.

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 c. cocoa

Directions:

1.) Combine all ingredients in a saucepan.

2.) Place on med heat until it comes to a boil. Let boil for one minute.

3.) Spread on top of warm cake.  Decorate how you like.  Enjoy!

Our Cute Flowered Cupcakes

Giant Sandwich Cookie Pan From Williams Sonoma

I love new kitchen gadgets, so of course I absolutely love these giant sandwich cookie cake pans from Williams Sonoma.   I first discovered these on Baking Bites, a great site BTW.  Yum…a cake that tastes like a creme filled chocolate cookies and looks like one too,  on the recipe hunt now.  I think I know what Jody is getting for her birthday .

Amy's Baby Shower Cake

Early I signed on to handle all things cake related for my friend Amy’s baby shower. I should add I’ve been tooting my own horn amongst my non-baking friends about how good I have become at this whole cake thing. Let’s just say the expectations were a bit high and I have lost a tad bit of sleep over the whole baby shower cake. Prior to this cake, all cakes I have ever baked have been for my immediate family or a single close friend.

This cake was different. Not only did it have to be 2 tiers it also was to be displayed in front of a gathering of women. Oh, and I forgot to mention the cake had to be chocolate…my sworn enemy.

Chocolate cake and I have had a long history of not getting along. I would say a good 80% of the recipes used have come out DRY!  The kind of cake that looks and smells great while baking, but when it comes to eating it is more of a disappointment.

I spent the weeks before the cake scouring the Internet for just the right recipe. There are thousands of recipes to look through so which one would I choose? I look for a couple things: Who’s recipe is it?…Is the recipe overly complicated?…What kind of feedback has the recipe gotten? These three steps generally make my selection process a whole lot easier. Ina Garten otherwise known as “The Barefoot Contessa” is who I borrowed this chocolate cake recipe from….I’m not sure I’ll be giving it back!

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Beatty’s Chocolate Cake Recipe
Courtesy of Ina Garten

What You’ll Need:

Butter, for greasing the pans
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
2 cups sugar
3/4 cups good cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk, shaken
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee

Directions:

1.) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter 2 (8-inch) round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans.

2.) Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

3.) Place 1 layer, flat side up, on a flat plate or cake pedestal. With a knife or offset spatula, spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake.

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I baked all of the layers on Friday night allowing them plenty of time to cool and set up in my refrigerator. Through trial and error I have learned there is no way to cut corners and speed up the process of frosting and finishing a cake. If you need speed call the bakery! I have gone as far as to even freeze the layers…this helps if you need to do a lot of shaping. After the cake has been chilled I prepare to assemble my layers. I used a rich chocolaty buttercream for this particular cake and some raspberry puree.  The raspberry puree was simply 1 pint raspberries and 1/4 cup sugar cooked down and cooled.

Quick Recipe for Rich Chocolaty Buttercream:

Chocolate Buttercream and Raspberry Puree

I then covered each layer with the infamous crumb shield…another step not recommended in skipping. A crumb shield is simply preparing the cake for its final layer of frosting…traping all those pesky loose crumbs.

Crumbshield of Chocolate Buttercream on Chocolate Cake

After covering each of the layers I returned my cakes to the refrigerator in order to set the frosting. With all the frosting done it is now time to work on FONDANT!  Up until the last 10 years I had never even heard what fondant was. Buttercream and a pastry bag was what a baker used to finish and decorate cakes. Today fondant is everywhere it seems, so why shouldn’t I be on board! 

Baby Bedding As Inspiration

The thing about fondant is…The possibilities are endless. You can die it, roll it, shape or carve it into almost anything you want, all it takes is imagination.

As a child I loved Play-doh and that could explain my gravitation towards fondant. With this particular cake I based the decoration off of the bedding selected by the mother to be. I started with white fondant and died it with gel food coloring to match.

White Fondant With Blue Gel Food Coloring - Not Mixed

Gel food coloring is a must when tinting fondant. Regular food coloring turns fondant to a sticky goo. This is where the work out begins. Kneading and working the color into the fondant makes those forearms feel like mush. The more you work it, the more even the color.

White Fondant Died Blue With Gel Food Coloring - Mixed

Once colored , in this case a dusty blue, I got busy covering the cake. I hate this part! I still have not figured out exactly how to get the fondant completely smooth around the cake. I end up with a couple wrinkles and an occasional fold. Once the cake is covered in fondant the fun can begin! Adding a design or decorative touches on top of the fondant helps hide any flaws and adds that personal touch.

Fondant Elephant Cutouts for Baby Shower Cake

For this cake I chose to use a circle cutter and a elephant stencil make of card stock in order to cut out details. By simply brushing water to the back of each cut out you can adhere them to cake. I try not to make things seem so uniform, but a more random playful pattern…giving it a more homespun feel.

I should mention that cake supports were used in the bottom layer in order to give it enough strength to hold up that top layer. These supports can be made of plastic or simple doll rods all cut to the same length. This cake I kept in two parts until it reached it’s final destination.

Once at the shower I assembled the layers and covered the bottom of each layer with little rolled fondant balls…Eva the resident 4 year old was eager to help out!  This would explain the very random sizes and squished appearance of some of the balls.

Baby Shower Cake, Completed

All in all the cake got a great response not only for its look but how it tasted!  Not bad for my first try…bring on the next challenge!