Every year I make Easter cake. This cake is highly reminiscent of the Hostess Snowballs I loved as a child.
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| Hostess Snowballs. Yum. |
This year, my cake-making was a disaster thirty-six ways to Sunday. First, I mistook bulk-buy pudding mix for my bulk-buy chocolate sponge cake mix, (Raw eggs and pudding mix do not a cake make.) Then I completely fuffed up an easy six-egg sponge by sifting the sugar (considered a "wet" ingredient) into the dry, instead of into the beaten eggs. Result.... um, let's just call them giant cookies. And really, you don't need to hear about the rest of the disasters. Far too many, and far too depressing.
In the end, I went to bed in disappointment. No Easter cake.
The next day I picked myself up and thought I'd try again. I wasn't game to try for a sponge cake, after four disasters yesty, plus I was nearly out of eggs.
Alas, this was Good Friday. Australia shuts down for Good Friday. Completely shuts down. There was no way I was able to go buy a chocolate cake mix, so I was going to have to make one from scratch.
So I googled any recipe for Devil's Food Cake (what? Devil's Food on Easter? Well, yes. After all, Angel's Food Cake is for my birthday).
I found one that claimed to be "The Only Chocolate Cake Recipe You'll Ever Need."
This one here:
It was rated five stars.
F I V E . S T A R S .
Not 4.8 or even 4.9. Five. Stars. By hundreds of people.
So I gave it a go.
SUCCESS!! Oh, my goodness! It was so easy to make up, baked up delightful, and was an absolute dream in moistness, texture, you-name-it. This one earned its place in the Family Cookbook.
YOU MUST TRY THIS RECIPE!
I only baked up the cake. I didn't give their icing a go, because, after all, this was my Easter Cake.
And Easter Cake must be topped with marshmallow.
Home Made.
Shop-bought marshmallows are nothing compared to home-made marshmallow.
This recipe is out of the Wessman Family Cookbook. It's simple, though requires a touch of precision. If you've never made candy before, I recommend giving it a try as it's difficult to mess up, but I recommend using a thermometer for getting the temperature right.
Note, my original recipe is in American. I translated it into Australian for those metrically-minded (which is, let's face it, most of the world).
Marshmallow
2 envelopes Knox unflavored gelatin (15 g powdered gelatin)
1/2 cup cold water
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup Karo syrup (Glucose syrup)
3/4 cup water
1 3/4 cup white granulated sugar
dash of salt
In a large mixing bowl sprinkle gelatin over the 1/2 cup cold water. Let sit and absorb for about ten minutes or so.
Bring to a boil: 3/4 cup water, glucose syrup, sugar and salt. Boil until softball stage, approx 235°F (115°C). You do not need to be exact in this temperature.
Pour boiled syrup over gelatin and beat with a beater at highest speed until it becomes light and fluffy with stiff peaks. This'll take about ten minutes or so. (Recommend a stand mixer for best results.)
Once you've made your marshmallow, you can do whatever you want with it. Pour it into a buttered dish, let set for 30 minutes in fridge, then cut into squares. eat plain, or roll in Jello crystals. Or pour into individual moulds, to be dipped in chocolate later. Or, as I intended, cover the World's Best Devil's Food Cake with it.
So there you have it. Cover a Devil's Food Cake with Marshmallow and coat with coconut. This is Her Grace's Easter Cake.
Okay, I couldn't find any coconut in my pantry. I could have sworn I had some, but it was not making an appearance.
I can forgive myself that slight oversight. As you can see, this cake has been delighting Our Graces for a few days now.
Your Challenge: Try this cake recipe and let me know if you agree it is one of the best.
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Her Grace has contented herself over her earlier disasters with a successful cake.
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