All-New Cake Mix Doctor - Anne Byrn [38]
CREAM CHEESE POUND CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE TOFFEE FROSTING
READER LISA CONOVER, who lives in Middletown, Delaware, planted the seed for this wonderful recipe. A professional cake baker, Lisa told me how she places finely minced bits of toffee in her whipped chocolate ganache frosting. What a great idea! It may sound a bit complicated but ganache is simply hot cream poured over chocolate and stirred until the chocolate melts. You chill it and whip it and wind up with a rich and powerful chocolate frosting, with that slight touch of toffee crunch. Pile the ganache onto pound cake layers and you have one serious dessert. Bake this cake for adult birthdays and girls’ night out dinners and for someone who has tasted just about everything. It’s deliciously over the top!
serves:
12 to 16
prep:
30 minutes
bake:
30 to 35 minutes
cool:
1 hour and 20 minutes
For the cake
Vegetable oil spray, for misting the pans
Flour, for dusting the pans
1 package (18.25 ounces) plain yellow or vanilla cake mix
4 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup water
½ cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs
For the chocolate toffee bar frosting and garnish
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy (whipping) cream
1 package (12 ounces; 2 cups) semisweet chocolate chips
1½ cups chocolate-covered or plain toffee bits
1. Make the cake: Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly mist two 9-inch round cake pans with vegetable oil spray, then dust them with flour. Shake out the excess flour and set the pans aside.
2. Place the cake mix, cream cheese, water, oil, vanilla, and eggs in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on low speed until the ingredients are incorporated, 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat until the batter is smooth, 1½ to 2 minutes longer, scraping down the side of the bowl again if needed. Divide the cake batter evenly between the 2 prepared cake pans, smoothing the tops with the rubber spatula. Place the pans in the oven side by side.
3. Bake the cake layers until they are golden brown and the tops spring back when lightly pressed with a finger, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer the cake pans to wire racks and let the cake layers cool for 5 minutes. Run a long, sharp knife around the edge of each cake layer and give the pans a good shake to loosen the cakes. Invert each layer onto a wire rack, then invert it again onto another rack so that the cakes are right side up. Let the layers cool while you make the frosting.
Recipe Reminders
MADE FOR
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PREP NOTES
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DON’T FORGET
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SPECIAL TOUCHES
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From Great to Amazing
It’s easy to turn a great chocolate frosting into an amazing one by upgrading the chocolate. Instead of the routine semisweet chocolate chips, use premium bittersweet chocolate chips instead. Remember that one cup of chocolate chips is 6 ounces.
In a Hurry?
Don’t whip the chocolate frosting. Spread it onto the cake after it cools to room temperature. Top the cake liberally with toffee bits.
4. Make the frosting: Place the cream