peggy@ccgate.sandiegoca.ncr.com (Peggy Gardner) (06/25/91)
I would like to share my family's favorite Birthday Cake. It's an
excellent recipe that is fairly easy to make, and it produces a cake
that tastes good and looks spectacular. This recipe was cut out of the
Los Angeles Times by my mother-in-law many years ago.
_Chocolate Cake with Whipped Cream_
Cake:
1 package Devil's Food cake mix
4 small cans (about 10 ounces total) ready-to-serve
Chocolate Pudding
1 egg
1/4 - 1/2 cup chocolate chips
Whipped Cream:
2 cups whipping cream
1/4 cup confectioner's sugar (powdered sugar)
Vanilla to taste
Mix cake ingredients together for 2 minutes - the mixture will be
extremely thick. Divide mixture equally between 2 greased and floured
round cake pans. Sprinkle the tops of both cake halves with chocolate
chips. Bake 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool on racks until cold.
When cakes are cold, split cakes in half lengthwise with a long knife
so that you will have 4 layers. Mix confectioner's sugar and vanilla
into whipping cream and whip the cream until it is stiff. Dab a small
amount of cream onto serving plate to anchor the bottom layer. Divide
whipped cream into thirds in the bowl. Put the bottom half layer of
one cake on the plate, and spread 1/3 of the whipped cream on top of
that layer. Put the top half of that layer on, and top with 1/3 of
the whipped cream. Put on the bottom half of the remaining cake, and
top with the last 1/3 of the whipped cream. Finish by placing the
remaining half cake layer on top.
Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 12 hours.
Notes: The pudding doesn't have to be in cans, I use any kind of
ready-to-serve packages. 10 ounces of pudding is a rough estimate -
it seems to turn out fine with more or less than that. I use a
KitchenAid mixer to mix the batter, because it is very thick. The
most difficult part of making this cake is cutting the cakes in half,
and it requires a lot of patience (I usually have my husband do it,
since I don't have enough patience!). The cake must be cold before
cutting it, and we sometimes put it in the refrigerator to cool it
down beforehand. We usually put the 4 cake pieces onto separate
plates while we're in the process of putting the cake together because
they are somewhat fragile and can be retrieved with less mess from
separate plates. The cake tastes best when refrigerated at least
overnight, and then set out at room temperature for 15-20 minutes to
warm up a little.
Enjoy! -- Peggy Gardner