Rich came across this recipe while he was in California on a bidness trip, and tagged me with it on facebook with just the tagline “PLEASE?”
I took that to mean he would be very happy to come home to one of these.
Originally posted by 12tomatoes, the recipe does taste pretty much exactly like a Hostess Creme Filled Cupcake, and, other than the unneeded frippery of calling for using two spring form pans, is wicked simple to make.
Let me say this about that.
The original recipe specified baking the cake in well buttered spring form pans, which I did; but the next time I make this cake, I will use regular cake pans and line them with waxed paper because:
First: the spring form pans leaked a bit, and
Second: even being very nicely buttered, the layers had to be cut from the bottom of the spring form pan.
That nonsense aside, this is a very nice cake. Rich. Moist. Wicked chocolatey.
INGREDIENTS
Cake:
•2 cups all-purpose flour
•1-1/4 cup sugar
•3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
•3/4 cup brown sugar
•2 tsp baking soda
•1 tsp sea salt
•3 eggs, room temperature
•1 cup buttermilk*
•3/4 cup boiling water
•1/3 cup canola oil
•3 tsp instant espresso
•2 tsp vanilla
Filling:
•1 (7 oz) jar marshmallow fluff
•6 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
•1/2 cup powdered sugar
•1/2 tsp vanilla
•Pinch of salt
*As always, no buttermilk? No problem! Simply add one tablespoon of white vinegar or fresh lemon juice to a measuring cup, then add milk to measure one cup. Stir to blend, then let rest for ten minutes or so. You have now made buttermilk.
Heat your oven to 350º.
Butter two nine inch cake pans and line the bottom with wax paper cut to fit (trust me on this, it will make getting the cake out of the pan so much simpler).
Stir the flour, sugars, cocoa, baking soda, and salt together in a mixing bowl until nicely blended.
Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then add the oil, buttermilk, and hot water and stir until smooth.
Stir in the instant espresso and vanilla, then pour the batter into your prepared cake pans.
Pop into the oven and bake for 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and set aside on a rack to cool for 15 minutes, then remove the cakes from the pans and stash in the fridge to cool completely.
Note: as you can see, I did use spring form pans, but getting the cake out of the pan was an effort. I ran a knife around the edges to loosen that bit, but then had to cut the cakes from the bottom disk. Much better, I think, to use a bit of wax paper.
Once the cakes have cooled, make your frosting by beating the marshmallow fluff together with the butter for about three minutes or so, until it is light and fluffy.
Add the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, and the pinch of salt (mebbe 1/8 teaspoon) and beat until nicely fluffy – about four more minutes.
Place one of the cooled cake layers on a plate and top with the marshmallow filling.
Place the second layer on top, add a dollop of the filling on top, and call it a cake.
I had thought to make a chocolate ganache to glaze over the top, but this cake came out tasting so rich and moist (I got to taste the crumbs left after cutting the layers out of the pans) that I decided it wasn’t needed.
Very nice cake.