Now twenty-nine years later, I'm at it again, making a sports-themed cake--only this time it's a sport and team of Dean's choosing.
He is a lover of ice hockey and a die-hard Mighty Ducks fan, which gave me my theme. As for the type of cake, well, he's also a big fan of peanut butter and chocolate, so that took care of that. My only problem was that the cake had to survive a drive down to San Diego where he lives, so buttercream was out of the question. In the past, I've made chocolate and peanut butter cupcakes using chocolate ganache and a peanut butter confectioners sugar filling, and Dean loved them. So I decided to use a variation on this recipe.
First things first: the Ducks logo! I found it on-line and printed it out. Next I traced the pieces on parchment paper and used them to cut out each on appropriate colored fondant. Using black soft gel paste food color, I painted the details on the duck face mask. Then I assembled the pieces using a touch of water so they would adhere and not slip.
I was so proud of my logo...until I found out at the "unveiling" that it was their old logo! Hey, I knew that. I just thought this one was more colorful?
Next I baked a basic chocolate cake in a 9x13 pan. (All recipes to follow.) After it cooled on the rack, I wrapped it in plastic wrap and put it in the fridge over night. Next day, I sliced it in half very carefully...
and placed a layer of chocolate ganache and then a layer of peanut butter filling in the middle of the two layers
I iced the entire cake in chocolate ganache and decorated with the peanut butter filling using a piping bag.
Last I placed my Ducks logo in the center
and set up the hockey decorator set (purchased at Kake Creations in Canoga Park).
The cake was very rich and sweet--almost like eating a slice of cheesecake. The smoothness of the chocolate ganache compensated for the peanut butter's thick texture. But oh my, it was delicious. This was so much fun to make--and Dean was most appreciative.
Happy Birthday Dean! I love you!
Chocolate cake. (Allrecipes.com)
2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups AP flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 t baking soda
1 1/2 t baking powder
1 t salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 t vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water
1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease and flour pan. (2 9 inch round or 1 9x13)
2. In a stand mixer, mix together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, and salt.
3. Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla--mix for 3 minutes. Boil water.
4. Stir in boiling water to mixture by hand until well-combined.
5. Pour into pan(s) and bake for 30-35 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean.
6. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pan to cool completely.
Chocolate ganache:
3 cups of Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate chips
2 cups heavy cream
1. Place the choc. chips in a medium bowl
2. In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a simmer.
3. Pour cream over the choc. chips and let sit 30 seconds. Then whisk gently until all chocolate has melted. The color will deepen into a nice, dark, creamy chocolate brown.
4. Let it cool at room temperature for 15-20 minutes, then stir.
Peanut Butter filling:
2 cups creamy peanut butter
6 T butter
1 1/3 cups confectioners sugar
1. In mixer, cream the peanut butter and butter until smooth.
2. Slowly add the confectioners sugar; beat until light and fluffy.
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