Tiger: Happy Birthday in advanced, Uncle Ambrose!
Ambrose: Thank you, Tiger! So sweet!
Tiger: What kind of cake it that? Do you think I can have a little bit of the frosting? It looks so yummy.
Ambrose: Ask daddy. It is not good for your teeth. It is a chocolate cake with homemade mashmallows I got from Fine Cooking Magazine (Jan 2010 issue). The same magazine we found the White Chocolate Macadamia Cake with White Chocolate Buttercream frosting. All the rich flavor of hot chocolate -- in cake form. Homemade mashmallows piled on top seal the deal.
Tiger: I want! Stop saying that! I want the frosting!
FOR THE CAKE:3/4 cup unsalted butter; more for the pans
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour; more for pans
3/4 cup canola oil
4 1/2oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
3 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
3 large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cu buttermilk, at room temperature
2 tbsp pure vanila extract
2 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
FOR THE FROSTING:2 1/2 cups heavy cream
6 tbsp unsalted butter
1 vanila bean, split lengthwise and seeds scraped out
2 cups bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups natural unsweeteened cocoa powder, more for dusting
1/2 cup Lyle's Golden Syrup
1/3 Kosher salt
FOR THE MASHMALLOWS: You can buy ready made mashmallows -- easier and cheaper!
MAKE THE CAKE:Position racks in the bottom and top thirds of the oven and heat the oven to 350F.
Butter three (3) 9x2" round cake pans and line each with a parchment paper (round)
Butter the parchment, then dust with flour and knock out the excess.
In a 3-qt saucepan, combine the butter, oil, chopped chocolate and 1 cup water. Heast over medium heat until melted.
In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, and cocoa powder. Pour the hot chocolate mixture into the sugar mixture and whisk until combined.
Whisk the eggs, one by one at a time, ten whisk in buttermilk, vanila, baking soda, and salt. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans.
Set two pans on the top rack and the third on the lower rack. Stagger the pans on the oven racks so that no pan is directly over another. Bake, swapping and rotating the pans' positions after 20 mins, until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 mins. Invert the cakes onto the racks, remove the parchment, and cool completely.
MAKE THE FROSTING:In a 4-qt saucepan over low heat, combine the cream, butter and vanilla bean and seed and stir until the butter is melted. Remove the vanilla bean and whisk in the chopped chocolate until melted. Whisk in the sugar, cocoa powder, syrup and salt until smooth -- be sure the cocoa powder dissolves completely. Pour into a 9x13" pan and freeze until firm, about 2 hrs, or refrigerate overnight.
ASSEMBLE THE CAKE:Remove the frosting from the freezer or refrigerator. Transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes to soften. Change a whisk attachment and beat at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Put a cake layer on a flat serving platter or a cake stand lined with strips of waxed paper to keep it clean while icing. Top the layer with a 1 1/2 cups of the frosting, spreading it evenly with an offset spatula to the cake's edge. Repeat with with another cake layer with 1 1/2 cup frosting. Top with the last cake layer. Sprinkle with mashmallows and dust with cocoa powder! Viola!
