Saturday, February 11, 2012

S'more Cake

Hello to all! Hope you have all had a great week.  I have to admit, I feel like I have been cheating the last couple entries with the quick and easy recipe's.  So this week you all get a doosey.  This cake was originally made by Julia over at Fat girl Trapped in a Skinny Body.  She made it as an anniversary cake for her husband.  As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to give it a shot.  Here is Julia's cake, hers is much prettier than mine( my stacking skills might be a bit lacking) but it is a delicious cake.  The funny thing about this cake is that there is no actual cake involved.
 Here is what you will need:
2 Brownie layers
2 cheesecake layers
2 chocolate chip layers
5 graham crackers
1 recipe for cream filling
1 recipe for chocolate frosting.
I used the same two identical 9 inch pans to make all of these so the layers would match. On day one I made the cookies, brownies, cheesecake, and chocolate frosting.   You have to do at least the cheesecake and chocolate frosting one day in advance because they require an overnight stay in the fridge to thicken.

Cookies
1 c. blue bonnet light ( or whatever you choose)
1 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. ground flax mixed with 6 Tbsp. water (let sit 2 min)
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
2 1/2 c. powdered oatmeal ( blend it into powder then measure)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 c. chocolate chips ( enjoy life)

Preheat your oven to 350.  Grease the bottom of your pan and line with parchment paper.  Cream the margarine and both sugars until smooth.  Add in the vanilla and flax mixture, stirring until combined.  Incorporate the dry ingredients thoroughly, and finally add in the chocolate chips.  Pour half the batter into each pan and bake for 25 minutes. Leave them sit about ten minutes, then run a knife along the edge and flip onto your cooking rack.   When mine cooled, they collapsed a bit in the middle, so I just tore the high edges off, to get a smooth top.  Once they were completely cooled on the wire rack I moved them into gallon storage bags.

Brownies
2 c. flour
2 c. sugar
3/4 c. cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking powder
1 c. water
1 c. vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350*F.  Grease your pan and line it with parchment again.  In a large bowl combine all your dry ingredients, then add the wet and stir until fully mixed.  Finally add in the chocolate chips.  Split the batter evenly between the two pans and bake for about 25 minutes.  I let these cool for about 20 minutes ( I got distracted) then ran the knife around the edge and flipped them onto the wire rack to cool.  Once these were completely cooled, they went into gallon zipper bags as well.  I have to tell you, these brownies were rather cakey, which worked ok for me, but if you already have a brownie recipe you like, use it.

Cheesecake
6 tubs tofutti plain cream cheese
2 c. sugar
1/2 c. lemon juice
4 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. flour

Grease the bottom of your pan and line with parchment paper.  It makes the cake come out perfectly.
Mix the first four ingredients until creamy ( I actually pulled out my electric mixer for this) then fold in the flour.
Pour half the mix into each pan and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the top is just golden.  Let it cool a bit and then you have to put it in the refrigerator overnight.

Chocolate Frosting
8 Tbsp. earth balance margarine
1 c. soy milk or rice milk
4 Tbsp. canola oil
2 tsp. vanilla
2 lb. bag of confectioners sugar
1 c. cocoa

Mix all the ingredients until smooth.  I start by cutting the earth balance into tiny bits because it's easier for me to stir.  Once I can't mix it by hand any more, I get out the electric mixer to smooth out any chunks of butter left.  Put this in the fridge overnight too.

Cream Filling(make this the day of assembly)
6 1/2 c. confectioners sugar
3 tsp. cream of tartar
3 Tbsp. vanilla
1/2 c. soy or rice milk
1/2 c. dairy free shortening ( I used earth balance)
 Mix all the ingredients with an electric mixer until smooth.  I used a Food Allergy Mama recipe (slightly modified) for this cream filling

Now for the assembly.

  1.  Put your brownie layer down first and top with cream filling.  I put way to much on (see picture above) and my next layer started sliding, so be careful not to put too much on.
  2. Stack a cookie on next and top with cream filling
  3. Grab a cheesecake from the fridge and cut along the edge with a knife to loosen it from the sides and flip out (don't worry, it is firm enough) and stack on top
  4. cover with chocolate frosting, followed by a layer of graham crackers, then chocolate frosting again.
  5. Now the second cheesecake goes on, topped with cream filling
  6. then comes the cookie layer, topped with cream filling
  7. and finally the last brownie layer.  
 Cover the top and sides of the cake with the chocolate frosting and get the cake in the fridge.  If the frosting gets too warm, it will start to droop(see below), but no worries, just get it in the fridge for a few minutes and go over it with a knife, from bottom to top, to smooth it all over.  The frosting firms up very quickly in the fridge.





Now that you have spent the last 24 hours making this huge, beautiful, delicious cake, you have to let it set overnight in the fridge.  It really lets the flavors meld together.  This cake is really good! It is decadent and perfectly fitting for a special occasion.  My husband's first comment was "I bet you could feed this to anyone and they wouldn't know it is allergy free"   For me that is the ultimate compliment.  I am not only trying to make a safe cake, I am trying to make a truly delicious desert that will be loved by all.







Enjoy!

2 comments:

  1. WHOA!!!!! You did an AMAZING job!!! I think your cake stacking skills are spot on, nice work!

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  2. Thanks so much for the kind words and the inspiration. Can't wait to see what you do next.

    ReplyDelete