Chocolate Reindeer Cake

Serves: 4

Terry Wiza

1 January 1970

Based on User reviews:

54

Spice

40

Sweetness

39

Sourness

36

mins

Prep time (avg)

4.8

Difficulty

Ingredients:

1

Cooking Spray (for the pan)

2.5 cups

All-Purpose Flour

2 cups

Sugar

1.5 tsps

Baking Powder

1 tsp

Baking Soda

1 tsp

Kosher Salt

3 large

Egg (at room temperature)

3 cup

Vegetable Oil

1 cup

Sour Cream

2 tsps

Vanilla Extract

340 g

Semisweet Chocolate (chopped)

1 cup

Heavy Cream

1 tbsp

Light Corn Syrup

1 cup

White Chocolate Chips

16 small

Candy (eyes)

16

Pretzel Twists (pieces, broken into antler shapes)

Directions:

1

Watch how to make this recipe

2

Special equipment: an 8-inch cardboard cake circle; a pastry bag fitted with a medium plain tip or a resealable plastic bag For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F

3

Coat two 8-inch-round cake pans with cooking spray and line the bottoms with parchment paper

4

Whisk the cocoa powder and 1 1/2 cups boiling water in a medium bowl until smooth; set aside

5

Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl until combined

6

Add the eggs, vegetable oil, sour cream and vanilla and beat with a mixer on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute

7

Reduce the mixer speed to low; beat in the cocoa mixture in a steady stream until just combined, then finish mixing with a rubber spatula

8

Divide the batter between the prepared pans and tap the pans against the counter to help the batter settle

9

Bake until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, about 35 minutes

10

Transfer to racks and let cool 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edge of the pans and turn the cakes out onto the racks to cool completely

11

Remove the parchment

12

Trim the tops of the cakes with a long serrated knife to make them level

13

For the ganache: Put the chocolate in a medium bowl

14

Bring the heavy cream and corn syrup to a simmer in a small saucepan

15

Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let stand 5 minutes, then stir until completely smooth

16

Let the ganache sit until it has cooled and thickened to a spreadable consistency, 20 to 30 minutes

17

Place 1 cake layer on a cardboard cake circle on a wire rack set over a baking sheet to catch any drips

18

Spread about 1/2 cup of the ganache on top and place the second cake layer cut-side down over the ganache

19

Dollop half of the remaining ganache on top and spread with a large offset spatula so the ganache covers the top of the cake and slowly runs down the sides

20

Repeat with the remaining ganache, using the offset spatula to make a smooth, even layer over the surface and around the sides of the cake

21

Refrigerate until set, 30 minutes to 1 hour

22

To decorate: Melt the white chocolate chips in a small microwave-safe bowl in the microwave in 15 second intervals on 50 percent power until melted, stirring after each interval

23

Let sit 5 minutes, then transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a medium plain tip

24

(Alternatively, transfer to a resealable plastic bag and snip off a corner

25

) Pipe a straight line through the center of the cake from top to bottom, then another line through the center from left to right, dividing the cake into quarters

26

Pipe 2 more lines to divide the cake into eighths

27

Pipe a circle of white chocolate around the edge of the cake

28

Pipe a small circle where the points intersect in the center of the cake

29

Place a candy-coated chocolate near the tip of each point for reindeer noses (one of them will be red)

30

Add 2 reindeer eyes above each nose

31

Stick 2 pretzel twist pieces above each pair of eyes