A Special Treat for Rocky Racoon

 


Pictured above is Rocky J Racoon, named after the Beatles song from the 1968 White Album.  Rocky has his own Facebook page with over 5,000 followers.  This week in honor of Rocky, I baked a Rocky Road Cake from Preppy Kitchen.

Rocky Road dates back to 1853 in Australia, where rocky road was supposedly created as a way to sell confectionery that had spoiled during the long trip from Europe.  The name comes from the rocky road that travelers had to take to reach the gold fields.  


Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

For the Cake

  • 1 3/4 cups cake flour 210g
  • 1 tsp baking soda 6g
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder 2g
  • 13 tbsp butter 185g
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar 100g
  • 1/2 cup white sugar 100g
  • 3 tbsp coffee 45mL
  • 1 tbsp vanilla paste 15mL
  • 2/3 cup buttermilk 158mL
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1/2 cup sour cream 118mL
  • 1 cup cocoa 100g

For the Ganache:

  • 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips 350g
  • 1 1/2 cup cream 355mL
  • 1 cup walnuts 125g, toasted
  • 1 1/2 cup mini marshmallows 75g

For the Buttercream:

  • 2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate 115g, melted and cooled
  • 1/3 cup hazelnut chocolate melted and cooled 60g
  • 1/3 cup cocoa 35g
  • 1 lb unsalted butter 454g, room temp
  • 4 cups sugar 800g
  • 1/4 tsp salt 1g, heaping
  • 1 tsp vanilla 5mL

Instructions

For the Cake

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour three 6-by-2-inch cake pans.
  • In a small bowl mix together the buttermilk, sour cream coffee and vanilla paste.
  • In a large bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
  • In a the bowl of a standing mixer beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy. With mixer on low, beat in eggs and yolks, one at a time. Beat in flour mixture and buttermilk in three alternating batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
  • Mix just until almost combined. Use a spatula to scrape the bottom and complete the mixing.
  • Divide batter between pans; smooth tops. Bake for about 30 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in pans 10 minutes then invert onto a wire rack and let cool completely.

For the Buttercream

  • Beat the butter until light and fluffy. Mix in the confectioners' sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, salt and melted chocolate. If buttercream is a bit thick you can add a tablespoon or two of heavy cream.

For the Ganache

  • Scald the cream in a small saucepan over medium. Bring it just to a boil then pour over the semisweet chocolate. Let sit for two minutes then whisk until smooth. Reserve about 2/3 a cup of the ganache for the drip. Mix in the walnuts and fold in the marshmallows once cool.

To Assemble

Pipe a ring of buttercream around the top edge of the first layer. Use a spatula to fill the center with the ganache. Place the next layer on top and repeat. Cover the outside with buttercream and smooth.

Drizzle the ganache on top of the cake. If it's thickened then you can mixx in a bit more cream and zap in the microwave for a few seconds at 50% power.

Pile the extra rocky road mixture on top of the cake and then press in a few extra marshmallows and walnuts and give a final light drizzle of chocolate.



Here are some pictures of this week's bake:








Have a great day -  Linda & Rob  !

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