Chocolate-Wrapped Fudge Cake Recipe

Chocolate-Wrapped Fudge Cake

from Season's Greetings by Marlene Sorosky

Chocolate Cake:

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Droste Dutch process
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, at room temperature
1/4 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 large eggs, separated
3/4 cup sugar, divided
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

White Chocolate Buttercream:

8 ounces white chocolate, chopped (preferably Tobler Narcisse)
1/4 cup whipping cream
1/4 pound (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
2 egg yolks, at room temperature
1 tablespoon light crème de cacao

Dark Chocolate Dough:

1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup light corn syrup

White Chocolate Dough:

6 ounces white chocolate, chopped (preferably Tobler Narcisse or Lindt Blancor)
3 1/2 tablespoons light corn syrup

Serves 12 to 14

This and many other wonderful
recipes may be found in
Season's Greetings
by Marlene Sorosky from Chronicle Books

This exquisitely wrapped gift package will awe your friends. The surprise contents are alternating layers of dark chocolate cake and crème de cacao-flavored butter cream. This is one present where the wrappings are as good as the gift.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 15 1/4 x 10 1/2 x 1-inch jelly roll pan; line it with parchment or foil, allowing several inches to extend over short ends. Grease or spray the paper (if using foil, flour it also).

To make the cake, place cocoa and butter in a small bowl. Stir in boiling water and vanilla extract. In a large mixing bowl with electric mixer, beat egg yolks with 1/4 cup of the sugar until very thick and pale, about 4 minutes. On low speed, mix in cocoa mixture. Mix in flour. In small mixing bowl with clean beaters, beat the egg whites until soft mounds form. Slowly add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, beating until stiff and shiny peaks form. Stir a dollop of whites into cocoa mixture to lighten it and then fold in remainder until no streaks of white appear. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, spreading the top evenly. Bake for 20 to 24 minutes, or until the top springs back when pressed with the fingertips and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool to room temperature.

To make white chocolate buttercream, melt the chocolate in the cream in the top of a double boiler over simmering water, stirring untiI smooth; cool slightly. Cream the butter with an electric mixer until light and creamy. Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time, mixing untiI light and fluffy. Mix in the chocolate mixture and crème de cacao on low speed. If the buttercream is too thin to spread, refrigerate until it is thick enough, about 30 minutes.

To remove the cake from the pan, go around the sides of the cake with the tip of a sharp knife. Using the paper ends as handles, pull the cake from the pan and invert it on a cutting board. Pull off paper. Trim the edges of the cake. Cut it crosswise into 3 equal pieces. They will be between 4 and 5 inches wide. Place 1 slice on a piece of heavy foil. Spread it with half the buttercream. Top with the second cake layer; spread with the remaining buttercream. Top with the third layer. Refrigerate until firm.

The cake may be wrapped in foil and refrigerated overnight, or frozen.

At least 4 to 8 hours before using, make white and dark chocolate doughs as recipes direct. Roll 1 recipe of White Chocolate Dough between 2 sheets of waxed paper until about 1/4 inch thick. Place over half the nti cake, trimming the edges even with the bottom of the cake. Fold in the corners like wrapping paper. Repeat with the second recipe of white chocolate dough, meeting in the middle and covering the second half of the cake. Roll out the dark chocolate dough between 2 sheets of waxed paper until about 1/4 inch thick and cut it into bands about 1 inch wide. Wrap one band around the width of the cake, covering the seam where the pieces of white chocolate meet. Wrap another band around the length of the cake. Top the dark chocolate with thinner bands of white chocolate dough, if desired. Make bows by forming loops of dark and white dough; press gently into the center of the cake. Refrigerate the cake until serving time or overnight, if desired.

To serve, cut into thin slices.

Note: This frosting contains uncooked eggs, which have been known to carry salmonella.

Dark Chocolate Dough:

This dough is pliable enough to roll, cut, or bend into any shape imaginable. It's so much fun to play with, I call it adult play dough. Use it to make triangles, bands to put around cakes, roses, and curls.

Melt the chocolate and corn syrup in the top of a double boiler over simmering water, stirring with a rubber spatula, until the mix- ture is smooth. Pour into a small bowl and cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface. Let the mixture stand in a cool place for 4 to 8 hours, or until it forms a soft, shiny, pliable dough. Do not refrigerate it.

Remove the dough from the bowl and shape it into a flat disk. Roll it as thin as possible between 2 sheets of waxed paper. Remove the top sheet of paper by carefully pulling back on it. If the dough is too sticky to pull off the paper, let it stand until it becomes firm. Turn the dough over and pull off the second sheet of paper. Cut dough into desired shapes, using pinking shears, if desired.

White Chocolate Dough:

White chocolate is chemically different from dark chocolate, so the proportions and techniques for making this dough vary slightly from those for the dark chocolate one. To make two batches of dough, it is better to make the recipe twice, rather than to try to double it.

Melt white chocolate and corn syrup in the top of a double boiler over hot water, stirring with a rubber spatula until smooth. Remove to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface. Refrigerate until firm. The dough may be refrigerated as long as desired. Remove it from the refrigerator and bring it to room temperature before using. If it is too hard to remove from the bowl, place it in a warm place to melt slightly. Remove it from the bowl, flatten it into a disk, and roll between 2 sheets of waxed paper. Cut it into desired shapes.