Pink-frosted devil’s food cake

For today’s post, I thought about penning a long, sappy spiel dedicated mothers everywhere in honor of Mother’s Day, one that would espouse my gratitude to the women of the world who are, in the words of Queen Bey, “Strong enough to bear the children / Then get back to business”.

But I decided not to.

Not because I’m lazy, I swear! In fact, I’m doing my homework right now! Look at me, being responsible and productive! No, I am opting out of any sappy spiel-writing because I’m not the type to indulge in those silly Hallmark holidays. Indeed, the founder of Mother’s Day, Anna Jarvis, was shocked by the near-instant commercialization of the holiday she worked so hard to create and soon launched all kinds of protests to stop this inevitable capitalist transformation of the simple celebration of motherly awesomeness into another opportunity for consumers to consume and businesses to make money.

And why should we be surprised, anyway? That’s the way our society works. We celebrate through consumption.

But I must admit...it is nice to have a day dedicated to mothers and all that they do.

So maybe I’m too cynical to write up a nice speech about what my mother has done for me and why I am so eternally grateful that she went through nine months of shit to give birth to me and didn’t leave me in the dumpster behind Shop Rite the first time I started crying at 2 am in the morning. (Because that takes gumption, you know? There’s a reason I don’t see myself being a mother.)

BUT. I did make a cake. 

That counts, right?

I didn’t write an epic fantasy novel and pen in bold letters on the first page DEDICATED TO MOM. I didn’t write a simultaneously touching and catchy song about my mother and how awesome she is. I didn’t even buy a Hallmark card. But I made a cake.

It wasn’t a surprise. When you’ve got three cake layers hanging out in the kitchen cooling themselves off, it’s hard to play a fool and say “Yeah I just whipped those up for my midnight snack.” No, I consulted with Mom about what kind of cake I should make beforehand and decided that chocolate, as always, would be the best. Mom likes chocolate.

The design of the cake stemmed from a video I saw some blogger (forget who, sorry) shared on my Facebook timeline—this quick tutorial from My Cupcake Addiction. The pink-frosted cake rimmed with sprinkles and topped with chocolate ganache looked like so much fun to make that I absolutely had to try it. Yes, the tutorial is for a Hershey’s bar illusion cake, but I decided not to do that part. Instead, I topped it with some semi-artistic dollops of coconut whipped cream, my weak attempt to mimic a Katherine Sabbath-style cake (since she often sticks some meringues on top of layers of frosting and ganache and whatever the hell she stuffs those cakes with).

But it’s pretty cute, so whatever.

It ain't perfect, but it doesn't have to be.

It is not only super cute but super delicious too. I used the devil’s food cake recipe from Sticky Chewy Messy Gooey, a great dessert cookbook for people with a set of raging sweet teeth (like me). It is truly a magnificent recipe, filled with real melted chocolate and espresso flavor and, since I used some raspberry extract, with a hint of fruitiness.

Also, instead of the egg-filled mousse buttercream given along with the chocolate cake, I used a Momofuku-inspired buttercream, tinted pink with some frozen beet puree I had on hand. Because natural colors are the best, of course.

Mom approves, I think.  

Here is the recipe.

__________

Pink-frosted devil’s food cake

Adapted from Sticky Chewy Messy Gooey

Serves about 12

_________

Devil’s food cake

Ingredients

28 grams • cocoa powder • 1/3 cup

2 grams • espresso powder • 1 teaspoon

112 grams • semisweet chocolate, finely chopped • 4 ounces

244 grams • boiling water • 1 cup

8 grams • vanilla extract • 2 teaspoons

2 grams • raspberry extract (optional) • ½ teaspoon

244 grams • nondairy milk • 1 cup

6 grams • apple cider vinegar • 1 ½ teaspoons

24 grams • flaxseed meal • 3 tablespoons

150 grams • water • ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons

112 grams • coconut oil, softened • ½ cup

110 grams • vegetable oil • ½ cup

230 grams • dark brown sugar • 1 cup

200 grams • granulated sugar • 1 cup

308 grams • cake flour • 2 ¼ cup

4 grams • baking soda • 1 teaspoon

3 grams • salt • ½ teaspoon

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease three 6-inch round baking pans and line the bottoms with parchment.

In a large bowl, whisk together cocoa powder, espresso powder, and chocolate. Pour boiling water in and stir until chocolate is melted and the mixture is homogeneous. Stir in vanilla and raspberry extract. Once mixture is cooled, add milk and vinegar.

Whisk together flaxseed and water in a measuring cup. Let stand until thickened.

Place coconut oil and vegetable oil in the bowl of an electric stand mixer; beat until light and fluffy. Add dark brown sugar and granulated sugar and beat until creamy. Add flaxseed mixture and beat to combine.

Combine cake flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to stand mixer in three additions, alternating with the chocolate mixture. Beat only for a few seconds after each addition, mixing just until combined.

Divide between baking pans and bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, about 35 to 38  minutes. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

________

Pink frosting

Ingredients

40 grams • cashews • ¼ cup

112 grams • coconut oil, softened • ½ cup

50 grams • non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening • ¼ cup

22 grams • corn syrup • 1 tablespoon

12 grams • vanilla extract • 1 tablespoon

2 grams • kosher salt • ½ teaspoon

20 grams • beet puree • 1 tablespoon

2 grams • raspberry extract (optional) • ½ teaspoon

200 grams • powdered sugar • 1 2/3 cups

Directions

Soak cashews in water for at least 4 hours. Drain soaked cashews and place in a food processor; blend until as smooth as possible.

Place coconut oil and shortening in the bowl of an electric stand mixer; beat until smooth. Add cashews and beat once more. Add corn syrup, vanilla, salt, beet puree, and raspberry extract; mix to combine. With mixer on low speed, spoon in powdered sugar. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy.

__________

Chocolate ganache

Ingredients

112 grams • semisweet chocolate, finely chopped • 4 ounces

120 grams • coconut milk, full-fat • ½ cup

14 grams • coconut oil • 1 tablespoon

22 grams • light corn syrup • 1 tablespoon

Directions

Start by placing chocolate in a medium, heatproof bowl. Whisk together coconut milk, nondairy margarine, and corn syrup in a small saucepan. Place over medium heat and whisk until butter is melted and the mixture just begins to boil.

Remove from heat and pour mixture into chocolate. Let stand for a minute, then whisk until smooth. Let cool completely at room temperature before using.

_______

Assembly

Ingredients

Chocolate cake

Pink frosting

Chocolate ganache

Sprinkles, to taste

Coconut whipped cream, to taste

Directions

Level off each cake with a serrated knife. Layer with pink frosting and frost the entire cake with remaining buttercream. Press sprinkles on the sides of the cake for decoration. Pour chocolate ganache on top. Let sit for a few minutes so the ganache settles in, then pipe whipped cream on top as decoration. Slice and serve.

_______

So majestic.

I don’t know if making and eating cake counts as contributing to the commercialization of Mother’s Day. Hopefully not. After all, producing (making cake) is the opposite of consuming (buying cards and flowers and shit like that). That’s how economics works, right?

But it’s the thought that counts, amiright?

Anyway. Check out some of these other super rad recipes my mom likes.

Peanut butter chocolate mug cake. She munched on some of this while I was testing the recipe and seemingly approved.

Coffee bundt cake. She makes this recipe (albeit with eggs) a lot during the Christmas season. Since, you know, bundt cakes are terrific gifts.

Candy cane Oreos. These were actually her Christmas gift last year.

Pumpkin pie cake with cream cheese frosting and candied pecans. When my mom made this the first time a couple years ago, it was an epiphany.