Chocolate merry-go-round cake pt 1

1 Servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
1 cup Sifted all-purpose flour [a]
½ teaspoon Double-acting baking powder [a]
2 tablespoons Orange juice [b]
2 tablespoons Tasteless salad oil [b]
5 larges Egg yolks [c] + 5 whites [d]
½ teaspoon Vanilla extract [c]
½ cup Sugar [c] + 1/2 cup
⅛ teaspoon Salt [d]
6 ounces Unsweetened chocolate; chopped in small pieces
1 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar [e]
11 teaspoons Water [e]
¾ pounds Butter at room temperature
½ teaspoon Vanilla extract [f]
2 tablespoons Unsweetened cocoa powder; (Dutch process best) [f]
3 larges Eggs

Directions

CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM

Here's the cake Melinda requested. It's a lot of fun to make and serve. And I've never met anyone who was able to figure out how to make the layers vertical rather than horizontal. Also, it's from Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts (though the phrasing is slightly altered by me).

Heatter is probably the best cookbook author ever when it comes to desserts. I would swear by anything in her books even if I hadn't tried it.

I *have* tried this one repeatedly and love it.

I also like this because you should make it the day ahead so it can be served very cold (it slices better that way, too). Once you understand the technique, you can use your favorite cake and frosting recipes if you prefer. The key is to ensure there's lots of contrast in color between the two.

Line 2 buttered 10.5x15.5x1" jellyroll pans with wax paper to cover bottom and sides. Butter the paper.

Sift together [a]. Mix [b]. Beat [c] with an electric mixer at high speed till pale lemon-colored. At low speed, beating only till smooth & scraping bowl with rubber spatula each time, beat in half [a], then all of [b], then rest of [a].

Beat together [d] at high to soft peaks. Gradually beat in remaining ½ cup sugar at medium, then beat at high to stiff peaks. Fold 2-3 large spoonfuls into [abc] mixture, then 2-3 more spoonfuls, then fold in the rest.

Spread equal amounts batter (approx 3 cups each) into each pan; make sure corners aren't thinner than middle. The layers will be quite thin. Bake 10 minutes in preheated 350F oven. Reverse pans top to bottom & front to back bake bake 3-5 minutes more, till tops spring back when lightly pressed with fingertip and pale golden color. Do not bake till brown.

Invert each pan onto a smooth (not terrycloth) linen or cotton towel. Peel off paper linings and cover each with second towel. Cool while preparing buttercream [see below].

Remove top towels from cooled cake layers. Invert the layers onto a cutting surface. Spread each layer with buttercream all the way to the edges.

Carefully cut each layer into 4 strips the long way; they must be all be the same width.

FORMING CAKE: Roll 1 cake strip with the filling on the inside into a tight spiral (like a jellyroll). Add the second strip where the first left off and continue rolling. Now place the roll on your cake plate with a flat side down. Place a third strip where the second one ended and continue rolling. Do the same with all the remaing strips; when finished it will be the shape of a 9"-diameter cake that's about 2-½" high.

Beat reserved 2 cups buttercream briefly to soften slightly. Frost cake top and sides. Refrigerate overnight or freeze. If frozen, wait till frosting firm before wrapping it up. Thaw several hours or overnight in fridge before unwrapping. Serve cold. Serves 12.

CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM: Stir together [e] constantly with wooden spatula in small saucepan over medium heat till sugar dissolved and mixture comes to fast boil. Wash down any undissolved granules on pan sides with pastry brush dipped in water. Add chocolate; stir till smooth. Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, cream the butter with an electric mixer. Beat in [f] well. Beat in eggs well 1 at a time, scraping bowl sides as needed. Gradually add warm chocolate beating at low speed only till smooth. Set aside.

When cooled cake layers inverted onto cutting surface, place the bowl of frosting into a larger bowl partially filled with ice water. Stir frosting well with rubber spatula till consistency of mayonnaise. Remove from ice water. Set aside 2 cups frosting, spreading the continued in part 2

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