Recipe Request: Awesome Cake Recipe
I am going to make a layer cake for my boyfriend's birthday tomorrow and I need a great recipe. He loves chocolate, so I thought about a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. He also likes wedding cake, which I have never attempted to make. So, what's your favorite cake recipe?
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24 Comments:
He likes wedding cake? There are as many different kinds of wedding cakes as there are bakeries. (And many of them smell like fake butter.)Think chocolate, my dear.
lemons at 9:59AM on 01/13/09
Wedding cake type I guess - vanilla and very moist. Please no fake butter!
swtpea at 10:12AM on 01/13/09
Just a quick note about decorating: some men might get a bit scared if you surprised them with a wedding cake on their birthday--unless you are going to propose (which I am all for women doing, btw).
HeartofGlass at 10:15AM on 01/13/09
I haven't tried this cake, but it's a Rose Levy Beranbaum recipe, so I can assure you it will be fabulous. If you're not a Kahlua fan, you could use a different liqueur in the frosting. Good luck!
emmab at 11:05AM on 01/13/09
There's a stellar white cake recipe in Joy of Cooking that has apparently been used as a wedding cake recipe. I made it for a friend's birthday last year with honey whipped cream icing, and it was excellent, but I've also made buttercream and meringue icings for it and they've all turned out equally well. PM me if you'd like the recipe.
honeybee413 at 11:07AM on 01/13/09
@heart: I am going to decorate it like a normal cake - although it might be fun to see his face if I made him a wedding cake...
@emmab: Sounds similar to a chocolate torte I have made a couple of times. Delicious but I was thinking of something more light and airy.
@honeybee: I would like to try that recipe. Did you just use plain buttercream icing? I wonder if I could sneak a layer of chocolate in between the layers.
swtpea at 11:37AM on 01/13/09
Some firm ganache sounds yummy between the layers.
Josdean at 12:36PM on 01/13/09
The Nick Malgieri Coconut Raspberry cake which is also called the party cake in Dorie greenspan's book. This cake has been touted by people who have eaten it as the best cake I ever ate.
It is adaptable to flavors and fillings/frostings
http://www.nickmalgieri.com/recipes/6-cakes/coco_rasp_cake.html
For chocolate cakes I make this and its freaking great. Flavor it with chambord or kahlua or whatever floats your boat.
http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/ultimate-chocolate-cake
Both are amazing and I recommend both.
JerzeeTomato at 12:52PM on 01/13/09
I love the idea of a white cake, and it's what I think of when I hear "wedding cake". Good old Betty Crocker has a wonderful recipe, called "Silver White Cake. I made it some years back for Valentine's Day, in my heart-shaped cake pan:
http://www.dvo.com/recipe_pages/betty/Silver_White_Cake.html
I also think a little raspberry jam between the layers would be really good with this cake!
Barbd at 12:54PM on 01/13/09
@ Jerzee - The coconut raspberry sounds delicious to me but he's not really a coconut fan. Do you think it would be the same without it?
The chocolate sounds wonderful too, but I'm not sure if I can find valrhona cocoa today. Does whole foods or trader joes carry it or would I need to order it? Can I substitute another cocoa?
swtpea at 1:14PM on 01/13/09
This is the best white cake recipe ever, so moist and perfect (from Rose Beranbaum, the ultimate cake authority). I have used it many times for party cakes of different sizes:
http://tesarecipes.wordpress.com/2007/09/14/11/
But ignore that frosting recommendation. Any proper cooked buttercream is the way to go (swiss meringue is not difficult to make, no sugar syrup required).
For chocolate, this devil's food cake from Tartine is my most frequently requested dessert. I made it for my brother's grooms cake and people asked for thirds.
http://www.epicurean.com/featured/devils-food-layer-recipe.html
renzata at 1:25PM on 01/13/09
i like beatty's chocolate cake from ina garten - very light and moist chocolate cake. its super easy and i ususally have all the ingredients on hand already (except for the buttermilk). not fancy, as easy as a boxed mix but tastier and not full of strange ingredients.
kw12345 at 1:29PM on 01/13/09
Hummingbird Cake!! It's to die for!!
caramel at 1:41PM on 01/13/09
I second KW12345's comment. Ina's cake is easy to pull together, though mine needed to bake way longer than she suggested, and I would also suggest rotating the pans halfway through. Still, this cake is astonishingly good and easy to make, and the icing is divine.
Recipe is here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/beattys-chocolate-cake-recipe/index.html
BananaMonkey at 2:22PM on 01/13/09
i just made my own wedding cake. it was a manageable feat and yummy. the cake was the white feather cake from the cake bible. it uses white chocolate in place of some of the fat. the white chocolate creates a nice mellow texture and taste that people can't quite place but like. I used a swiss buttercream to frost and fill. it was such a breeze to frost with and the frosting is neither too buttery or sweet. we then topped it with the blueberry topping(also cake bible) after cutting the slices. it made for a yummy slice and elegant appearance.
i've also made Tartine devils cake a few too many times =) it is my absolute favorite chocolate cake. a few hints: make it with plugra butter or another european butter. the cake can get dry esp if you make larger size tiers or cupcakes so that 2% extra butterfat helps. also use a lot of caramel on the layers.
good luck with it!
tinat at 3:08PM on 01/13/09
I'm going to make a Cinnamon Caramel Ganache layer cake tomarrow. It is out of the Jan issue of Fine Cooking magazine. I havn't made it before,but it looks delish. It doesn't look complicated but like a lot of layer cakes it takes some time( I plan on making part of it tonight). If anyone made this cake recently I'd love to hear your reviews.
marchesa at 3:13PM on 01/13/09
Sorry I forgot to say that the cake I was talking about IS a chocolate cake with cinnamon caramel ganache in between the layers.lol.
marchesa at 3:21PM on 01/13/09
The daring bakers took on The party cake and made is many different ways. Yes the cake does taste amazing without coconut. It is so good with just icing. If you don't try it for this occasion try it another time. I believe you will be a fan.
JerzeeTomato at 4:04PM on 01/13/09
Go with your instinct and do chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. My fave is the Devil's Food cake recipe from Kevin and Nancy Mills (excellent) "Chocolate on the Brain". Top it with the frosting recipe on the back of the Hershey's Cocoa box- the BEST and easiest chocolate buttercream. ever.
Embackus at 4:23PM on 01/13/09
I plan on doing the same thing for my boyfriend (his birthday isn't until May). Good luck!
Deep, Dark Chocolate Cake
The moistest, richest homemade chocolate cake you've ever tasted! It has coffee in it, so the recipe is sure to please chocolate and coffee lovers alike!
Ingredients
2 C. sugar
1 3/4 C. all purpose flour
3/4 C. cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 lg. eggs
1 C. whole milk
1/2 C. vegetable oil
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 C. strong coffee
Directions
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans or one 13x9x2 inch baking pan. In large bowl, stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla; beat on medium speed of electric mixer for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling strong hot coffee (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes for round pans, 35 to 40 minutes for rectangular pan, or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost with your favorite frosting. Both cream cheese and chocolate frosting tastes great!
Hillary
Chew on That
Chew on That at 5:14PM on 01/13/09
I second the suggestion for Ina Garten's Beatty's Chocolate Cake. It is sooooooo good!
You can find the recipe on The Food Network website.
Believe me, you won't be disappointed!
soozm32 at 6:54PM on 01/13/09
OMG the Chocolate Stout cake from Gourmet is amazing it makes 3 layers and the frosting is Chocolate Ganache so freaking good it should be outlawed!!!
joanpieroni2 at 10:10PM on 01/13/09
Thank you all for your suggestions! I decided on the devil's cake from Tartine and the cakes are smelling delicious cooling on the counter now. I can't wait to get it all together and surprise him with it.
I have to try some of the white cake recipes though - maybe for Valentine's Day with some raspberry filling.
swtpea at 10:31PM on 01/13/09
I won! I hope you like it even half as much as we do.
renzata at 10:43PM on 01/13/09