Fall Chocolate Spice Cake
It's finally fall, well, at least it's suppose to be. I don't know what's up with the weather, but I'm more than ready to start wearing my sweaters and cozying up with some hot chocolate. Fall for me also means getting to make desserts for parties and, well, just because it's the start of the holiday season and that's enough of a reason for me. I've been doing some freelance blogging for A Subtle Revelry and Sugar & Cloth and it's definitely woken the baking bug in me. Fall flavors are hands down one of my favorites, but I'm also kind of over pumpkin spice being the star attraction of the season. It's just been so overdone. So, when I had the idea of this Chocolate Spice Cake with a Pecan Pie Filling and Maple Buttercream, I had to make it happen.
For the Chocolate Spice Cake
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cup sugar
4 Eggs + 2 egg yolk, room temperature
3 cup AP flour1
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tbl Chinese Five Spice
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
Procedure
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line an 8” round cake pan with buttered parchment.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line an 8” round cake pan with buttered parchment.
In the bowl of a stand mixer cream butter on low and begin to slowly add sugar. Once combined, scrape down sides of the bowl and turn mixer onto medium speed and mix until light and fluffy. With mixer on medium speed, add eggs one at a time, wait until each egg is well combined before adding your next egg.
In a separate bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder & baking soda.
Alternate adding your dry ingredients and milk to your butter, sugar, & egg mixture. You should do this in two additions. So add flour mix, milk, flour mix and milk. Finally, add in your vanilla bean paste, Chinese Five Spice and ground ginger and mix on low until combined.
Bake in 350 degree preheated oven for 28 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Allow cake to cool completely before removing from your cake pan.
For the Pecan Pie Filling
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tsp Chinese Five Spice
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
1 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
Procedure
In a small saucepan over medium high heat, combine butter and brown sugar. Bring mixture to a rolling boil, about 3-5 minutes, making sure the brown sugar is disolved. Next, add your Chinese Five Spice, heavy cream, vanilla bean paste and gently stir to combine. Remove mixture from heat and fold in your chopped pecans. Allow mixture to cool completely before using. You can store your pecan filling in a glass jar in the refrigerator.
This also makes a super yummy ice cream topping!
For the Maple Buttercream
4 egg whites
1 3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 tsp maple extract
1 pinch cream of tartar
Procedure
In a medium saucepan add sugar and water and cook until mixture reaches 237 degrees F on a candy thermometer.
Wait until the sugar reaches around 220 degrees F and begin whipping your egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer on medium speed. The eggs should be at the soft peak stage when the sugar is at 237 degrees F.
With the stand mixer still on, add the sugar to the eggs in a slow steady stream. You want to make sure you do this slowly, you don't want the eggs to cook too fast and become lumpy egg whites, gross! Increase the mixer to high and continue to beat until you have stiff, glossy peaks and the bottom of the bowl is cool to the touch.
It's time to add the BUTTER!! This part was really scary at first. The buttercream started falling apart and I started getting really nervous. But... Just keep adding the butter in small chunks, and wait until each chunk is fully incorporated before adding the next. It'll be fine I promise. Once all the butter has been added, continue to mix your buttercream until it begins to come together. Finally mix in the maple extract.
The buttercream should be light in color and smooth.
To assemble the cake
Yay!!! It's time to put all this stuff together and FINALLY time to have a snack bite. I think this is my favorite part of making cakes, eating the snack cake! The first bite, the first sneaky bit of a delicious cake before anyone else, just your little secret.
How do you snack cake? With the cake scraps you'll have after layering your cake, tear off a small or come on, you know you want a big piece of those cake scraps, slather some of that delicious buttercream on top and a spoonful of the pecan filling. Put it on a plate and grab a fork and enjoy, the baker deserves to be rewarded first, right?! Feeling guilty about your snack cake secret, don't! It's totally your responsibility to make sure everything tastes good.
Level your cakes so you have two even layers. Add a border of buttercream on your bottom layer so the pecan filling doesn't squeeze out the sides. Fill in the center of your bottom layer with pecan filling, then put your second layer on top. Frost your cake with maple buttercream and decorate with remaining pecan filling. I piped an easy border around the top of my cake with a french tip.
I love this cake so much. The Chinese Five Spice gives a deliciously warm and unexpected taste the the cake and the pecan filling reminds me of fall. Also, the filling and buttercream recipes can be used in so many desserts. I couldn't help myself and made it the filling to the pumpkin macarons I made and it was AMAZING! Let me know if you get a chance
For the Pecan Pie Filling
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tsp Chinese Five Spice
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
1 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
Procedure
In a small saucepan over medium high heat, combine butter and brown sugar. Bring mixture to a rolling boil, about 3-5 minutes, making sure the brown sugar is disolved. Next, add your Chinese Five Spice, heavy cream, vanilla bean paste and gently stir to combine. Remove mixture from heat and fold in your chopped pecans. Allow mixture to cool completely before using. You can store your pecan filling in a glass jar in the refrigerator.
This also makes a super yummy ice cream topping!
For the Maple Buttercream
4 egg whites
1 3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 tsp maple extract
1 pinch cream of tartar
Procedure
In a medium saucepan add sugar and water and cook until mixture reaches 237 degrees F on a candy thermometer.
Wait until the sugar reaches around 220 degrees F and begin whipping your egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer on medium speed. The eggs should be at the soft peak stage when the sugar is at 237 degrees F.
With the stand mixer still on, add the sugar to the eggs in a slow steady stream. You want to make sure you do this slowly, you don't want the eggs to cook too fast and become lumpy egg whites, gross! Increase the mixer to high and continue to beat until you have stiff, glossy peaks and the bottom of the bowl is cool to the touch.
It's time to add the BUTTER!! This part was really scary at first. The buttercream started falling apart and I started getting really nervous. But... Just keep adding the butter in small chunks, and wait until each chunk is fully incorporated before adding the next. It'll be fine I promise. Once all the butter has been added, continue to mix your buttercream until it begins to come together. Finally mix in the maple extract.
The buttercream should be light in color and smooth.
To assemble the cake
Yay!!! It's time to put all this stuff together and FINALLY time to have a snack bite. I think this is my favorite part of making cakes, eating the snack cake! The first bite, the first sneaky bit of a delicious cake before anyone else, just your little secret.
How do you snack cake? With the cake scraps you'll have after layering your cake, tear off a small or come on, you know you want a big piece of those cake scraps, slather some of that delicious buttercream on top and a spoonful of the pecan filling. Put it on a plate and grab a fork and enjoy, the baker deserves to be rewarded first, right?! Feeling guilty about your snack cake secret, don't! It's totally your responsibility to make sure everything tastes good.
Level your cakes so you have two even layers. Add a border of buttercream on your bottom layer so the pecan filling doesn't squeeze out the sides. Fill in the center of your bottom layer with pecan filling, then put your second layer on top. Frost your cake with maple buttercream and decorate with remaining pecan filling. I piped an easy border around the top of my cake with a french tip.
I love this cake so much. The Chinese Five Spice gives a deliciously warm and unexpected taste the the cake and the pecan filling reminds me of fall. Also, the filling and buttercream recipes can be used in so many desserts. I couldn't help myself and made it the filling to the pumpkin macarons I made and it was AMAZING! Let me know if you get a chance
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