We’re baking every day in our test kitchen. Some of it is to test recipes. Some to make treats for customers. Much of it is to develop new products.
We would like to share what we learn with you, methods and recipes. Here is some of what we’ve baked in the last week or so.
Double Frosted Fudge Cake
That’s the pink and chocolate frosted cake above. The cake is a cream cake baked in a 9×13-inch pan, cut into 15 pieces, and then topped with two kinds of whipped cream frosting.
A cream cake is more dense and moist than those made from the boxed cake mixes in the grocery store. If you’re buying a premade birthday or wedding cake, chances are, it’s made from a cream cake mix. It balances much better with a load of frosting. If you make your cake from scratch, it will be a lot closer.
This is our Fudgy Baby Cakes Mix. It was designed for cupcakes but works just fine in a 9×13-inch pan. It’s loaded with mini chocolate chips.
If you add chips to a store mix, they are likely to sink to the bottom. If you add them to your favorite recipe, chances are they will suspend.
The frosting is a premade fudge frosting. You should be able to pick up a tub at the grocery store.
The frostings are made with whipped cream, much lighter and fresher than buttercream. Whipped cream frosting won’t hold up as well as buttercream—it’s best if used the same day—but we rarely find any one that doesn’t like it much better than buttercream.
If you haven’t tried whipped cream frosting, you’re in for a treat. The recipes follow.
There are two keys to whipped cream frosting:
Use the best, highest fat content whipped cream you can find. We use Darigold 40% fat Heavy Whipping Cream that we buy at Sam’s Club. All whipping cream is not the same.
Don’t skip the meringue powder in the recipes. It will slow down melting. We use it in most frostings and all whipped creams. It’s wonderful!
Strawberry Cheesecake Whipped Cream Frosting
4 ounces cream cheese softened
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup strawberry jam or pastry filling
1 teaspoon strawberry flavor or to taste
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons meringue powder
Cream the sugar with the cream cheese until soft and smooth. Blend the strawberry jam or strawberry pastry filling with the creamed sugar mixture. (That’s the little flecks of strawberry you see in the frosting.)
Add the strawberry flavor, heavy whipping cream, meringue powder, and a tiny drop of pink food color and whip until it is very stiff and will stand like buttercream.
Chocolate Whipped Cream Frosting
2 ounces cream cheese softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups heavy whipping cream
3 tablespoons Ramstadt Breda Rich Dark Cocoa
2 tablespoons meringue powder
Whip the cream cheese and sugar together until blended. Add the rest of the ingredients and whip until stiff peaks form.
Double Frosted Cupcakes
This is a cupcake version of the cake above—same cake mixes, same fudge frosting.
This is a peanut butter fudge version and the other is pink peppermint fudge. Both are delightful. Our customers also liked the strawberry fudge version. It has a strawberry pastry filling inserted.
Scroll down on this page to see a short video on how to fill cupcakes.
Peanut Butter Fudge Whipped Cream Frosting
1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
14 cup Ramstadt Breda Medium Dark Cocoa or equal
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons meringue powder
2 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup chopped, salted peanuts
With your stand-type mixer, blend 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 3 tablespoons meringue powder with 1/4 cup dark cocoa.
Add the 1/2 cup chunky peanut butter and cream that into the mixture. Add 2 cups heavy whipping cream and whip until it is stiff and holds peaks as buttercream does. Fold in 1/2 cup chopped salted peanuts. The crunchy peanuts and the fluffy whipped cream make a delightful contrast.
Chocolate and Strawberries Whipped Cream Cake
This is a delightful cake. It’s a chocolate cream cake frosted and filled with a vanilla whipped cream frosting. The cake is split horizontally and then layered with frosting and thinly sliced strawberries. Use a strawberry slicer to get thin, uniform slices.
The top is frosted with a pastry bag equipped with a round tip. Rounded strips of frosting are laid diagonally across the cake and then dusted with finely chopped nuts.
About the Author
Dennis Weaver has burned food from Point Barrow, Alaska, to Miami, Florida. He is the founder of The Prepared Pantry in Rigby, Idaho. He loves to help people bake and shares his vast collection of cooking and baking knowledge on his blog as well as in his e-books and magazines. Dennis lives in Rigby, Idaho, with his wife, Merri Ann. They have five wonderful children and six beautiful granddaughters.