I’m always on the hunt for alternative desserts for the holiday table. As much as I love pumpkin and pecan pie, sometimes you just need something different. And this impressive three-layer cake fits the bill. Lusciously moist chocolate cake infused with sweet potato and fall spices, sandwiched with chocolate ganache and an ultra-buttery molasses meringue buttercream. The hint of molasses in the frosting is both alluring and aromatic, almost espresso-like in its subtle flavor. It may look like an ordinary chocolate cake, but once you take one bite, you’ll know it’s anything but. In a nutshell, it tastes like November.
I’m posting this recipe as part of Blogsgiving Dinner, a virtual Thanksgiving feast hosted by Meghan of Cake ‘n Knife and Susannah of Feast + West. When it comes to parties and potlucks, 9 out of 10 times I’ll bring dessert to the party, and I figured even a virtual party should be no different. :) Trust me when I say that if you bring this cake to your next gathering, you’ll be invited back again and again. But seriously though, if you’re looking for Thanksgiving inspiration look no further. More than 60 blogs will be sharing their amazingly unique holiday recipes this week, so be sure to check out Part 1 and Part 2 for the whole menu.
Not wanting an ordinary decor job, I topped the cake with some meringue cookies (recipe from the SprinkleBakes cookbook). I piped kisses of different sizes, arranged the cookies into a half-moon around the perimeter of the cake, and sprinkled some crushed up meringues and cocoa powder on top. Certainly not the simplest of decorations (I tend to make things more complicated than the really need to be), but no doubt impressive.
Let’s be honest for a moment. Though it may look impressive, this cake just about killed me (and my mixer) in the process. When it was finally done and decorated and photographed, I was so strung out and tired and frustrated that I seriously wanted to smash something. So I did. Amazing how simply slamming a piece of cake down onto the floor can be so gosh darn satisfying. Food bloggers take note: throwing food is fun and a great stress reliever. (Everyone else take note: while I wanted to smash the whole freakin’ thing, I only sacrificed a single slice. Because the rest was too good, frustration and all, and Taylor and I ate every last bit of it).
So here’s the deal (and probably why this cake almost got the best of me)… I normally make smaller, 6-inch cakes, a size which just so happens to be exactly half of a full size recipe (aka easy math). But this time, because it’s a holiday cake, and because presentation is everything, I made a full size. I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to whip a massive batch of Swiss-meringue buttercream, but the more there is the longer it takes to cool. And it better be completely cool before you add the butter or you’re in big trouble. I’m not kidding when I say it took nearly 90 minutes of beating on high speed before it could even be considered cool. I could feel the heat emanating off my stand mixer (it’s still going strong after 10 years of regular use, but I was convinced this would be the end of it). I ended up splitting the partially-cooled meringue and beating half of it, then adding back the rest (which had cooled on its own in the meantime). Knowing how temperamental Swiss meringue buttercream can be I was worried it’d be a disaster, but it worked just fine. Honestly though, a molasses flavored American buttercream like the kind I used in this cake from a few years back is 100 times easier and won’t give your mixer a stress test. It’s sweeter, for sure, and not as buttery in consistency, but will still make for a stellar cake. It’s ultimately up to you and what you want your final cake to be (and how much effort you’re willing to put into it).
I am always a proponent of recipes that can be split into smaller chunks of time on multiple days. Especially during the holidays. With that in mind, rather than spend an entire morning baking, frosting, and assembling, I’d suggest baking your cake layers a few days earlier and then freezing them until you’re ready. Freezing also has the added bonus of making the assembly process easier, as cutting and leveling frozen cake is a much more precise process than with freshly baked layers. The rest of the cake should be made and assembled the morning of if possible and left at room temperature until it’s served. However (because it is the holidays, after all) if you absolutely have to, you can make it the day before and refrigerate it (leave off the meringue cookies until the last minute, as they’ll get soft and sticky in the refrigerator). Let the cake fully come to room temperature before serving so the ganache and frosting aren’t too firm. Total Time: 6 hours
