The No Limits "Nailed It!" Challenge
to benefit deaf children and families
Thank you to Cake Monkey Bakery for creating this amazing cake!
Best Cake wins a Caribbean vacation! Post your cake and tag us by midnight on Monday, June 8.
Enter the challenge and see details on our campaign page.
Best Cake wins a Caribbean vacation! Post your cake and tag us by midnight on Monday, June 8.
Enter the challenge and see details on our campaign page.
The No Limits "Nailed It!" challenge is a fun way to support deaf children and families. Emphasis on FUN! Below you will find a step-by-step guide provided by Cake Monkey, but you can get creative, make substitutions, adjust quantities, or even come up with your own recipe! The winning cake will be the one that LOOKS most like our cake. Happy baking!
THREE TIERED CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH VANILLA BUTTERCREAM by CAKE MONKEY
CHOCOLATE CAKE BATTER
Yields 2 six inch, 2 eight inch and 2 ten inch rounds.
Each round can be sliced into two layers. You will want 4 layers per tier.
NOTE: Most home mixers cannot accommodate this amount of batter at once, so you may need to do the batter in sections. For a smaller cake, you can divide all ingredients by half.
INGREDIENTS:
9 ¼ c Cake Flour
7 ¾ c Granulated Cane Sugar
1 T + 1 t Kosher Salt
¼ c Baking Soda
4 c Boiling Hot Water
2 c Dutch Process Cocoa Powder
4 c Buttermilk
1 lb + 10 oz Unsalted Butter- Melted and kept warm
8 Large Eggs
1 T Vanilla Extract
1. Prepare your baking pans by spraying the bottoms and sides of each pan with vegetable spray, then lining the bottom with a circle of parchment paper that is the same size as the bottom of the pan. Then spray the top of the parchment paper. Set aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Sift together the cake flour, sugar, salt and baking soda. Set aside.
3. Melt your butter. Keep it warm until ready to use. Boil the water and keep it hot until ready to use.
4. Sift the cocoa powder into a bowl. Pour the boiling water into the bowl and whisk the two together until no clumps of cocoa powder remain.
5. Whisk together the eggs, buttermilk and vanilla. Pour in the melted butter and mix until everything is well incorporated. Pour the hot cocoa mixture into the egg mixture.
6. In a large mixer, whisk the flour mixture for one minute on low speed. Slowly pour one third of the liquid into the dry ingredients. Mix on low speed for 30 seconds. Scrape the bottom of the bowl. Pour another third of the liquid into the bowl. Mix on low speed for 30 seconds and scrape the bowl down once again. Pour the remainder of the liquid into the bowl and mix until thoroughly combined.
7. Divide the batter into each size mold.
For a 6” x 3” mold: use 3 ½ cups of batter
For an 8” x 3” mold: use 5 ½ cups of batter
For a 10” mold: use 9 ½ cups of batter
NOTE: This recipe is for 3" tall cake pans. If you are using 1.5" cake pans, divide the batter quantities by half and double the number of pans per tier, and adjust baking times to account for less batter per pan. If you only have one sized mold, you can carve your smaller tier sizes.
8. Bake the cakes for an initial 30 minutes. With a bamboo skewer, test the 6” pans for doneness and continue baking until the skewer comes out clean (check the 6” layers after every 5 minutes until done). The 8” pans will take anywhere from 45 to 75 minutes or longer to bake. The 10” pans will take anywhere from 75 minutes to 90 minutes to bake. Repeat the testing process as you near the end of the baking time.
9. Allow the cakes to cool inside the molds for 25 minutes before unmolding. Allow them to cool completely before slicing them into layers. Assemble layers with frosting between each layer.
VANILLA BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
Yields 11 pounds of frosting: enough to fill and cover and decorate a three-tiered (6”, 8” and 10”) cake.
NOTE: Most home mixers cannot accommodate this amount of buttercream at once, so you may need to do it in sections.
INGREDIENTS:
6.5 lbs Unsalted butter, soft but not oily
16c Powdered sugar
¼ c Whole Milk
¼ c Vanilla Extract
¾ T Kosher Salt
Food Coloring
1. Sift the powdered sugar. In a large mixer bowl, paddle the butter on medium speed until soft and smooth and glossy. In a small bowl, combine the milk and vanilla extract.
2. Add the milk mixture and the salt to the butter and paddle on medium speed to incorporate. Scrape the bottom of the bowl.
3. Add the powdered sugar and paddle on low speed, pulsing the mixer on and off to incorporate. Scrape the bottom of the bowl.
4. Turn the mixer up to medium speed and paddle until the frosting is smooth and airy and light.
5. Decorate your cake and NAIL IT!
CHOCOLATE CAKE BATTER
Yields 2 six inch, 2 eight inch and 2 ten inch rounds.
Each round can be sliced into two layers. You will want 4 layers per tier.
NOTE: Most home mixers cannot accommodate this amount of batter at once, so you may need to do the batter in sections. For a smaller cake, you can divide all ingredients by half.
INGREDIENTS:
9 ¼ c Cake Flour
7 ¾ c Granulated Cane Sugar
1 T + 1 t Kosher Salt
¼ c Baking Soda
4 c Boiling Hot Water
2 c Dutch Process Cocoa Powder
4 c Buttermilk
1 lb + 10 oz Unsalted Butter- Melted and kept warm
8 Large Eggs
1 T Vanilla Extract
1. Prepare your baking pans by spraying the bottoms and sides of each pan with vegetable spray, then lining the bottom with a circle of parchment paper that is the same size as the bottom of the pan. Then spray the top of the parchment paper. Set aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Sift together the cake flour, sugar, salt and baking soda. Set aside.
3. Melt your butter. Keep it warm until ready to use. Boil the water and keep it hot until ready to use.
4. Sift the cocoa powder into a bowl. Pour the boiling water into the bowl and whisk the two together until no clumps of cocoa powder remain.
5. Whisk together the eggs, buttermilk and vanilla. Pour in the melted butter and mix until everything is well incorporated. Pour the hot cocoa mixture into the egg mixture.
6. In a large mixer, whisk the flour mixture for one minute on low speed. Slowly pour one third of the liquid into the dry ingredients. Mix on low speed for 30 seconds. Scrape the bottom of the bowl. Pour another third of the liquid into the bowl. Mix on low speed for 30 seconds and scrape the bowl down once again. Pour the remainder of the liquid into the bowl and mix until thoroughly combined.
7. Divide the batter into each size mold.
For a 6” x 3” mold: use 3 ½ cups of batter
For an 8” x 3” mold: use 5 ½ cups of batter
For a 10” mold: use 9 ½ cups of batter
NOTE: This recipe is for 3" tall cake pans. If you are using 1.5" cake pans, divide the batter quantities by half and double the number of pans per tier, and adjust baking times to account for less batter per pan. If you only have one sized mold, you can carve your smaller tier sizes.
8. Bake the cakes for an initial 30 minutes. With a bamboo skewer, test the 6” pans for doneness and continue baking until the skewer comes out clean (check the 6” layers after every 5 minutes until done). The 8” pans will take anywhere from 45 to 75 minutes or longer to bake. The 10” pans will take anywhere from 75 minutes to 90 minutes to bake. Repeat the testing process as you near the end of the baking time.
9. Allow the cakes to cool inside the molds for 25 minutes before unmolding. Allow them to cool completely before slicing them into layers. Assemble layers with frosting between each layer.
VANILLA BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
Yields 11 pounds of frosting: enough to fill and cover and decorate a three-tiered (6”, 8” and 10”) cake.
NOTE: Most home mixers cannot accommodate this amount of buttercream at once, so you may need to do it in sections.
INGREDIENTS:
6.5 lbs Unsalted butter, soft but not oily
16c Powdered sugar
¼ c Whole Milk
¼ c Vanilla Extract
¾ T Kosher Salt
Food Coloring
1. Sift the powdered sugar. In a large mixer bowl, paddle the butter on medium speed until soft and smooth and glossy. In a small bowl, combine the milk and vanilla extract.
2. Add the milk mixture and the salt to the butter and paddle on medium speed to incorporate. Scrape the bottom of the bowl.
3. Add the powdered sugar and paddle on low speed, pulsing the mixer on and off to incorporate. Scrape the bottom of the bowl.
4. Turn the mixer up to medium speed and paddle until the frosting is smooth and airy and light.
5. Decorate your cake and NAIL IT!