More Cake, More Cake Problems

[cimorene]

Thursday Wax baked another boiled chocolate cake (this time with a dash of amaretto and coffee) with a coffee buttercream frosting.



This cake IS really good - as stated before, a boiled chocolate cake is incredibly smooth, rich, and moist without being underbaked or dense. The frosting recipe, though - Wax already modified it to reduce the sugar AND to reduce the overall amount (even though the recipe was supposed to be for an 8" layer cake, which is what she made), and the frosting is still both so strong and so overwhelmingly sugary that I can barely choke down a 1/16th of a cake sliver at a time. The sugar is a bit like being punched in the roof of the mouth by sugar every time it melts on your tongue even in spite of the strong coffee flavor. So rather than each of us eating a 1/8th slice once or twice per day, we've eaten only 1/8th between us two days in a row.

We went to the store today and bought soft pretzels from the Lidl bakery and I was thinking and...

cimorene: We need to have guests over — otherwise it'll take us a full 8 days to eat this cake.
waxjism: Yeah... it's just so rich with all the frosting.
cimorene: We need an army of teenagers. Actually, your brother has one...
[cimorene whips out her phone, opens the all-generations family chat, and texts "Hey, Wax baked a chocolate mocha layer cake if anybody wants some."]
BOTH PHONES: *pling*
Wax's brother in Seinäjoki: Unfortunately, I can't come right now.
Wax's brother in Turku: Will there still be cake tomorrow?

So Wax's brother has permission to bring idk his bff, bff's elementary school kid, and two random strangers from other countries that nobody has ever mentioned to us before tomorrow for some cake. (We counted the pieces to make sure, but there is even enough for him to bring a piece home for Wax's 18-year-old goddaughter.)

Meanwhile, I am hoping the cake will be finished tomorrow so that waxjism can make another cake already. I've ordered this Iittala Kastehelmi cake stand (L), because I am unsatisfied with the quality of my cake photographs so far.


(This doesn't QUITE match our dessert plates (center) - from Wax's granny -, which are the iconic Ultima Thule (R) by Finnish midcentury design legend Tapio Wirkkala, but it's as close to matching as possible.)

Comments

[goss]

boiled chocolate cake (this time with a dash of amaretto and coffee) with a coffee buttercream frosting.

That sounds AMAZING. ♥__♥ Lucky guests!

[oracne]

Faaaaaaaaaaaaaancy cake stand! So snazzy!

[cupidsbow]

Boiled choc cake sounds awesome. Can you point me at a recipe? Sorry about the frosting.

[cimorene]

It's a common technique. You can just do a web search and grab one; apparently it's the technique that matters. It's also called a hot water cake sometimes.

[cupidsbow]

Thanks! I went and googled with those names, and I'm actually familiar with the technique, just didn't know there was a name for it. I make ANZAC biscuits that way too.

[cimorene]

That's cool! I've heard of those before - they're Australian, right? No mental image, just the name. I'd never had this cake until Wax made it a couple weeks ago, though.

[cupidsbow]

Yep, Aussie. Made from oats, golden syrup, bicarb, sugar, butter, and optionally coconut. They're more delicious than they sound by a suprising amount. Now I think of it, I used to make a ginger cake with that method too, which was also delicious, but since going gluten free I haven't made it. I might have to try it with GF flour once I'm off this endless elimination diet. At least I know a lot more of my triggers now.

Anyway, glad you've discovered delicious cake. Maybe you could just eat it with a bit of fresh whipped cream instead of icing?

[cimorene]

Whipped cream is definitely delicious, but on the other hand it doesn't prepare in advance as well as icing...

[cupidsbow]

I guess it depends on the circumstances. Icing is better if you're travelling, that's for sure.

I like cream much more than icing (although I don't really eat either much anymore), so I'd whip up a batch with a spoonful of icing sugar and some vanilla and keep it in the fridge so I'd have it to go with the cake whenever it was time for a slice. Maybe that could work for you?

These days I'm more likely to eat baked custard with fruit crumble, and I make the custards in little ramekins so they stay nice for a few days in the fridge.