Chocolate Surprise Stripe Cake Recipes

SURPRISE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking pan.
• In a large bowl, combine sugar, flour and salt. Set aside.
• In a small saucepan, bring 1 cup butter, water and 3 tablespoons cocoa to a boil. Remove from heat. Add to flour mixture and beat until smooth.
• In a separate bowl, Mix sour cream, eggs, baking soda and cayenne pepper. Add to the cake batter. Blend well. Pour batter into 9x13 inch pan.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 20 to 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.
• For the Frosting: Melt 1/4 cup butter, add 1/3 cup cocoa. Add confectioners sugar, milk and vanilla. Mix until smooth and free of lumps.
• Spread frosting on the cooled cake. Cut into squares and serve. Ask your company if they can guess what is in it, they never will.

CHOCOLATE CAKE SURPRISE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 10x15 inch pan. Sprinkle walnuts and coconut evenly over bottom of pan.
• In a large bowl, stir together cake mix and pudding mix. Make a well in the center and pour in water, oil, and eggs. Beat on low speed until blended. Scrape bowl, and beat 4 minutes on medium speed. Pour batter into prepared pan. Set aside.
• In a saucepan, combine cream cheese and butter. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until melted and smooth. Stir in confectioners' sugar. Pour cream cheese mixture in rows (lengthwise) over the top of cake mix. Using the tip of a knife, swirl the batter to create a marbled effect.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.

CHOCOLATE SURPRISE CAKE

Steps:

• Melt 4 ounces of the chocolate in the top of a double boiler over simmering water. Remove from heat and stir in 1 tablespoon of the butter. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
• Combine cream and whisky in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then pour over the melted chocolate. Stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Place in the refrigerator and allow to cool, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is firm enough to handle, about an hour. Using a melon baller or a teaspoon, quickly form the chocolate mixture into eight truffle-sized balls. Place on a pan or plate lined with waxed paper and refrigerate.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a muffin tin or tins with 8 cups that are each 4 inches in diameter, preferably of 1-cup capacity.
• Melt the remaining 5 ounces of chocolate and 10 tablespoons butter in the top of a double boiler over simmering water; stir and set aside.
• Beat the eggs, egg yolks and sugar together until the mixture thickens, triples in volume and forms a ribbon. Fold in the melted chocolate. Sift the flour over the mixture and quickly fold it in.
• Divide the batter evenly among the prepared cups. Insert a chilled truffle in the center of each, place in the oven and bake 12 minutes, until the top springs back when touched lightly. Do not insert a cake tester.
• Unmold the cakes: run a knife around the edges, then place a baking sheet over the tin and, holding both together, invert, then carefully lift off the muffin tin. Serve at once with whipped cream or ice cream.

CHOCOLATE SURPRISE STRIPE CAKE

Steps:

• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease the bottom and sides of two 2-by-9-inch round cake pans with shortening. Line with parchment cut to neatly cover the bottom and sides of the pans.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle, sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add the eggs, buttermilk, espresso, vegetable oil and vanilla; mix on medium speed. Divide the batter between the prepared cake pans.
• Bake for 20 minutes. Rotate the pans and continue baking until an inserted skewer comes out clean, another 15 minutes. Cool on a rack, unmold and return to the rack to cool completely.
• For the buttercream icing: With an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the egg whites and powdered sugar for 5 minutes. Add the butter and vanilla and beat for 10 minutes, until fluffy. (Makes 3 pounds.)
• For the caramel icing/crumble: Mix the sugar, buttermilk, shortening, butter and baking soda in a 3- or 4-quart cast-iron Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook to the softball stage (235 to 245 degrees F on a candy thermometer), swirling the pan to keep the ingredients moving.
• Remove from the heat and beat with a wooden spoon until creamy and spreadable. Spread on a silicone mat and set aside. When cool, break into a crumble.
• To create the striped filling: Put one-third of the vanilla buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a 1/3-inch tip. Put an equivalent amount of raspberry jam into a second piping bag, also fitted with a 1/3-inch tip.
• When the cakes are completely cool, pipe a dollop of buttercream into the center of one of the layers. Pipe concentric circles around the first dollop, working outward and alternating between circles of raspberry jam and buttercream¿this will be your bottom layer.
• Lightly place the remaining cake layer on top of the 'piped' bottom layer. Use the remaining buttercream to ice the entire cake.
• Add the crumbled caramel by patting small handfuls onto the top of the iced cake.

CHOCOLATE FUDGE SURPRISE CUPCAKES

Steps:

• 1. HEAT oven to 350°F. Place 24 paper baking cups in muffin pans.
• 2. BEAT cake mix, oil, water and eggs in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed 2 minutes. Remove 1/2 cup batter and stir in hot fudge topping until evenly blended. Put 2 tablespoons yellow batter in the bottom of each baking cup. Place 1 heaping teaspoon fudge batter in middle of each cupcake. Top with 1 tablespoon yellow batter, smoothing to cover fudge.
• 3. BAKE 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely on cooling rack. Frost with chocolate fudge frosting

PEPPERMINT STRIPE MOUSSE CAKES

Steps:

• For the red stencil paste: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and confectioners' sugar together until the sugar is dissolved. Add the egg whites and mix again until incorporated. Stir in the flour and red food color; mix until just combined. Scrape down the bowl and mix again briefly.
• With an offset spatula, spread a thin layer of stencil paste over a 17-by-11-inch silicone baking mat. Using a cake comb with 1/4-inch spaced teeth, and starting at one corner of the mat, drag the comb diagonally across the mat and through the paste so that 1/4-inch even stripes of red paste remain on the mat. Repeat the combing process until the entire mat is striped. Place the mat inside a 17-by-11-inch jelly roll pan and freeze for at least 10 minutes. (You may have leftover stencil paste.)
• For the sponge cake: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the almond flour, confectioners' sugar, all-purpose flour, whole eggs and egg yolk until combined. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
• In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites and granulated sugar with an electric hand mixer until a thick, glossy meringue forms. Gently fold the meringue into the almond mixture. Add the melted butter and gently fold again, being careful not to deflate the batter. Remove the jelly roll pan from the freezer and pour the batter on top of the red stencil paste. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the cake springs back when pressed in the center. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly. Run a knife between the cake edge and the pan to loosen the sponge.
• Invert the cake onto a sheet of parchment paper and carefully peel away the silicone liner. Trim the edges of the cake away using a small sharp knife.
• Place four 3-inch diameter pastry rings on a baking sheet. Cut the striped sponge into 3-inch-wide strips and trim the length to fit inside the pastry rings. Line each ring with the sponge so that the red stripe design rests against the pastry ring. Refrigerate the cakes while you prepare the peppermint mousse.
• For the peppermint mousse: Place the 2 tablespoons cold water in a condiment cup and sprinkle the gelatin over the water. Let stand for 1 minute. Place the bloomed gelatin in a medium saucepan. Whisk in the egg yolks and granulated sugar; mix well. Stir in the hot milk. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until thickened, 7 to 10 minutes. When done, it should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Stir in the chopped white chocolate and let stand in the hot mixture for 2 minutes. Add the peppermint and blend with a whisk until the chocolate has melted and is even in color. Let cool to room temperature. Meanwhile, whip the heavy cream to soft peaks with an electric mixer.
• When the chocolate mixture has cooled, pour it into the whipped cream and add a few drops of red food color. Gently fold the whipped cream into the cooled chocolate mixture until well blended. Transfer the mousse to a piping bag.
• Remove the cakes from the refrigerator and place each cake on a length of plastic wrap double the size of the pastry rings. Pipe peppermint mousse into the centers, filling them to the top. Cover the cakes with the overhanging plastic wrap. Refrigerate until set, about 2 hours.
• For the Christmas tree toppers: Combine the butter and confectioners' sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whip attachment. Beat until combined; add the milk or cream a little at a time until the mixture comes to piping consistency. Mix in the vanilla extract. Set aside 2/3 cup of the frosting in a small bowl and cover with a damp paper towel.
• Add the green food color to the remaining frosting and beat well to combine. Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large open star tip (4B).
• When the cakes are well chilled, remove them from the refrigerator and cover the tops with a thin layer of frosting from the bowl of reserved white (untinted) buttercream. Place a sugar cone in the center of each cake. Pipe green buttercream stars on the cones beginning at the bottom edge of each cone, and travelling upward to the pointed end. Immediately sprinkle the cakes with the white nonpareils. Place gold and white sugar pearls on the trees using a pair of kitchen-dedicated tweezers. Arrange the small candy cane sprinkles on the tree using the tweezers.
• Melt the yellow candy wafers in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave at 100% power in 30-second increments. Stir between heating until the candy is smooth. Transfer the melted candy to a small disposable piping bag. Pipe the candy into a small star candy mold with cavities approximately 1.1-inch in diameter, filling just 8 of the cavities. Place in the freezer for 5 minutes, or until hardened. Turn out the stars onto a baking sheet. Use leftover melted candy to attach the flat sides of two stars together, lining them up to match evenly. Let stand until firm, about 2 minutes. Place an assembled star on the top of each tree, pressing them into the icing to adhere firmly. Refrigerate the cakes until ready to serve.