In sifting through my blog photos the other day, I came across a cake that I made for my birthday but never posted. I know, I know, I baked several cakes for my birthday – but a girl can never have too many now, can she?
I got this dandy of a recipe from the King Arthur Flour site – and I will admit, I approached it with a bit of trepidation. It didn’t seem like it was going to work out, but silly me, those people at KA obviously know their stuff.
I deviated from the original recipe by using some leftover Hershey’s chocolate frosting that I already had in the fridge for the filling, and making Dorie Greenspan’s marshmallow frosting instead of the chocolate version called for. And, since I halved the recipe, I was only able to split the chocolate layer in half – the vanilla layer was too small for me to attempt cutting it without totally demolishing it.
I’m including the recipe for the cake as I made it, as well as the icing – and you can find the Hershey’s chocolate frosting recipe here.
And the cake? It was wonderful – not too sweet, with a perfect texture. I’m sure it’s even better with chocolate icing, but it wasn’t quite so rich with the marshmallow frosting. Also, half of the recipe yields two 6″ layers, which you may or may not be able to split. But given the amount of cakes I made over a two week span, this was just the right amount for us.
Choco-Nilla Cake - adapted from the KA website
Vanilla Cake
1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 ¾ teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
Chocolate Cake
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbs. cornstarch
1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup water
2 greased and floured 9″ cake pans
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Make the vanilla cake: Whisk together the yogurt or sour cream, eggs, sugar, salt, baking powder, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Stir in the flour, mixing till smooth. Pour the batter into one of the prepared pans.
Bake the cake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the cake is beginning to brown on top. Remove the cake from the oven, and after 10 minutes turn it out of the pan onto a rack to cool.
Make the chocolate cake: Whisk together the dry ingredients. Add the eggs, oil, and vanilla, beating until smooth. Gradually add the water, beating until smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake for about 35 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven, and after 10 minutes turn it out of the pan onto a rack to cool.
Marshmallow Icing - adapted from Dorie Greenspan
1/2 cup egg whites (about 4 large)
1 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 cup water
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Put the egg whites in a clean, dry mixer bowl or in another large bowl. Have a candy thermometer at hand.
Put the sugar, cream of tartar and water in a small saucepan and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, cover the pan and boil for 3 minutes. Uncover and allow the syrup to boil until it reaches 242 degrees F on the candy thermometer. While the syrup is cooking, start beating the egg whites.
When the syrup is at about 235 degrees F, begin beating the egg whites on medium speed with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer. If the whites form firm, shiny peaks before the syrup reaches temperature, reduce the mixer speed to low and keep mixing the whites until the syrup catches up. With the mixer at medium speed, and standing back slightly, carefully pour in the hot syrup, pouring it between the beater(s) and the side of the bowl. Splatters are inevitable — don’t try to scrape them into the whites, just carry on. Add the vanilla extract and keep beating the whites at medium speed until they reach room temperature, about 5 minutes. You should have a smooth, shiny, marshmallowy frosting.
looks yummy!
Michael
By: Michael on November 5, 2009
at 8:06 am
This is such a beautiful cake! I love the picture of the slice from head on – it really shows the lovely layers!
By: Meghan on November 5, 2009
at 2:06 pm
I think it looks great with the thinner chocolate layers and the thick vanilla layer!
By: Jill on November 5, 2009
at 2:13 pm
What a fun cake! The layers look perfect! And it looks delicious
By: Joy on November 5, 2009
at 2:20 pm
Oh, that frosting looks great. Nice and fluffy. The cake looks perfect oo.
By: Wendy on November 5, 2009
at 3:41 pm
Great looking cake! That frosting looks delicious!
By: Erin on November 5, 2009
at 4:25 pm
Love the angle in that last pic. Looks like the perfect way to celebrate a birthday!
By: Cate O'Malley on November 5, 2009
at 6:13 pm
a beautiful cake and such a nice frosting. Great pics!
By: megan on November 5, 2009
at 7:13 pm
The layers are so pretty. I don’t think I’ve ever made a cake with different colored layers before. Something to add to my to do list. The marshmallow icing sounds awesome to me ; D
By: Kim on November 5, 2009
at 7:26 pm
That looks like a perfect birthday cake!! Chocolate cake, vanilla cake, marshmallow icing AND chocolate frosting?? I may have to make this for my birthday next year
By: Tracey on November 5, 2009
at 7:31 pm
A birthday cake you forgot about? Too funny. It looks spectacular, I love marshmallow frosting.
By: Margot on November 5, 2009
at 7:48 pm
Great cake! I think this cake looks even more artful with three layers than it would have with four. I love Dorie’s marshmallow icing!
By: Leslie on November 5, 2009
at 9:20 pm
What a pretty cake! I love the icing.
By: Michele on November 5, 2009
at 10:30 pm
I’m pretty sure that I want at least a week’s worth of cakes for my birthday, so you are right – there are never too many! This makes for such a good presentation. I love the alternation of colors. Plus it looks so incredibly moist and delicious.
By: Joanne on November 6, 2009
at 5:02 am
You definitely can never have enough cakes, especially when they look and sound as great as this one!
By: Stephanie on November 6, 2009
at 8:01 am
Gorgeous cake. I am bookmarking, looks yummy. Man you have been baking and cooking up a storm per usual. So jealous, its torture to have a new kitchen, finally, and no time to be in it. Thanks for stopping by.
By: Mermaid Sweets on November 7, 2009
at 9:40 am
Looks great!
By: Jenny on November 8, 2009
at 10:55 am
[...] Here we have a masterpiece of a cake, made with not just vanilla cake, but layered with chocolate cake and then all topped off with a marshmallow icing. Some soft spongy cake sounds absolutely amazing right now. (Thx Mybakingadventures) [...]
By: Craving: Choco-Nilla Cake with Marshmallow Icing | FOODBEAST - ONLINE FOOD PUBLICATION :: BEEN HUNGRY SINCE '88 on November 9, 2009
at 3:56 pm
OOooohhhhhhhhh wow!
By: Amanda Formaro on November 10, 2009
at 6:23 am
I keep telling my husband that one of my blog friends is looking out for him on the marshmallow front…he says “thanks a million”…I think I might make this for his bday in January!
By: juju73 on November 11, 2009
at 9:04 am
very pretty cake.
By: Dina on November 16, 2009
at 10:00 pm