Heaven and Hell Cake
Source of Recipe
Sue Freeman
List of Ingredients
Angel Food Cake
2/3 c. cake flour
1 c. powdered sugar
1 c. egg whites (about seven or eight)
pinch of salt
1 tsp. cream of tartar
2/3 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. almond extract
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Devil's Food Cake
1/2 c. cocoa powder
1 c. strong coffee
1/2 c. shortening
1-1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1-1/2 c. cake flour
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
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Peanut Butter Mousse
12 oz. cream cheese
1-3/4 c. powdered sugar
2 c. peanut butter, at room temperature
3/4 c. heavy cream
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Ganache (Frosting)
2 lb. milk chocolate, chopped
2 c. cream
Recipe
ANGEL FOOD CAKE:
Preheat oven to 375*. Cut a circle of parchment paper or wax paper to fit the bottom of a 9" cake pan. Do not grease the pan or paper.
Sift together the flour and powdered sugar and set aside.
Place the egg whites in the bowl of a heavy duty mixer.
(Lesson 1: The bowl and beaters have to be meticulously clean, or the egg whites won't whip. Don't use a plastic bowl, because miniscule bits of fat will prevent the whites from getting enough volume.)
Beat slowly while adding the salt and cream of tartar and continue beating for 1 minute or until soft peaks form. Increase speed to medium, add sugar into whites by tablespoons until all is incorporated, then beat about 1-1/2 minutes longer. When egg whites have stiff peaks, add vanilla and almond extract.
Remove bowl from mixer and sprinkle half of the powdered sugar-flour mixture and fold in again, using a minimum number of strokes so the egg whites do not deflate.
Gently spoon the mixture into the pan and bake for 40-50 minutes or until golden brown. Do not over bake or the cake will sink in the center:
Lesson 2: Heed this warning----It's true. We baked too long in a dark metal pan, which required less time.)
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DEVIL'S FOOD CAKE:
Preheat oven to 350*. Oil and flour a round 9" cake pan.
(Lesson 3: Don't shortcut this step. A sticky layer makes an ugly cake.)
Sift the cocoa powder into the mixing bowl, then drizzle in the coffee while whisking to make a smooth paste. (Ours was more liquid than paste.) Set aside.
Combine shortening, sugar, vanilla, and eggs and beat for 2 minutes on medium speed. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Alternately add the cocoa-coffee mixture and the flour mixture to the sugar-egg mixture and continue beating until incorporated.
Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes.
(Lesson 4: To test for doneness, press your forefinger lightly on the cake; it will spring back when done. Ours took 25 minutes.)
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PEANUT BUTTER MOUSSE:
In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip the cream cheese until light and creamy. Gradually beat in the powdered sugar, then the peanut butter. If mixture looks lumpy, add 2 Tablespoons of heavy cream. (Ours needed this.)
Continue beating until thoroughly incorporated and fluffy. Transfer mixture to another bowl and set aside. Place heavy cream in the electric mixer bowl and whip until stiff.
(Lesson 5: It whips best when bowl, beaters and cream are well chilled.)
Carefully, but thoroughly, combine both mixtures. Set aside.
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GANACHE (FROSTING):
In a saucepan, bring the cream to a boil and stir in the chocolate (we used Merckens). Remove from heat, cover pan and let the chocolate melt. Whisk to combine thoroughly then let cool to room temperature.
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ASSEMBLING HEAVEN AND HELL CAKE
When both cakes have cooled, carefully slice them in half horizontally with a long, serrated knife so that you now have four layers. Place one layer of the devil's food cake on a cake plate and spoon 1/3 of the peanut butter mousse on the top.
Place a layer of the angel food on top of the mousse and spread with another 1/3 of the peanut butter Continue layering until you have four layers of cake and three layers of mousse. Whisk the ganache and spread with a spatula over the top and sides to frost generously.
(lesson 6: The old trick of sliding waxed paper under the edges of the bottom layer to catch the drips of frosting didn't work for us. As the frosting hardened, it became stuck.)
Chill in the refrigerator for atleast two hours before serving. This cake picks up refrigerator odor easily, so cover it well. Any leftover cake may be frozen, tightly wrapped, for up to a month. Serve chilled; slice with a warm, wet knife.
(Lesson 7: This worked well. Slice thinly-it's rich.)
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