Rich Christmas Chocolate Cake

December 22, 2015

Rich Christmas Chocolate Cake

"I'm dreaming of a White Christmas

Just like the ones I used to know.."

To have witnessed a white Christmas where the thick blanket of snow covers everything, makes everything look so pure is a dream of mine ever since I was a kid and I used to read or see it in movies. That happy ending when the whole family gathers in the room with crackling fire in a real fireplace with a decorated mantle and all, a beautiful decorated and lit up real christmas tree with tons of gifts wrapped under it and they all have smiling faces and the background music plays a joyful rendition of a classic song and then suddenly the snow starts to fall and they all stare out the window- glad to be together, glad to experience the magic.

Ahhh Hallmark Christmas movies has made me such a sucker for all things corny but I love it!

So when I saw a version of this cake on Pinterest, I just HAD to make it to have some semblance of a White Christmas in the tropical city that I live in.

I am not sure about the original version of the cake, but I used my trusted Devil's Food Cake recipe to make a moist, dense chocolate Cake and then worked around it. Since I have already demonstrated on how to make the chocolate cake step by step, I'll just talk here about the frosting part. So lets get cookin'.

Side note: Don't judge my christmas trees, trees in all shapes and sizes are beautiful!

Serves: 6-8 slices

Time taken: 50 mins + icing

Complexity: ***

You'll need

2, 6" round Chocolate cakes, about 1.5" thick

100 gms of whipping cream (atleast 35% fat)

1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar, sifted

1 tsp vanilla extract

100 gms of dark semi sweet chocolate compound/ chips
Pinch of Love

Method

Firstly, make sure the whipping cream has been chilled overnight, so it is easier to whip it up.

Before making the whipped cream frosting, allow the cakes to cool down completely, give it about 2 hours atleast.

Meanwhile, take your chocolate compound or chocolate chips and melt them in a microwave or over a double boiler to make it smooth and glossy.

Once it is melted, pour that chocolate in a piping bag. As you can see here, I went with a ziplock bag. Have your trays lined with a silicone mat or parchment papers so the chocolate doesn't stick.

Next make a small little hole in the piping bag and start piping christmas trees. I did take a video of this but i deleted it by mistake. I know, I'm such a genius!

Anyway, you get the idea, just begin by drawing the tree trunk and move to drawing the sides. Also make sure the branches are a little thick so it helps in keeping the tree sturdy. Allow the chocolate trees to cool down in the fridge for 30 minutes before you use them to decorate the cake

Now make an ice bath before you begin your whipping, especially if you live in a hotter climate like India. In the summers, I infact chill my whipping blades as well along with the bowl so that everything is super chilled.

Pour the cream in a large bowl and start whisking it.

In about 3-4 minutes of whisking, you should see soft peaks form. To that, add in the sifted sugar and vanilla and whisk again. Now if you want to add in a drop of blue colour or some other flavour, you can do it at this time.

Once again start whipping for another 3-4 minutes till the cream reaches the desired consistency. Which means that if you remove the whisk from the cream, the peaks that it forms will almost hold their shape. It is now ready to frost the cake. I stopped just before it started to form stiff peaks becuase I wanted to keep the look of the cake quite soft.

On the serving platter, take 1 cake and place it bottom side down. Try and do a neater job of levelling the cake. I was just intent on getting maximum height with my 2 layers so i skimped out on levelling it properly.

Next top off that cake with about 1/3rd of that freshly whipped, vanilla flavoured, light as a cloud cream.

Smear it around lightly with a spatula and leave out about 1/2" edge on each side.

Next place the other cake, bottom side up, so it gives us a flat top, on the cream. No levelling, very precarious. I like living dangerously but I don't necessarily endorse it especially when it comes to cakes! But the texture on that cake though- oh man!!

Take the whipped cream frosting and cover the entire cake. Now you can keep the cream as thick or as light as you want. I wanted to give the cake a naked cake kind of a look so I thinned out the cream on the sides. But for the top I went with a generous amount and give it a little texture with the spatula itself. How pretty does that look!

Once you're done with that, take your Chocolate Christmas Trees and line them around the border of the cake.

Ta-da!!

Happy White Christmas to all you beautiful folks!! May the festival bring you immense cheer and generosity of spirit and may we all be blessed with kindness every step of the way.