Between the two, I am partial to Cook's Country, as they focus on simpler, American recipes. They especially seem to love perfecting classic, showstopping desserts. Some of their cake recipes make 3-layer cakes which certainly has a "wow" factor. However, the layers are made from 8 inch cakes, and I didn't have that size, let alone 3 of them. But I found them at Joann's, and used a 40% off coupon for each of them. They are going to be a pain to store, but look at what they can make!
I made this Mint Chocolate Chip Cake for a birthday celebration (i.e. Food Day) at work. Everyone was super impressed with it visually. Also of importance - it tasted good. Just like mint chocolate chip ice cream. The recipe was half easy, half tricky. The cake batter is pretty straighforward but uses 6 egg whites, which is a little tedious. Added to the batter was mint extract, (which smelled like mouthwash - I was scared!) green food coloring, and mini chocolate chips. I have a double wall oven, so two pans went in the larger top oven and the third in the smaller. I set my timer for only 10 minutes to remind myself to rotate the cake pans in the larger oven. The cakes baked up beautifully and flat - no leveling needed!
The frosting, with its 2 1/2 sticks of butter and $5 worth of melted bittersweet chocolate, was a little fussy. I melted the chocolate and let it cool per the instructions. But I guess the bowl of my stand mixer was cold because some of the chocolate stuck to the side of the bowl instead of mixing with the butter. It still tasted good though.
The cake was very minty and very chocolatey, but they were in pretty harmonious balance. The birthday girl, Gina, was very appreciative and seemed to enjoy the frosting especially. And looks-wise, wowza - the thing is 4 1/2 inches tall! It just barely fit in my cake carrier.
Would I make this again? Yes, probably for my mint chocolate-crazed mother. She took a quarter of it home with her. And I spent $3+ on the bottle of mint extract (ouch) so I'd like to use it up!
I was going to make this - did you add the almond and vanilla extracts as well as called for in the original white cake recipe? I'm confused! Looks delicious!
ReplyDeleteWhatever was called for in the original white cake recipe stayed in, and then the mint extract, food coloring, and chocolate chips were added. Hope you give it a try!
DeleteI have been thinking about making this cake ever since I saw it in the magazine, so it was fun to read your post. I also lean towards my Cook's Country magazines a little over Cook's Illustrated, for the same reasons you do :) However, both magazines usually yield great results!
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