Tomorrow a bunch of us are getting together to celebrate my roommate Mike's 23rd birthday. I've been feeling pretty domestic lately, so I decided to make a cake for the occasion. This cake was SUPER easy to make, and I'm not going to lie... the chocolate icing is divine. It's so chocolately and rich, and it has the absolute right amount of sugar. I could eat the icing out of the pot. I sort of did. Anyway, before I continue, I'd like to thank my friend Ben's mother, Mrs. Adler for the scrumptious icing recipe.
This cake actually has two layers. I baked this at a friend's house, so I didn't have traditional round baking pans, but two pyrex pie pans did the trick. Also, I should mention that the dough recipe comes from SJJ's earlier post, January Garnet Cake, but the filling and icing are completely different.
So here goes!
For the batter
1 stick of butter (.5 C.)
.5 C. shortening, unflavored
2 C. granulated sugar
1 C. buttermilk
5 egg yolks
2 C. all-purpose flour
1 t. baking soda
1 t. vanilla
1.25 C. flaked coconut (UNSWEETENED)
1 C. chopped pecans or walnuts. I prefer walnuts; SJJ prefers pecans. It's up to you!
30 minutes before: separate eggs and leave butter out so it can come to room temperature.
With a paddle attachment or traditional egg-beating whisk, beat the warm (or almost melted) butter and shortening until whipped. Add the sugar.
Pour the vanilla into the buttermilk (make sure the buttermilk has not expired. This happened to me tonight, and well... I was not pleased.
Add yolks and buttermilk to the bowl, alternating between the two.
In another bowl, add flour and baking soda and mix lightly with a fork. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture, beating lightly. once all is mixed thoroughly, fold in coconut and pecans or walnuts.
Preheat the oven to 350 F and distribute the batter between two cake pans evenly. Place it in the middle rack and time it for 30-40 minutes, depending on your elevation/type of oven/patience.
When the pans are out of the oven and cooling, begin the filling and icing.
Filling
2 tbsp butter
1 square of baker's unsweetened chocolate
1 cup granulated sugar
1-2 cups of frozen or fresh raspberries (make sure the frozen kind aren't in juice or syrup. flash frozen is best!)
Icing
.5 cup boiling water
1.5 tbsp butter
1.5 tbsp corn starch
.5 cup granulated sugar
a pinch of salt
1 square of baker's unsweetened chocolate
Ok, so for the filling... On VERY LOW HEAT, melt the butter and chocolate and add the sugar. Make sure to keep stirring, otherwise you'll end up with burnt chocolate. (GROSS!)
Taste it. If it's too bitter, add a bit more sugar. If it's too sweet, don't worry... The raspberries will add a hint of tartness delight. When the chocoloate is melted and perfectly sweetened, add the raspberries and mash them with your stirring utensil. It makes kind of a chocolate-raspberry puree/jam type thing. and it's DELICIOUS. Taste it. Seriously.
When the cakes have cooled and have been turned over onto a plate, spread the filling over the top of one of the cakes. There will be some left over, so you can eat it! Then lay the second cake on top of the filling.
Now onto the icing...
In a pan, combine sugar and cornstarch and add boiling water. Heat on low-medium heat and add the salt and chocolate. Keep stirring until it really thickens. Not just a little bit. It needs to be like pudding. As my friend Ben says, "the thicker it is, the easier it will spread."
When it's hot and thick, spread it over the top and sides of the cake. LAYER IT ON. and taste it.
You can top the cake with raspberries or coconuts, or candles. Whichever fits your cake style.
Birthday boy Mike's cake was topped with the letter "M" (it was made from the raspberry filling).
Enjoy!
-ILR
