Nothing says I love you like a favorite store-bought snack cake made from scratch. This recipe is super chocolaty and super fun.
Whipped cream will continue to whip as you spread it. To avoid over-whipping at that stage, slightly under-whip it initially.
Ingredients
- [3/4] cup water
- [3/4] cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 8 oz.(2 sticks) unsalted butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 4[1/4] cups cake flour
- 1[1/2] tsp. baking soda
- [1/2] tsp. baking powder
- [1/4] tsp. kosher salt
- [2/3] cup sour cream
- [1/4] cup Simple Syrup (recipe follows)
- [1/2] recipe Sweetened Whipped Cream (recipe follows)
- [1/2] recipe Ganache, room temperature
- Chocolate shavings to decorate
Method
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a baking sheet with pan spray, line it with parchment paper, and coat the paper with pan spray.
- In a small saucepan, combine water and chocolate chips. Place over high heat and bring to a boil, stirring until melted. Remove from heat and cool.
- In a large bowl, beat together butter and brown sugar until creamy and smooth. Add eggs one by one, then add cooled chocolate and combine thoroughly. Sift together cake flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and add alternately with sour cream. Transfer to prepared pan and bake until set, but springy to the touch, about 8-10 minutes. Cool completely.
- Lay out a sheet or two of plastic wrap onto the counter so that it forms an area 2 inches larger than the baking pan. Dust the plastic wrap with sugar, then invert cake into the center. Remove the parchment paper from the cake. Brush the entire surface lightly with simple syrup, then cover with a smooth even layer of whipped cream no thicker than [1/4]-inch.
- Working from a long edge, roll the cake into a log, using the plastic wrap to help. Tighten the ends of plastic wrap to force the cake into a sausage shape, and chill for at least 1 hour. Unwrap chilled cake, frost with Ganache, and chill again briefly to set. Top with chocolate shaving before serving.
Simple Syrup
Ingredients
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 cups water
Method
- Combine sugar and water in a large saucepan. Set over high heat and bring to a boil. At the boil, remove from heat, strain through a fine mesh strainer, and cool completely. Store in the refrigerator. Makes about 4 cups.
Sweetened Whipped Cream
The French name of this all-purpose topping is Crème Chantilly. The flavor should be subtly sweet, not cloying, because it is generally used to top desserts already sweetened. The flavor is easily changed to suit any recipe.
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream, well chilled
- 3 TB. sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
Method
- In a large bowl, combine cream, sugar and vanilla. Using a whisk or an electric mixer, whip cream until soft peaks appear. Watch carefully as the cream continues to stiffen, and stop when it reaches medium peaks. Use immediately, or chill for up to 30 minutes. Makes 3-4 cups.
If you really want to bring back some snack cake memories, cut the cake in half (in width, not length) before rolling, and roll two thinner logs. Then ice, cut in two-inch lengths, and wrap it in foil.
Leslie Bilderback - Leslie Bilderback, CMB Author of seven books in the The Complete Idiot's Guide and Everything series, a regular column in the Los ...
