Prima Dona Cake Recipes

PRIMA DONA CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• To make the white chocolate cake: Melt chocolate in metal bowl over pot of simmering water. Remove from heat and stir. Using a tabletop mixer with whip attachment, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs in 1 minute intervals, mixing well with each addition. Stir dry ingredients together in large bowl. Alternately mix dry ingredients and milk into egg mixture. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl and beat with each addition 1 minute. Stir in chocolate and pour into 2 greased and lightly floured 8 by 1 1/2-inch round pans. Place in 350 degrees F oven and bake 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown and firm to touch. Cool. Store on plate until ready to assemble cake.
• To make the devil's food cake: Using tabletop mixer with whip attachment, mix dry ingredients well. Slowly add egg, oil, milk, and coffee, scraping sides and bottom between each addition. Continue to mix until thoroughly incorporated and smooth. Grease and flour 2 by 8 by 1 1/2-inch pans and pour batter in each 1/4-inch from rim. Place pans in 350 degrees F oven to bake 25 to 30 minutes. Cakes should be firm to the touch and moist. Cool cakes on rack and transfer to plates to assemble.
• To make the white chocolate buttercream: Boil sugar and water in sauce pot until it registers 335 degrees F on a candy thermometer or when a soft ball of sugar forms when a teaspoon of syrup is placed in ice-water. Beat whites in bowl of table top mixer with whip attachment on high speed until firm peaks form. Slowly and carefully, pour hot syrup into the whites. Continue to whip meringue until cool. Add butter to meringue and thoroughly mix. Stir in chocolate and vanilla.
• To make the white chocolate decor: Slightly temper chocolate until surface is soft, but not melted. Using a sharp knife working away from you, carefully run it through the chocolate, forming 3-inch chocolate sticks. For best results, make sure chocolate is soft but not tacky. Make approximately 25 sticks. Soften remaining chocolate slightly and use a vegetable peeler to form medium size curls. Place chocolate stick and shavings on a tray in the refrigerator until ready to assemble cake
• To assemble: Place white chocolate cake layer on 9-inch plate. Using a serrated knife, level tops of cake by trimming off the dome. Discard excess cake. Spread 3/4 cup of butter cream over top of cake. Repeat next 3 layers starting with devils food cake and ending with white. Frost tops and sides of cake evenly with remaining buttercream. Coat sides and top of cake evenly with white chocolate shavings. Arrange the chocolate sticks into the tops of the cake sticking in from edges to center on 45 degree angle. Sprinkle additional shavings over sticks to fill in voids. Cut into 12 equal pieces and serve.

GORY BLACK BUNDT CAKE

Steps:

• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 9-inch bunt cake pans with butter and then dust with flour, tapping out the excess.
• Place the softened butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed just until the ingredients are blended together, a few seconds, then raise the speed to medium-low and continue to mix until smooth, about 1 additional minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
• Combine the espresso powder and water in a small bowl.
• With the motor running, pour in the espresso. Then add the eggs, 1 at a time, adding the next one after the previous one has been absorbed into the mixture. Stop the motor periodically and scrape the bowl from the bottom with a rubber spatula to integrate the ingredients and return the mixer to medium-low speed.
• After all the eggs are added, continue to mix for an additional minute to ensure the eggs have been thoroughly mixed in.
• While the mixture fully incorporates, combine the cocoa powder, baking soda, salt and baking powder in a medium bowl.
• With the motor running, add half the buttermilk and all the black food coloring. Stop the motor to scrape the sides and bottom. Mix in half of the dry ingredients, stop and scrape the bowl, add the rest of your buttermilk and finish by adding the remaining dry ingredients. Continue to mix just until all ingredients are completely combined but do not over mix the mixture or it will result in a chewy dry cake.
• Scrape the batter into the prepared pans with a rubber spatula to scrape down the bowl and get as much of the batter out as possible. Bake until the cake begins to pull from the sides of the pan and is springy to the touch, 25 to 30 minutes.
• Remove the cakes from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes before flipping out onto your serving platter.
• For the ganache: Place the heavy cream into a small saucepan over high heat and allow to come to a boil.
• Put the chocolate, raspberry puree and food coloring into a large glass bowl.
• Once the cream reaches a boil, pour over the chocolate and allow the cream to melt the chocolate. Stir to combine.
• Place the berries into the center of the cake. Pour the warm ganache into center of the cake and over the edges.