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Sara is an architectural designer turned work-at-home Mom. She lives in New Jersey by way of New England and New York, with her husband and 3 kids under 8. She loves design, being creative, and spending time with family and friends. She loves checking out local businesses and eats and being apart of the local farm to table community. Continue Reading
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Chocolate Cake with chocolate frosting two ways, topped with fondant cat sculptures!
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
Hi Everyone, I made this birthday cake, for my 13-year-old Niece who is an animal lover and has a cat whom she is fond of.
I asked my husband, Eric, to sculpt the marshmallow, almond-flavored, fondant cats that topped the cake. Though he does have experience sculpting clay, he had never sculpted with fondant before and I am very proud of him!
The cats bring a unique personality to this cake; they are kind of strange, funny, edgy, cute, creepy, handmade, and playful at the same time.
In trying to be resourceful, I chose to use just what was available in the kitchen, i.e. cinnamon, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, cocoa, and mocha ganache, to color and add detail to the cats.
It was my first time attempting fondant and now I know why people chose to purchase it from the store: it is sticky and can be messy.
But you know what?
It is actually pretty simple to do marshmallow fondant and I love the idea of edible, uniquely designed critters - or whatever it may be - decorating the cake, so that makes it worth it!
Chocolate and mocha were the requested flavors for the birthday cake, so I took those and wanted to add some complexity.
Since this cake was intended for a group of adolescents, I didn't want to blow their hair back with a high concentration of espresso powder, leaving everyone on the ceiling, so I opted for dark roast instant coffee in an easy-going amount and the mocha flavor was there and delivered satisfyingly, even for me, a die-hard, coffee lover.
I love to make ganache every which way since it is so easy to make, smooth in texture, feels decadent when eaten and always looks élégante.
On the technical side, I felt that a whipped frosting would be easier for applying and assembling a double-layer cake, filling in space between layers.
Visually, I wanted a two-tone and textured contrast between both types of frosting, however different they are, they unite through the mocha flavor.
The double-layer cake itself is classic chocolate and very moist.
It's not overly sweet, so one can easily have more than one piece without overdosing with sweetness on the palate.
I purposefully kept the cake part being chocolate only, verses making it mocha because it would have been too much mocha (not that there's anything wrong with too much mocha!) and that was not what I was going for.
The recipe utilizes buttermilk to add dimension in flavor, texture, and moisture.
For serving, I did make vanilla-flavored whipped cream but ideally, I could see this cake pairing nicely with vanilla bean ice cream and hot espresso.
This was a cake that I will want to make again and again or some iteration of in the future.
It does not take itself too seriously, thanks to the fondant felines but most importantly, delivers a satisfying dose of chocolate and mocha.
The original recipe that inspired my version is called “One-Bowl Chocolate Cake” p.168 of the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book.
Please note: I follow ⅓ cup of cooking oil in the book version versus the online version where it calls for ¼ cup of cooking oil.
For the ganache frosting, my version is inspired by the “Ganache” recipe, Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book, p. 186.
For the whipped mocha frosting, my version is inspired by "Mocha frosting," Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book, p. 176.
My stovetop version of Marshmallow Fondant was inspired by this microwave version of Marshmallow Fondant, and for a great video showing how to make it, click here.
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I made this birthday cake over past weekend for my 13-year-old Niece who is an animal lover and has a cat whom she is fond of. I asked my husband, Eric, to sculpt the marshmallow, almond-flavored, fondant cats that topped the cake. Though he does have experience sculpting clay, he had never sculpted with fondant before and I am very proud of him!
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Please note that the Calculated Nutrition is an estimate at best.
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Yayey says
Wow! It looks yummy, even the cat seems to love it....
Sara says
Thank you!
June says
This delicious looking cake is baked with most loving consideration & the little cats are so cute & expressive! The lucky birthday girl must be so pleased & will remember your effort always.
Sara says
Thank you very much!
Miz Helen says
Hi Sara,
What an adorable cake and it looks delicious, my daughter will just love this. Thanks so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday and hope you are having a great day.
Come Back Soon!
Miz Helen
Sara says
Hello Miz Helen! I appreciate you stopping by, thank you for hosting such a fun link party!
Lauren @ Create Bake Make says
This is just too cute! Thanks for linking up with us for Fabulous Foodie Fridays, Merry Christmas!
Sara says
Merry Christmas Lauren, your welcome!