Baked Sunday Mornings: Devil's Food Cake with Angel Frosting

Fluffy Angel Frosting on the Dark Chocolate Devil's Food Cake

This morning began with the Dark Levil and ended with a Light Angel, and together they were both  divine!

By using my William-Sonoma gold cake pans I need only a little butter to prep the pans...and they fell out perfectly.

While the cake cooled I made the frosting.  These egg whites are whipped only to soft peaks.

Two weeks ago, for Valentine’s Day,  I baked a to-die-for triple chocolate, triple layer cake that almost transported me to heaven, but this week’s Baked Explorations' Devil’s Food Cake with Angel Frosting just might truly be the chocolate cake to-live-for as, this morning,  I found heaven on earth!

Yesterday my schedule was interrupted as I took one of my very sweet but very sick granddaughters home with me for some special attention.  My Frolicking Night Owl daughter has had a hard week with her 3 kiddies who have all been sick with the flu.  My precious little Penguin has hardly eaten all week, and has become, in her words, “Thin and frail and with no energy to walk any more.”  Break my heart!  So leaving my Night Owl to really be a night owl tending to her youngest two, I took my Penguin home with me and tried my best to feed her something every waking hour.  But when one has a fever, earaches, fever blisters in her mouth, and just does not feel good at all, this eating project is quite an undertaking.

Raspberry Syrup Gave the Angel Frosting a Pretty Pink Tint

This morning, after a mouse-size breakfast and a page of homework, she fell asleep for two hours.  Not wanting to be very far away from her I decided to bake the cake.  And what a good decision that was!  Kitchen work cheers my mood and creates something wonderful for everyone else in the house every time.Since my goal remained to entice my Penguin to eat...even sugary goodies (for an energy boost, of course...and this cake has lots of vitamin chocolate) I left out the coffee and substituted raspberry flavored hot water...I love chocolate and raspberry flavors together these days...and I used the raspberry syrup again instead of vanilla in the frosting.  The syrup colored the frosting a pretty princess pink.  I also added some tiny chocolate curls around the rim of the cake just for added fun.  (The raspberry syrup I used was an Italian soda/coffee flavoring.)

 When Penguin rose from her morning nap I told her I had a surprise.  You should have seen her eyes when she spotted the cake with the fluffy pink angel frosting.  WOW!  And I explained to her that it was her job to cut the cake and to be my taster.  Well, that created some instant enthusiasm.  She pronounced the cake to be delicious and very YUM!  And then she cut a big slice to take home to her mom because she just knew that Night Owl has had no baking time this week...maybe she’ll get a break and get it done this weekend...we’ll see.

As I tasted the cake I found it to be wonderfully moist with a tender crumb...and, honestly, the frosting is fabulous.  The recipe notes that the angel frosting is best when served within 4 hours...and immediately is the very best.  It has now gone past the 4 hour mark and the frosting remains delish.  (Note from the next day...the frosting is still amazing and it is still "best.")

Penguin's Slice that we Took To Mom

Thanks to Matt and Renato my little sweetheart Penguin is on her way to recovery.  Their recipe is definitely a keeper!  (I'm making this cake again this weekend for Honey's 1st Birthday...every child needs their own Chocolate Cake for their 1st Birthday Photos!!!)