This is my attempt to create a Patrick-themed cake. Yeah, that’s right, no Spongebob; It’s not that we like Patrick more than Sponge B.; I just thought Patrick would be easier to make.
This cake is a really yummy chocolate cake. This recipe was chosen by Mary of Passionate Perseverance for the Barefoot Bloggers group to try; we had 2 cakes for this month’s recipes, the first one was birthday sheet cake posted 2 weeks ago (for which I was late). I was happy to find out that we will be making Ina Garten’s Beatty’s chocolate cake, it’s perfect for my son’s 4th birthday just a few days before the posting date.
I thought it would be fun to make Patrick’s rock house. My son actually wants me to make him a Lightning McQueen cake with Patrick and Spongebob beside it and a putting green too.. can you imagine that?
But I told him mommy is not that good in cake decorating, not yet, and can only make a simple cake. I promised him I’d make the cake that he wants in the future, maybe even before his next birthday, he readily agreed, (he’s such a good boy).
Since this cake is chocolate, I thought it would be easy; I mean I don’t need to tint the frosting brown to look like Patrick’s rock, the only hard part is the Patrick gumpaste figure. I thought, he’s a star and how hard could it be to make a star? Definitely not easy; not as I thought it would be, anyway.
My Patrick star look like a head-less chicken, wearing shorts Ha Ha, and look at his face, I asked my sister-in-law to draw it on cause I’m afraid if it’s me, it won’t look like Patrick at all, we had fun with it, he actually have face at the back as well, we used it for practice LOL. The domed “rock” is also a bit tricky to frost, I couldn’t make it as smooth as I wanted to.
To make my story short(er), I was not happy with this cake (I don’t mean the taste..it’s in fact super-yummy), but my son was, he even wanted to eat Patrick but I told him NO, we still need him for another cake appearance in the future with his pal SB. But as it turned out, I will have to make another one because just look at what silly Patrick did..
while we’re not looking, Patrick helped himself with the cake..
BTW, this is my little boy… Could he be the next Tiger Woods?! 🙂
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Now for the cake…These are all the photos I’ve taken as I was too busy that day..
Basically, this is an easy cake, just mix dry ingredients together on a mixing bowl; combine the wet/liquid ingredients on a separate bowl before adding it to the dry ingredients. Mix well and pour into prepared pan/s.
for the filling, I melted 1 cup of marshmallow; added melted chocolate to the frosting and use it all to cover the “rock” cake
RECIPE FOR BEATTY’S CHOCOLATE CAKE
2006, Barefoot Contessa at Home, All Rights Reserved
Ingredients:
Butter, for greasing the pans
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
2 cups sugar
3/4 cups good cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk, shaken
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter 2 (8-inch) round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans.
Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.
Place 1 layer, flat side up, on a flat plate or cake pedestal. With a knife or offset spatula, spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake.
Chocolate Frosting:
Ingredients:
6 ounces good semisweet chocolate (recommended: Callebaut)
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 extra-large egg yolk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon instant coffee powder
Directions:
Chop the chocolate and place it in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until just melted and set aside until cooled to room temperature.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until light yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and continue beating for 3 minutes. Turn the mixer to low, gradually add the confectioners’ sugar, then beat at medium speed, scraping down the bowl as necessary, until smooth and creamy.
Dissolve the coffee powder in 2 teaspoons of the hottest tap water. On low speed, add the chocolate and coffee to the butter mixture and mix until blended. Don’t whip! Spread immediately on the cooled cake.
Patrick Star's Rock Cake (aka Beatty's Chocolate Cake)
Ingredients
- BUTTER FOR GREASING THE PANS
- 1 3/4 CUPS All-Purpose Flour PLUS MORE FOR PANS
- 2 CUPS SUGAR
- 3/4 CUPS GOOD COCOA POWDER
- 2 TEASPOONS BAKING SODA
- 1 TEASPOON BAKING POWDER
- 1 TEASPOON KOSHER SALT
- 1 CUP BUTTERMILK SHAKEN
- 1/2 CUP VEGETABLE OIL
- 2 EXTRA-LARGE EGGS AT ROOM TEMPERATURE
- 1 TEASPOON PURE VANILLA EXTRACT
- 1 CUP FRESHLY BREWED HOT COFFEE
- CHOCOLATE FROSTING:
- 6 OUNCES GOOD SEMISWEET CHOCOLATE RECOMMENDED: CALLEBAUT
- 1/2 POUND 2 STICKS UNSALTED BUTTER, AT ROOM TEMPERATURE
- 1 EXTRA-LARGE EGG YOLK AT ROOM TEMPERATURE
- 1 TEASPOON PURE VANILLA EXTRACT
- 1 1/4 CUPS SIFTED CONFECTIONERS’ SUGAR
- 1 TABLESPOON INSTANT COFFEE POWDER
Instructions
- PREHEAT THE OVEN TO 350 DEGREES F. BUTTER 2 (8-INCH) ROUND CAKE PANS. LINE WITH PARCHMENT PAPER, THEN BUTTER AND FLOUR THE PANS.
- SIFT THE FLOUR, SUGAR, COCOA, BAKING SODA, BAKING POWDER, AND SALT INTO THE BOWL OF AN ELECTRIC MIXER FITTED WITH A PADDLE ATTACHMENT AND MIX ON LOW SPEED UNTIL COMBINED. IN ANOTHER BOWL, COMBINE THE BUTTERMILK, OIL, EGGS, AND VANILLA. WITH THE MIXER ON LOW SPEED, SLOWLY ADD THE WET INGREDIENTS TO THE DRY. WITH MIXER STILL ON LOW, ADD THE COFFEE AND STIR JUST TO COMBINE, SCRAPING THE BOTTOM OF THE BOWL WITH A RUBBER SPATULA.
- POUR THE BATTER INTO THE PREPARED PANS AND BAKE FOR 35 TO 40 MINUTES, UNTIL A CAKE TESTER COMES OUT CLEAN. COOL IN THE PANS FOR 30 MINUTES, THEN TURN THEM OUT ONTO A COOLING RACK AND COOL COMPLETELY.
- PLACE 1 LAYER, FLAT SIDE UP, ON A FLAT PLATE OR CAKE PEDESTAL. WITH A KNIFE OR OFFSET SPATULA, SPREAD THE TOP WITH FROSTING. PLACE THE SECOND LAYER ON TOP, ROUNDED SIDE UP, AND SPREAD THE FROSTING EVENLY ON THE TOP AND SIDES OF THE CAKE.
- CHOCOLATE FROSTING:
- CHOP THE CHOCOLATE AND PLACE IT IN A HEAT-PROOF BOWL SET OVER A PAN OF SIMMERING WATER. STIR UNTIL JUST MELTED AND SET ASIDE UNTIL COOLED TO ROOM TEMPERATURE.
- IN THE BOWL OF AN ELECTRIC MIXER FITTED WITH A PADDLE ATTACHMENT, BEAT THE BUTTER ON MEDIUM-HIGH SPEED UNTIL LIGHT YELLOW AND FLUFFY, ABOUT 3 MINUTES. ADD THE EGG YOLK AND VANILLA AND CONTINUE BEATING FOR 3 MINUTES. TURN THE MIXER TO LOW, GRADUALLY ADD THE CONFECTIONERS’ SUGAR, THEN BEAT AT MEDIUM SPEED, SCRAPING DOWN THE BOWL AS NECESSARY, UNTIL SMOOTH AND CREAMY.
- DISSOLVE THE COFFEE POWDER IN 2 TEASPOONS OF THE HOTTEST TAP WATER. ON LOW SPEED, ADD THE CHOCOLATE AND COFFEE TO THE BUTTER MIXTURE AND MIX UNTIL BLENDED. DON’T WHIP! SPREAD IMMEDIATELY ON THE COOLED CAKE.