TBB - Chocolate Cuddle Cake

Rose's Alpha Bakers embarked on a wonderful chocolate chiffon cake this week with caramel whipped cream and chocolate ganache. Also known as Chocolate Cuddle Cake. I was a bit in a hurry so I ended up taking some shortcuts: I skipped the ganache and I used my own recipe for the caramel whipped cream. The cake itself I didn't make any changes to, except I baked it in a 2-piece tube pan.

The cake was served at a dinner party at our house. It was a huge hit. Everybody had seconds and left my house happy :o) I even got a birthday cake request for this cake!

(Half naked) Chocolate Cuddle Cake

The cake itself was pretty easy to make. It's a fairly standard way to make a chiffon cake. Separate the egg whites from the egg yolks. Whip the egg whites, some sugar and cream of tartar, until stiff. Then gently fold it into the egg yolks mixture.

It rose beautifully. Not sure why the top wasn't smooth though. Eventually that became the bottom anyway, so it wasn't a big deal.

Making the caramel whipped cream. One of my favorite cake fillings/frostings. I used a different recipe. You can find it at the bottom of this blog post.

After about 3-4 minutes of constant boiling

About 2-3 minutes it looks like this and it's almost ready. Don't answer the phone, check your texts or your FB messages (or take photos like I just did).

Add hot cream, stir and cool.

After the mixture has cooled completely, it's ready to be whipped to a creamy deliciousness. Store in the fridge until ready to use.

Ready for layering:

Look at lovely crumb! It was moist too.

Caramel whipped cream in the middle and on top. I like to make pretty swirls on top!

I believe that was my piece. It was sooo good!

This is what the cake looked like before everyone had seconds. Bon Appetit!

Final thoughts/tips:

• This cake was a huge success. All of my guests loved it. My BFF gave it a 10 out of 10. Her husband loved the cake. When asked what would make it even better, he said, "frosting the side with caramel whipped cream". I told him that the cake is supposed to have a chocolate ganche glaze. He said that would work for him too :o) In the meantime, a second helping of the cake as-is was happily accepted.
• I don't know about you, but it makes me happy, very happy, to see my friends and family thoroughly enjoy the baked goods I make :o)
• I was a little worried about hubby though. This is a chocolate cake after all and if you've read any of my previous chocolate XXX (fill in the blank) posts, you'll notice that hubby wasn't a huge fan of most of them. This cake he absolutely LOVED! I'm thinking that skipping the ganache helped in that regard. He said it was chocolatey but not too chocolatey, and he liked how soft it was. He gave it a 9 to 9.5 out of 10 rating. Score!!
• Since I used a dark pan, I lowered the temperature to 325F (no convection) and baked the cake for about 35 minutes.
• Don't forget to check out the Chocolate Cuddle Cakes made by the other Bakers.

Caramel Whipped Cream

(adapted many years ago from a restaurant recipe booklet in Chicago)

Ingredients:

• 12 oz (1-1/2 cup) heavy cream
• 3-1/2 oz (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
• 2 tsp agave nectar
• 1-2 Tbsp water

Instructions:

• Pour the cream into a 2-cup glass measuring cup and bring to a gentle boil in the microwave (about 2-3 minutes). Every microwave is different so watch it carefully. Let it sit in the microwave until ready to use.
• Combine the sugar, agave nectar and water in a medium to large stainless steel saucepan with a heavy bottom.
• On low-medium heat, gently dissolve the sugar in the water.
• Once all the sugar is dissolved, increase the heat to medium/medium-high.
• Let it boil undisturbed or do a gently swirl every once in a while.
• Watch the color carefully. Once it reaches an amber color (or in my case, the color of the agave nectar), remove it from the heat and slowly add about a third of the hot cream. The mixture will bubble vigorously (hence the need for a large pan). Use a heat proof silicone spatula, and stir until the mixture is homogeneous (you may need to return the pan to a low heat burner). Add the remaining cream and stir again.
• Cover the pan and let this mixture cool. I put it outside in my cold garage for an hour. If you're in a hurry, you can put the pan inside a large bowl with ice water and stir it while scraping the inside of the pan with a spatula, for 5-10 minutes or until completely cooled.
• Once the mixture is completely cooled, it's ready to be whipped. It whips like regular whipped cream but tastes about 500x better :o)