Elizabeth's August Cake - Devil's Food White-Out Cake

I have avoided posting this cake, because it was going to take me so terribly long to type out the instructions; they're really, really lengthy. But I'm a dufus, because I just googled the cake name and found the entire thing on NPR.org. Silly me.

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It was LUKE'S FIRST BIRTHDAY in August! He turned one. Just in case you don't know what first birthday means.

We had a little party for him and invited another family. I made a series of sandwiches and salads, and it was oh-so-delightful. I went a little crazy on the food, but it was worth it. Because while it was definitely a celebration of Luke turning one, it was also a celebration of ME not having an INFANT anymore. HUZZAH!

I made Luke a tiny cake of his own, using little cake pans that my mom gave me for Christmas.

Aren't they adorable? Don't they make you want to have a little doll tea party just looking at them?

I cut off the tops of the cakes, and Jeff frosted them for me because I was running out of time. My husband is an accomplished potter, and therefore knows how to glaze and create artwork and all that jazz, but if you could see a close-up of this cake, you would see a cake frosted by a blind monkey. (With all due respect to my beloved.)

The blueberries were put on the cake because they are Luke's favorite. I didn't anticipate, however, that he would eat the blueberries one by one and take forever getting to the cake-eating part. We all stood patiently with our cameras, ready to take a messy-face picture, and there he was, eating blueberries one......by one..... by one........ Oh well, he had a great time. And we did eventually get to a messy-face picture:

The cake I chose to make for the rest of the people at the party was this Devil's Food White-Out Cake, in Baking: From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan. I had checked the book out from the library after reading about Ms. Greenspan on the NPR website. The book was so marvelous that I kept it by my bed for nighttime reading. The photos are fabulous, the recipes themselves look divine (but approachable), and the writing is superb. What a great book!

I enjoyed the cake, as did everybody at the party but my husband (who has a very limited "cake palate"). I wouldn't say egg white frosting is my number one favorite, but it was very fun to work with. And here's the most interesting tidbit: The combination of the sweet egg white frosting and the chocolate cake made it taste like....raspberries! For real! We all agreed it tasted like there was raspberry flavor in the cake. Wild.

The final masterpiece

I wish I had taken a cue from the photo inside the book and put fewer crumbs on top than on the sides:


Or I could have done it like the photo on the front of the book, where the stylist put zero crumbs on top:

In both pictures, they also kept the sides a littler tighter and straighter. My cake looked really pretty up close, but the pictures make it look like a big blob of goo. I liked my cake, and I was proud to serve it; I just wish I had styled it to look more sleek.

Ella with the cake. (Isn't that an awesome face?)

The cake after the party.

No one in the whole world can keep the chocolate crumbs out of bright white icing. I wish I had a food stylist at my house to wipe the crumbs off of every delicious piece.

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Devil's Food White-Out Cake

Makes makes 12 servings

For the cake

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 sticks (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled

1/2 cup buttermilk or whole milk, at room temperature

1/2 cup boiling water

4 ounces semisweet or milk chocolate, finely chopped, or 2/3 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips

For the filling and frosting

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

GETTING READY: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 8-x-2-inch round cake pans, dust the insides with flour, tap out the excess and line the bottoms with parchment or wax paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet.

TO MAKE THE CAKE: Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until soft and creamy. Add the sugars and continue to beat for another 3 minutes. Add the eggs one by one, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Beat in the vanilla; don't be concerned if the mixture looks curdled. Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the melted chocolate. When it is fully incorporated, add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk, adding the dry ingredients in 3 additions and the milk in 2 (begin and end with the dry ingredients); scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed and mix only until the ingredients disappear into the batter. At this point, the batter will be thick, like frosting. Still working on low speed, mix in the boiling water, which will thin the batter considerably. Switch to a rubber spatula, scrape down the bowl and stir in the chopped chocolate. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and smooth the tops with the rubber spatula.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, rotating the pans at the midway point. When fully baked, the cakes will be springy to the touch and a thin knife inserted into the centers will come out clean. Don't worry if the tops have a few small cracks. Transfer the cake pans to a rack and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unmold them and peel off the paper liners. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up. (The cooled cake layers can be wrapped airtight and stored at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to 2 months.)

When you are ready to fill and frost the cake, inspect the layers. If the cakes have crowned, use a long serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion to even them. With the same knife, slice each layer horizontally in half. Set 3 layers aside and crumble the fourth layer; set the crumbs aside.

TO MAKE THE FILLING AND FROSTING: 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. Although you could keep it in the fridge in a pinch, it's really better to use it right now.

TO ASSEMBLE THE CAKE: Put a bottom layer cut side up on a cardboard cake round or on a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper. Using a long metal icing spatula, cover the layer generously with frosting. Top with a second layer, cut side up, and frost it. Finish with the third layer, cut side down, and frost the sides and top of the cake. Don't worry about smoothing the frosting -- it should be swirly. Now, cover the entire cake with the chocolate cake crumbs, gently pressing the crumbs into the filling with your fingers.

Refrigerate the cake for about 1 hour before serving. (If it's more convenient, you can chill the cake for 8 hours or more; cover it loosely and keep it away from foods with strong odors.)

SERVING: I think the cake is best at room temperature or just cool, but many people prefer it cold (the texture of the cake becomes fudgier after it has been refrigerated). No matter the temperature, the cake is so pretty it should be cut at the table, so bring it out on a platter and cut it into generous wedges using a serrated knife and a sawing motion.

STORING: The frosted cake can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days; let it stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving, or longer if you have the time.