Easy Moist Chocolate Mayo Cake From Bon Appetit

From Denny: Have you ever made a chocolate cake without butter but with mayonnaise as the substitute for oil? It's surprisingly good too while it creates an extra moist mouth-watering chocolate treat! Bon Appetit was on The Today Show this week touting their latest cookbook.

Well, it gets better. I've made this kind of chocolate cake - once out of desperation - only to find it was a great idea to substitute mayo for butter. I was about to pass on the video and recipe until I saw the cool update Bon Appetit came up with to create one awesome presentation: a chocolate collar to wrap around the cake.


Here's the new cookbook and already discounted at Amazon:




Ready for Dessert: My Best Recipes by David Lebovitz


Review from Bon Appetit: Trained as a baker in France and Belgium, Lebovitz spent 12 years in the pastry department at Chez Panisse (his strongest baking influence was Lindsey Shere, founding pastry chef of the restaurant). He has authored three cookbooks including Room for Dessert and The Perfect Scoop. The Paris-based baker also writes an award-winning blog, davidlebovitz.com, where he shares recipes, cooking tips, and his picks for culinary experiences in La Ville-Lumiere.

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Here's the demo on how easy it is to dress up a holiday cake or use this chocolate collar band on this cake:









Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake

From: Bon Appetit magazine

10 to 12 servings

INGREDIENTS

Cake:

• 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate (do not exceed 61 percent cacao), chopped
• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 13/4 cups boiling water
• 23/4 cups all purpose flour
• 11/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
• 1 1/3 cups mayonnaise (do not use reduced- fat or fat-free)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Frosting:

• 10 ounces bittersweet chocolate (do not exceed 61% cacao), chopped
• 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted (measured, then sifted)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Special equipment:

• Three 8-inch-diameter cake pans with 1 1/2-inch-high sides

DIRECTIONS

* Mayonnaise replaces the oil that is typically used in chocolate cakes. It makes this cake — which would make the ideal birthday cake — incredibly moist and tender.

Cake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour three 8-inch-diameter cake pans with 1 1/2-inch-high sides. Combine chocolate and cocoa powder in medium metal bowl. Add 1 3/4 cups boiling water and whisk until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.

Sift flour, baking soda, and baking powder into another medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat both sugars and mayonnaise in large bowl until well blended, 2 to 3 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating until well blended after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture in 4 additions alternately with chocolate mixture in 3 additions, beating until blended after each addition and occasionally scraping down sides of bowl. Divide batter among prepared cake pans (about 21/3 cups for each).

Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, 30 to 32 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on rack 20 minutes. Run small knife around sides of cakes to loosen. Invert cakes onto racks and cool completely.

Frosting:

Place chopped chocolate in medium metal bowl; set bowl over saucepan of simmering water and stir until chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove bowl from over water; let chocolate cool until lukewarm, stirring occasionally.

Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until smooth and creamy. Add powdered sugar and beat until well blended, about 2 minutes. Beat in vanilla. Add melted chocolate and beat until well blended and smooth, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl.

Place 1 cake layer on platter. Spread 3/4 cup frosting over top of cake layer to edges. Top with second cake layer; spread 3/4 cup frosting over. Top with third cake layer. Spread remaining frosting decoratively over top and sides of cake. Cut cake into wedges and serve.

Do ahead: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome and let stand at room temperature.


Here's the new cookbook and already discounted at Amazon:




Ready for Dessert: My Best Recipes by David Lebovitz



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Recipe: Chocolate Peanut Butter Nirvana Cake

From Denny: While I must admit the title had me curious, I just had to take a look at this delightful recipe over at the Jif site - and then laugh. Someone really knew what they were doing by giving it this title with the idea of dessert nirvana! :)

What are its awesome ingredients? Chocolate pudding, chocolate chips, Devils Food Cake and peanut butter are the winners combined to create dessert nirvana.

You might want to try out this easy recipe as a trial baking run before the holidays begin. After all, we do need to make sure it really is that good, right?! :) And practice makes perfect...

Chocolate Peanut Butter Nirvana Cake

Yield: 12 servings

Prep Time: 15 min

Cook Time: 55 min

Ingredients:

CAKE

• Crisco® Flour No-Stick Spray

• 1 (18.25 oz.) box Pillsbury® Devils Food Cake

• 1/2 cup Crisco® Pure Vegetable Oil

• 1 1/4 cups water

• 4 large eggs

• 1 (3.9 oz.) package instant chocolate pudding and pie filling mix

• 2 cups (12 oz. pkg.) semi-sweet chocolate chips

FROSTING

• 1/2 cup Pillsbury® Whipped Supreme® Vanilla Frosting

• 1/2 cup Jif® Creamy Peanut Butter

• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract

• 1/2 cup milk

• Chocolate curls or shavings for garnish (optional)

Directions:

1. HEAT oven to 350°F. Spray a 12-cup fluted pan with flour no-stick cooking spray.

2. COMBINE cake mix, oil, water, eggs and pudding mix in a large bowl with an electric mixer at low speed until moistened. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pan.

3. BAKE 50 to 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 20 minutes. Invert onto serving plate. Cool completely.

4. BEAT frosting, peanut butter, almond extract and milk in medium bowl with electric mixer until well combined. Spoon frosting over cooled cake. Garnish with chocolate shavings, if desired.