Merry Christmas! (Plus a Cake Recipe)

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope that each and every one of you had a fabulous Christmas day. I know I did. I got to spend time with my family, eat lots of yummy food, and open great presents (like a new camera!!!!! Yay for better pictures on the blog now).  But as I promised on A Taste of the College Life's Facebook Page two days ago, I have a cake recipe for you that makes a great addition to any holiday gathering. I call it a Christmas cake, but you could make it for any holiday you could possibly want.

I will warn you now, this is not a complicated recipe so much as a tedious/time consuming recipe. But if you like chocolate cake, it is so worth it. Budget yourself at least 2 days to work on this, since at one point you have to freeze the cake overnight.

 

This recipe is in three parts; cake, cream filling, and glaze.

Ingredients:

Cake

• 1 cup all-purpose flou
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons of cocoa
• 1/3 cup boiling water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar, divided
• 3 eggs, sperated
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon confectioners sugar

Cream Filling

• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Glaze

• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• Confectioners sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. For cake, grease a 10 1/2 x 15 1/2 inch jellyroll pan (or a cookie sheet with raised edges). Line bottom of pan with waxed paper and grease wax paper.

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. In another small bowl, combine cocoa, water, and vanilla, whisk until smooth.

In a large bowl, cream butter. Gradually beat in 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar. Beat in egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat until mixture is light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Alternately beat flour mixture and buttermilk into creamed mixture. Beat in cocoa mixture until well blended.

In a medium bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar until stiff. Fold egg white mixture into chocolate mixture. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake 12-15 minutes or until cake is slightly puffed and just begins to pull away from sides of pan. Get a towel, lay it out, and sift confectioners sugar onto the towel. Loosen the sides of the cake and invert it onto the towel. Beginning with 1 long edge, roll cake IN the towel. Cool 45 miuntes or until room temperature.

For filling, beat whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla. Unroll cake and remove towel. Spread filling over cake to within 1 inch of edges. Depending on how thick you want to make your cake you have a choice here, you can either roll it up starting with a long side or a short side. I recommend rolling it with a long side because then you can cut it in half later and make 2 cakes at one time! But that is completely up to you.

Once you roll it up, wrap it up tightly in aluminum foil and freeze overnight.

Next day, remove cake from freezer, unwrap from foil, cut in half if necessary, and place it on a serving plate of some sort or on a wire rack to ice.

For glaze, melt chocolate chips in a double boiler or in a microwave safe bowl. Let cool slightly beat in butter (I melt mine to make this easier) and add the whipping cream until slightly thickened and smooth. Spread glaze evenly over top and sides of cake. (If you put it on a wire rack to ice, now put it on a plate) Gently pull a fork through the glaze to create the "bark" lines. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Right before serving, sift confectioners sugar over cake to create a snowy look.

Fun fact, this recipe came from an old cook book and has been passed down through generations on my dads side of the family. The little holy that is on top of my cake, is actually a small part of the big piece from great-grandmother.

Do you have any family recipes that you make for a certain time of year?