Chocolate!!

[pumkinmuffin]

Thank you Valchemist & Bluestocking, for sharing your recipes with me for the book. I made a couple of little changes to them, but would love everyone's feedback. So go ahead and start baking!

Cookies and Cream Cake
I hope that Valerie will forgive me for tinkering with the frosting. This cake is beyond good, with a moist, tender chocolaty crumb and a “cookies and cream” frosting.
Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C)
13-by 9-inch (3 L) metal baking pan, bottom lined with parchment or waxed paper and greased
Serves 20

Cake:
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup shortening
2 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa, sifted
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup boiling water
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Frosting:
2 cups confectioner’s (icing) sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
4 tbsp cream
10 chocolate sandwich cookies, crushed

1. Cake: In a large bowl, cream together brown sugar, granulated sugar and shortening. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add buttermilk and vanilla, mixing well.
2. In a small bowl, stir together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture, mixing well. Add boiling water, mixing until smooth.
3. Spread batter into prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a tester inserted in center comes out clean. Place pan on rack to cool.
4. Frosting: In a medium bowl or bowl of an electric mixer, combine confectioner’s sugar, butter, salt, vanilla and cream. Whip on high speed until smooth and fluffy. Mix in crushed sandwich cookies, until almost smooth with little bits of chocolate cookies.
5. Spread top of cake with frosting and serve. This cake can be made ahead of time and refrigerated until ready to serve.

Tip: Garnish top of cake with 7 to 8 coarsely broken chocolate sandwich cookies.

Chocolate Devils
This cake is so good that I felt compelled to bake the batter into mini cakes, filled them with a fluffy vanilla filling and topped them with a decadent chocolate glaze. They are sooo good, their devilish. Thank you Cindy!
Bake 350°F
Metal mini loaf pan, 12, greased
Makes 12 individual cakes

Cakes:
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup shortening
2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp. baking soda
2/3 cup cocoa powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup boiling water

Filling:
2 large egg whites
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1 cup shortening
2 cups confectioner’s (icing) sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Glaze:
5 oz semisweet chocolate
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1. Cakes: In large bowl, cream together sugar and shortening. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat until fluffy.
2. In measuring cup, add baking soda to milk. Stir to dissolve. Add milk to shortening mixture, mixing well. Mix in flour. Add cocoa powder and boiling water, beating until almost smooth. Batter will still have a few small lumps in it.
3. Scoop batter into prepared pans. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. Place pans on rack to cool 5 minutes before removing from pan. Finishing cooling completely on rack.
4. Filling: In a small bowl, beat egg whites until very stiff. In a separate bowl, add shortening and vanilla, beating until smooth and fluffy. Fold in egg whites & mix until well blended.
5. Glaze: In a microwave-safe bowl or measuring cup, combine chocolate and cream and heat for 30 to 60 seconds, or until cream is hot and chocolate is starting to melt. Stir well until chocolate is melted and mixture is thick and smooth. If chocolate is not completely melted, return to microwave for another 10 to 20 seconds, or until chocolate is soft and melted. Stir well. Let glaze sit for a few minutes to thicken slightly. Pour glaze over tops of cakes. Refrigerate until glaze is firm.

Tip: If you’re looking for a fabulous chocolate cake recipe and want to omit the filling and glaze, simply make the cake portion of this recipe and bake in a 9-inch by 13-inch metal baking pan.

:)

[bluestocking]

Julie, I'm delighted that everyone can enjoy this adaptation. As I said before I can't wait to try it myself! One question about the directions you posted- after the filling is made, how do you get it in the cake? I read and rearead the directions and I'm feeling sort of thick- put it down to just having 500 trick or treaters at my house!:) Anyway what did I miss? Does it go in the cake before baking? After- like injected? Cut them in half? Or ?

[cher48603]

Chocolate!!

You sure know how to get a girls attention:D :D
They both sound scrumptious!

[valchemist]

I am happy you liked the Preacher's Cake recipe. And the cookies and cream frosting is a great idea -- can't wait to try it!

one thing: when we bake the cake at 350, it only takes 30 to 35 minutes. did it really take 40 to 45 minutes for you? I would hate for someone to start checking for doneness at 40 minutes only to find an overdone cake.

also, I am looking forward to trying cindy's variation of the cake!

[cher48603]

It's Halloween and the gremlins are really working overtime. I read Val's post before I typed mine in. :confused:

[valchemist]

Julie,
I just noticed that you have semisweet chocolate chips in the ingredient list of the cookies and cream cake. My original Preacher's Cake has no chocolate chips. I am wondering if that is a typo, since you don't mention the chocolate chips in the directions.
Val

[LonghornGal]

I forgot I had this one stahed in MC. Haven't made it, but it looked DARN GOOD on tv! But perhaps that's just because Tyler Florence made it!


* Exported from MasterCook *

Gooey, Decadent Chocolate Cake

Recipe By :Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence

Serving Size : 8 Preparation Time :0:01
Categories : Alcohol Cake
Dessert! Need to lighten
Not Tried Vegetarian

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter -- at room temperature
2 cups sugar
3 1/2 ounces semisweet dark chocolate -- or bittersweet, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups cold water
2 Tablespoons Chambourd raspberry liqueur -- for drizzling
Chocolate Chip Butter Cream -- recipe follows
Dark chocolate shavings -- for decoration
Chocolate Chip Butter Cream:
3 cups powdered sugar
7 tablespoons hot water
4 ounces dark chocolate -- melted and cooled
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 stick unsalted butter -- at room temperature
1/4 cup semisweet dark chocolate -- finely chopped

Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy. Add the cooled chocolate and vanilla and beat for 3 minutes to incorporate. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat for another 3 minutes.

Gradually mix in the dry ingredients in 3 batches, alternating with the cold water. Beat for 1 minute after each addition to incorporate the ingredients. Mix until the batter is smooth.

Coat 2 (9-inch) round cake pans with non-stick cooking spray. Cut 2 circles of parchment paper to fit the pan bottoms and place them inside the pans; then spray the paper for added non-stick insurance. Pour batter into the prepared pans and smooth the surface with a spatula; the pans should be 2/3 full. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, see Cook's note*.

Leave to cool for 40 minutes. Turn the cakes out of the pans and remove the paper. Drizzle them with a few tablespoons of Chambourd.

With a metal spatula, spread 1/2 cup butter cream on top 1 of the layers. Start in the center and work your way out. Carefully place the second layer on top. Smooth the sides with butter cream, then spread the rest over the top so that the cake is completely covered.

Refrigerate for 5 minutes before decorating or cutting.

With a large knife scrape some shavings from a block of dark chocolate. Scatter shavings over cake.

*Cook's note. The cake is cooked when a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean and the cake springs back when touched


In the bowl of an electric mixer, dissolve the sugar and water at low speed. Beat in the dark chocolate and vanilla. Add butter gradually in small bits. Mix until everything is completely incorporated. Using a spatula, fold in the chopped chocolate and give a final quick spin.


Copyright:
"Copyright © 2003 Television Food Network, G.P., All Rights Reserved"
Yield:
"1 cake"
T(Cook Time):
"0:35"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 784 Calories; 29g Fat (32.2% calories from fat); 5g Protein; 131g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 109mg Cholesterol; 524mg Sodium. Exchanges: 2 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 5 1/2 Fat; 7 Other Carbohydrates.

NOTES : Saw on tv. wow.

Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

[pumkinmuffin]

Okay here goes...

Thanks for pointing out about getting the filling in the cake. I hadn't completely edited the recipes yet. You slice them in half, spread filling on bottom half and replace top.

And yes, I did add chocolate chips into the cookies and cream cake. It just added another chocolate dimension, but can be omitted. It took 40 minutes for my cake to bake, but I would appreciate feedback from others if it takes a shorter time.

Again, any feedback you guys have certainly helps. You're awesome!

Julie

[pumkinmuffin]

Here are revised recipes:

Cookies and Cream Cake
Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C)
13-by 9-inch (3 L) metal baking pan, bottom lined with parchment or waxed paper and greased
Serves 20

Cake:
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup shortening
2 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa, sifted
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup boiling water
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, optional

Frosting:
2 cups confectioner’s (icing) sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
4 tbsp cream
10 chocolate sandwich cookies, crushed

1. Cake: In a large bowl, cream together brown sugar, granulated sugar and shortening. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add buttermilk and vanilla, mixing well.
2. In a small bowl, stir together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture, mixing well. Add boiling water, mixing until smooth.
3. Spread batter into prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 45 minutes, or until a tester inserted in center comes out clean. Place pan on rack to cool.
4. Frosting: In a medium bowl or bowl of an electric mixer, combine confectioner’s sugar, butter, salt, vanilla and cream. Whip on high speed until smooth and fluffy. Mix in crushed sandwich cookies, until almost smooth with little bits of chocolate cookies.
5. Spread top of cake with frosting and serve. This cake can be made ahead of time and refrigerated until ready to serve.

Tip: Garnish top of cake with 7 to 8 coarsely broken chocolate sandwich cookies.

Chocolate Devils

Preheat oven to 350°F
Mini loaf pans (12), greased
Makes 12 individual cakes

Cakes:
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup shortening
2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp. baking soda
2/3 cup cocoa powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup boiling water

Filling:
2 large egg whites
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1 cup shortening
2 cups confectioner’s (icing) sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Glaze:
5 oz semisweet chocolate
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1. Cakes: In large bowl, cream together sugar and shortening. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat until fluffy.
2. In measuring cup, add baking soda to milk. Stir to dissolve. Add milk to shortening mixture, mixing well. Mix in flour. Add cocoa powder and boiling water, beating until almost smooth. Batter will still have a few small lumps in it.
3. Scoop batter into prepared pans. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. Place pans on rack to cool 5 minutes before removing from pan. Finishing cooling completely on rack.
4. Filling: In a small bowl, beat egg whites until very stiff. In a separate bowl, add shortening and vanilla, beating until smooth and fluffy. Fold in egg whites & mix until well blended.
5. Slice cakes in half horizonitally. Spread bottom halves with filling. Replace tops back on cakes. Place cakes on a clean baking sheet.
6. Glaze: In a microwave-safe bowl or measuring cup, combine chocolate and cream and heat for 30 to 60 seconds, or until cream is hot and chocolate is starting to melt. Stir well until chocolate is melted and mixture is thick and smooth. If chocolate is not completely melted, return to microwave for another 10 to 20 seconds, or until chocolate is soft and melted. Stir well. Let glaze sit for a few minutes to thicken slightly. Spoon glaze over tops of cakes. Refrigerate until glaze is firm.

Tip: If you’re looking for a fabulous chocolate cake recipe and want to omit the filling and glaze, simply make the cake portion of this recipe and bake in a 9-inch by 13-inch metal baking pan.

[Mamasue]

Thanks....any pics to go with the recipes! :D

[bluestocking]

Thanks for clarifying! These just sound delightful..and I know they taste good! :D I can't wait to try valchemist's Preacher's Cake!

[newcook]

And yes, I did add chocolate chips into the cookies and cream cake.

Julie,

When do you put the chocolate chips in the Cookies and Cream Cake?

Daniele

[valchemist]

Originally posted by bluestocking
Thanks for clarifying! These just sound delightful..and I know they taste good! :D I can't wait to try valchemist's Preacher's Cake!

funny. I am looking forward to trying yours!

[pumkinmuffin]

I tried to repost the corrected recipe again yesterday, but it didn't work. Sorry. The chocolate chips get sprinkled on top of the unbaked cake before placing in oven. Here goes...

Cookies and Cream Cake
Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C)
13-by 9-inch (3 L) metal baking pan, bottom lined with parchment or waxed paper and greased
Serves 20

Cake:
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup shortening
2 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa, sifted
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup boiling water
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Frosting:
2 cups confectioner’s (icing) sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
4 tbsp cream
10 chocolate sandwich cookies, crushed

1. Cake: In a large bowl, cream together brown sugar, granulated sugar and shortening. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add buttermilk and vanilla, mixing well.
2. In a small bowl, stir together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture, mixing well. Add boiling water, mixing until smooth.
3. Spread batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle top of cake with chocolate chips. Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 45 minutes, or until a tester inserted in center comes out clean. Place pan on rack to cool.
4. Frosting: In a medium bowl or bowl of an electric mixer, combine confectioner’s sugar, butter, salt, vanilla and cream. Whip on high speed until smooth and fluffy. Mix in crushed sandwich cookies, until almost smooth with little bits of chocolate cookies.
5. Spread top of cake with frosting and serve. This cake can be made ahead of time and refrigerated until ready to serve.

Tip: Garnish top of cake with 7 to 8 coarsely broken chocolate sandwich cookies.

[lonetree1353]

Julie I made the cookies and cream cake this morning. We had it for dessert tonight. Your description fits it perfectly. I found it moist, had a nice texture and the chocolate chips definitely added another chocolate dimension for the taste buds. I did add the oreos to the top of the icing and DD thought it would make a perfect birthday cake. I cooked for 35 minutes but it wasn't quite done so left it in another 5 for a total of 40 minutes as well. I used a metal 9 X 13. Val was your pan glass or metal? Would that make a difference in cooking time?

[valchemist]

thanks for the review, maureen! you know, I haven't actually made the cake in a while, so I will have to recheck the time it takes me. I use a metal pan and I do have an oven thermometer. maybe I am just mistaken on the time. who knows.

[pumkinmuffin]

Lonetree,

I'm so glad that you liked the cake. I also found that the cake will keep very well refrigerated.

Thanks for confirming the baking time. There will always be differences in ovens, altitudes, etc.., so it's good to get feedback.

[LonghornGal]

Hi Julie -

On the filling for the chocolate devils, do you whip the 2 tbs sugar with the egg whites? and what bowl does the confectioner's sugar go in - the shortening or the egg whites? Or does it get folded in later?

Thanks - I can't wait to make some of these!

--Kristin

[pumkinmuffin]

Thank you Longhorn Gal! As you can see, I haven't done the recipe editing yet, but am really glad you brought this to my attention.

The granulated sugar is added slowly to the whites after they are foamy. The confectioner's (powdered) sugar is creamed together with the shortening.

[lonetree1353]

Here is the cookies and cream cake....or rather what is left of it. :Dhttp://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid87/p31d6ef2c9ed8a621bdfc94b1c600c7a7/faa73ec7.jpg

[pumkinmuffin]

Your picture is beautiful!

[TerriAb]

Will you send me a piece if I send you my address?? That looks DELISH!

[lonetree1353]

Sure thing Terri...that way it will quit calling my name for me to eat the darn thing:D

[valchemist]

I tried the cookies and cream cake and it is great. I already knew what the chocolate cake itself was like (just the Preacher's Cake recipe), but I wanted to see how the doctored up version tasted.

I liked the addition of the chocolate chips to the batter. I thought the chips might some how get in the way, but they didn't. Even so, I think the cake would still be great without them.

The cookies and cream frosting was great. Mine looked different from maureen's picture above. For some reason, it looks like all the oreos are on top of the frosting in that picture as opposed to being mixed into the frosting (of course that may not be the case, but that is how the picture makes it look). my frosting had lots of oreos mixed into it -- I actually used about 14 oreos instead of 10. The oreo garnish on the top looks nice. but the garnishing oreos get kind of soft after a while. they aren't bad that way, but they just aren't like regular crunchy oreos. So my point is that if you want to add a few extra oreos to the frosting and leave the garnish off, that would be an ok thing to do. the cake just won't look quite as nice.

also, maureen, your frosting looks kind of tan colored. mine was white with black specks/chunks. again, maybe that is just how it looks in the picture and not in real life.

anyway, thank you for this variation of the cake, Julie. it is delicious!

[valchemist]

oh, I forgot to mention.

I really watched the baking time and temperature closely. I made sure the oven was at 350 with my oven thermometer.

The cake was done in 32 minutes.

[lonetree1353]

Val The icing was white actually, so think it is just the photo making it look tan. I just sprinkled the oreos on the top as I knew they would get soft if I put them in the icing. I found the icing quite thick so it was easier to spread then add the oreos. I too liked the chocolate chips on the top of the cake.

[valchemist]

even the oreos sitting on top of the cake get soft, so it worked out well for me to mix them into the frosting as directed. but it is just a matter of personal preference. I like the cookies to be a part of the frosting rather than separate sitting on top.

I didn't have any problems spreading the frosting. mine was fairly light and fluffy (not at all like whipped cream or anything, just not really thick, either).

interesting that you said the chocolate chips were on top. even though I sprinkled them on top before baking, as directed, the chips were at various level of the cake in the final product. most were on top, but some sank down lower.

[lonetree1353]

Just rechecked what is left of the cake and they are mostly on the top...maybe a few have sunken a bit. I like the idea of mixing the oreos in the icing and next time I will pulse the cookies first then add them to the icing. You are right val, the icing was spreadable but maybe I needed to whip the icing more than I did as I think it could have been a bit fluffier.

[pumkinmuffin]

Great to hear everyone's feedback.

Regarding frosting, I crushed 10 Oreo's and whipped them into the icing. Then I took the additional Oreo's (from bottom tip on recipe) and crumbled those on top. Personally, I like the soft cookies, as it reminded me of cookies and cream ice cream (where the cookies are soft). So I guess that it is up to personal preference whether or not to crumble cookies on top just before serving.

[valchemist]

just thought I would make one last post on this cookies and cream cake...

while it is very good right out of the fridge, it is ten times better when at room temperature. the flavors are so much more pronounced and the texture is nicer and more moist too. so I would suggest that you don't store this cake in the fridge. and if you do, be sure to let it sit out for a couple hours before serving it.

also, I agree with julie about the soft oreos within the frosting. they are incredibly good all mixed in. even better after the cake sits a day.

[newcook]

I have the cookies and cream cake in the oven right now. I don't know if there is a trick to making cakes using cocoa powder. My kitchen looks like it was hit with nuclear fall-out with cocoa powder dust all over everything. When I put the flour/cocoa powder mixture in with the creamed ingredients, the fine powder lifted and went everywhere. What a mess!

I sure do hope it tastes good.

Daniele

Editing to say, I tested for doneness at 33 minutes and it was not quite done. I tested again at 35 minutes and it was done.

[valchemist]

I hope you like it daniele.

Let me just say, it tastes best on the second day when the oreos in the frosting get all soft and assimilated. But as I said in a previous post, it really tastes MILES better at room temperature. There is nothing perishable in it, so it isn't necessary to store it in the fridge. It keeps fine at room temp and it tastes better that way too.

[newcook]

Hi Val, I had to give it a taste right away, couldn't wait until tomorrow. I love the rich, dark chocolate cake. I found the icing to be a little bit rich. I think the next time I would like to put a lighter icing on it. Tomorrow, I'll get the opinion of some family members.

This is a cake made for sharing. Then again, I might freeze a couple of pieces before giving it all away.

Thanks for sharing the recipe.

Daniele

[newcook]

I just wanted to say that Val is right, the cookies and cream cake is really good the next day. It seems the flavors blend together. Even the icing which seemed a bit too rich yesterday was really good today.

Daniele

[Linda in MO]

Does the icing for this cake really need 2 sticks of butter? Has anyone played around with the icing for this cake? Looks great, but I'm wondering if you could get away with 1 stick of butter. thanks

editing...would it also be good topped with whipped cream with oreos mixed in?

[valchemist]

linda, I haven't played around with the frosting, but it was very rich with the 2 sticks of butter and I think it might be ok to reduce that amount. but you would need to compensate for the lost volume somehow so that you would have enough to frost the cake.

it wouldn't be the same with just whipped cream and oreos. I mean, I am sure it would be fine, but it would be a different cake. the rich frosting is really good here since the cake itself isn't all that heavy and rich.

[Linda in MO]

Thanks for your comments Val. I'll let you know if I make it.