Gift Of The Gods Chocolate Cake Recipes

CHOCOLATE OF THE GODS

Steps:

• Place first seven ingredients (through and including soy sauce) in a food processor and pulse until smooth.
• Sift cocoa powder with a metal strainer to remove lumps, then add to avocado mixture and blend until smooth. At this point you can refrigerate the pudding in a tightly-sealed container for up to a week or freeze it for up to a month.
• Serve chilled, layered with raspberries, if desired, and garnished with fresh mint and shaved chocolate.

GIFT OF THE GODS CHOCOLATE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Prepare two standard cake pans (8 inches in diameter, 2 inches deep) by lightly spraying the bottoms and sides with cooking spray. Cut out circles of parchment paper to fit on the bottom of each pan. The paper should be flat, not inching up the sides of the pan. Set pans aside.
• Mix together the cake flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a bowl with a whisk and set aside.
• Combine the chocolate, brown sugar, and milk in a stainless steel bowl and place over simmering water. Stir the ingredients together as they melt. This creates a chocolate base for the cake, which you can transfer to a big mixing bowl.
• Put the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and mix at medium speed until the butter is light and soft. Change to the whisk attachment, and slowly add the granulated sugar and continue whipping until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, and beat until each one is incorporated. Add half of the dry ingredients and mix in slowly. Add half of the buttermilk. Repeat this process until all the flour mixture and milk is incorporated. This is your batter. Add the batter to the chocolate base and combine lightly using a large rubber spatula. Stir in the vanilla, then set aside. You now have a chocolate batter.
• Thoroughly rinse and dry your mixer bowl and whisk attachment, then mix the egg whites at medium speed for about 3 minutes, or until they hold a medium peak. Gently fold half of the whipped egg whites into the chocolate batter until the mixture is smooth. Repeat with the remaining egg whites, and fold just until all the egg whites are incorporated. The egg whites should be fully incorporated-no streaks. Pour the completed cake batter into the prepared cake pans equally.
• Bake for about 35 minutes, or until the cakes springs lightly in the center when touched, or a toothpick comes out clean with a few crumbs but no batter. Remove the cakes from the oven and cool on a rack until room temperature. Remove the cake layers by using a paring knife to gently cut the cake from the sides of the pan. Take a cake circle or sturdy paper plate, and place it over the pan. Invert the cake onto the plate and remove the parchment circle the cake baked on. Repeat this process for the other cake layer. Ice the first layer with the icing of your choice, with about 1/2 inch of icing on top. Place the second layer onto the cake with the bottom side up, which will give you a flat, undomed top. Ice the whole cake thinly (this is a crumb coat to stabilize the cake and hold the crumbs in place), chill it for at least 20 minutes, then apply a final coat of icing.

CHOCOLATE GIFT CAKES (FOR INSIDE THE CARRIAGE)

Steps:

• Ganache: Heat the heavy cream in a 2-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan until bubbles begin to form around the edge of the pan. Place the chopped chocolate in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Gradually pour about half of the hot cream over the chocolate. Let stand for 30 seconds to melt chocolate. Slowly whisk it until smooth and homogenous. Add the remaining cream gradually--the shock of the hot cream can cause the fat in the chocolate to separate or break, if added too quickly--and mix until all of it is incorporated and the ganache is smooth and homogenous. It should be thick, shiny and smooth. Add the Grand Marnier and mix to fully incorporate. Pour the ganache onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet to cool. When the ganache has cooled to the consistency of toothpaste but is still easily spreadable, it is ready to be used. If the ganache has set too much, soften it by heating a small amount in a saucepan placed over medium heat until melted. Then quickly, but gently, stir the melted ganache into the harder, cooler ganache. If its still too hard, repeat the procedure until the desired consistency is reached.
• Cake layer: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. In a medium bowl with an electric mixer, combine corn syrup, egg yolks, butter and almond flour. Beat at medium high speed until light and fluffy. Add dark rum (or substitute vanilla and orange zest).
• In a large bowl with an electric mixer beat egg whites until foamy. Add sugar 1 tablespoon at a time. Increase mixer speed to medium high and whip to stiff but not dry peaks, about 7 minutes.
• Fold the meringue into the butter mixture all at once. Using a rubber spatula fold up from the bottom of the bowl, careful not to deflate the meringue. When the two mixtures are just incorporated, add the warm chocolate. Fold again, carefully. Use a whisk, if the meringue does not fold in well.
• Pour the batter into a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and spread it evenly to the edges with a rubber spatula. Careful not to smash the batter or it will lose its air and the cake will be flat and chewy. Bake until the cake springs back when touched, or a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Cool cake in the pan on a wire rack. The cake will collapse slightly as it cools.
• Using an offset spatula spread the ganache onto the cake layer. Spread the ganache all the way to the edges. If the cake is uneven, use the ganache to make it flat and even as possible. Place the cake in the refrigerator and allow the ganache to harden, about 20 minutes. Then use the offset spatula to make the edges as clean and straight as possible. Place the frosted cake in the refrigerator for about 1 hour to set.
• When ready to serve, remove cake from the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving. Heat a chefs knife in hot water; wipe off excess water and cut cake into the serving size preferred.
• Decorations: Spread about a 1/16-inch thick layer of the tempered chocolate over a transfer sheet (see note below). Use a chefs knife to cut the chocolate, but not the transfer sheet, to match the size of the cake pieces. Set aside and let the chocolate set about 15 minutes to an hour, depending on the air temperature. When the chocolate has set, lift each pre-cut piece from the transfer sheet and place it, design side up, on top of the individual cake serving

DEATH BY CHOCOLATE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13-inch pan.
• Mix cake batter according to package directions, adding water, oil, and eggs as directed. Spread batter into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven until a tester comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool and crumble. Make pudding, according to package directions, with milk.
• In a large trifle or other glass serving bowl, place half of the crumbled cake. Pour half of the coffee over the cake, and spread half of the pudding over that. Top with half of the whipped topping, sprinkled with half the crumbled candy bars. Repeat layers in the same order. Refrigerate until serving.