Tuesday, February 17, 2009

TWD: Devils Food White Out Cake


Stephanie of Confessions of a City Eater chose this weeks Tuesdays with Dorie baking project and what a project it was...I think everyone was waiting for this recipe to be picked since it is on the cover of Dorie Greenspan's cookbook "Baking From My Home to Yours".

I've learned over the months that I've been baking along with the TWD group, that it's very, VERY important to read Dorie's recipes through and then read them again and maybe even read them a third time to make sure I know exactly what she's saying. For instance, in this recipe I wasn't sure when making the frosting what stage the egg whites needed to be whipped to before I started adding in the syrup, because she says to begin whipping them on medium, but if they get firm, shiny peaks before the syrup reaches 242 degrees then you have to slow them down. I personally would like information that said beat the whites until they were at such and such stage, then add the syrup, which should be 242 degrees. And then if she would want to add the part about how she might want to go about doing that, at least I would understand where I wanted things to be when they go together. I know...picky-picky. I just have a difficult time understanding what she's saying many times. I get so caught up in the recipe, I forget to take pictures as I go. Oh well!


After reading the P&Q this time and everyone having problems with the cake rising very much, I was a little hesitant to try. And I didn't have 8 inch round pans. But I found a couple of 8 inch square ones and decided to give it a go anyway. And of course, my cakes didn't rise very much either. One of the difficult tasks of this recipe was cutting the layers in half since they were so flat anyway. The picture on the cover has much fatter layers than my cake!! But the cake does taste delicious! More like a cakey brownie! The frosting tastes like whipped marshmallow and the mix of the two is just pure bliss.




Yum! Thanks Stephanie for a great choice! Go check out the recipe on Stephanie's blog and taste it for yourself!

15 comments:

Jamie said...

Your cake looks great, I love the chocolate covered strawberry garnish!!!

Nancy/n.o.e said...

I lost count of how many times I read this recipe - especially that part about the egg whites! And that's where I had my biggest problems. Oh well, it was indeed bliss. I like your square cake and thin layers means a higher proportion of icing, right?
Nancy

Amanda said...

I enjoyed it too, yours looks great!

Unknown said...

Your cake looks great! I love the idea of square cakes lately. I did read the recipe a few times but in the end it's kind of a leap of faith when you're dealing with candy thermometers (for me, anyway)!

Jules Someone said...

Lovely cake! I had a little frosting confusion as well. If you'd like the "other cake" recipe, just send me your e-mail address! iahawk89@alumni.uiowa.edu

Katrina said...

Looks like a winner to me, after the frustration. I felt some of the same with the frosting, but it all worked out in the end.
Thanks for visiting my blog and entering the contest.

Leslie said...

A square cake-how fun! I think your turned out great! Wasn't it delicious?

Sweet as Coco said...

I read this recipe MANY times. Im the same way...I get caught up in baking that sometimes I don't read and thats usually when trouble hits. You cake looks great. Love the square!

Anonymous said...

Hahah the part about the frosting and when to start whipping the eggs in regards to heating the syrup confused me as well! I had to read it four times! The cake looks great!

Judy said...

The square cake is a fun variation and much easier to serve. Looks like it turned out just fine.

farah said...

Your cake looks fantastic! Well done :)

Anonymous said...

Your cake looks gorgeous. YUM!

betty geek said...

NANCY!!! I tried posting a comment earlier, but the computer was acting funny.

Thanks for stopping by my site!

Your cake looks mighty good and I hope to have a slice or two . . OK, maybe just one since I just returned from the gym! :)

You go, Nancy!

Jules Someone said...

That looks really yummy. The frosting recipe messed with me a little.

TeaLady said...

Your cake looks just great. And square. Works for me no matter what 'shape' it is in.