Decadent Dirt Cake Signature Grooms Cake Or Special Occasion Cake Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Generously spray a 10-inch Bundt pan with cooking spray.
• Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom, and salt in a medium bowl. Combine the cocoa and espresso powder in a small bowl. Pour the boiling water over the cocoa mixture, whisking until smooth. Stir in the vanilla.
• Whisk together the yogurt, milk, oil, egg, and egg white in a large bowl; stir in the cocoa mixture until blended. Gradually add the flour mixture, stirring just until combined. Stir in the currants and chopped chocolate.
• Pour the batter into the pan. Bake in the center of the oven until a cake tester inserted in the cake comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Cool on a baking rack for 10 minutes, then turn the cake out onto a baking rack to cool completely. Dust generously with confectioners' sugar just before serving.

Steps:

• Grease and lightly flour a large Bundt pan or alternatively use a vegetable release spray. Place the rack at the center of the oven and preheat to 300 degrees F. Melt, do not boil, butter, sugar, chocolate, and coffee in a medium-sized saucepan with the hot water, until the sugar is dissolved. Cool completely and pour into a large mixing bowl. Set the mixer on slow to medium speed. Sift together the combined flours and cocoa. In a separate bowl, combine the beaten eggs, vanilla, and coffee-flavored liqueur. Add the flour mixture alternately with egg mixture to the basic chocolate mixture. This is a thin mixture do not over beat. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and place into the preset oven. Bake for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours at 300 degrees F. Check with a skewer to be sure the cake is cooked through. Cool the cake for 20 minutes before removing it from the pan. Cook's Notes: The recipe can be frozen, triple-wrapped, for up to three months. Adding 1/2 to 1 cup of roughly chopped toasted walnuts or pecans can also add punch and a change of pace to the recipe. Serving suggestions: The cake may be iced with chocolate butter frosting or alternatively simply sift confectioners' sugar 'snow' onto the cake top after cooling or place a slice of cake into a pool of commercial raspberry puree then for decoration add whole fresh raspberries. Top with a dollop of whipped heavy cream.
• Barely melt the chocolate in a double boiler over gentle heat. Remove from the heat source and pour into a large mixing bowl then cool for five minutes. Add the butter, cream, vanilla, coffee-flavored liqueur, and mix on medium speed until the mixture thickens. Finally add the confectioners' sugar in small batches until the mixture holds a medium peak. If the kitchen temperature is warm, and the icing is not of spreading consistency place the bowl in the refrigerator for a few minutes, then recommence mixing. Slather the icing over the cake with an offset palette knife. Enough icing for 1 cake.

Steps:

• Cut a 4-inch circle out of the center of each cake (reserve the small cut-out cake rounds). Put 1 of the cake rings on a cake stand or serving platter and frost with about 1 cup of frosting. Put the other cake ring on top and push down slightly. Fill the hole with gummy worms and 1/2 cup crushed chocolate wafer cookie "dirt". Now cut 1 of the small cake rounds in half horizontally to make two thinner rounds. Use one to fill the hole on the top of the cake. Frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting.
• Dye the coconut: Have ready resealable plastic bags or plastic containers. Add the coconut to the bag along with 20 to 25 drops of food coloring. Seal and shake vigorously until the coconut is evenly dyed. Add more food coloring, one drop at a time, as needed to get bright, vibrant colors.
• Fill the piping bags or resealable bags with royal icing. Pipe small flower petals or flower outlines onto the vanilla wafer cookies with white royal icing, then pipe circles of yellow royal icing in the centers of the flowers to create daisies. Let dry thoroughly before using. Press the remaining 1 1/2 cups crushed chocolate wafer cookie "dirt" onto the sides of the cake to evenly coat. (It's alright if some of the chocolate frosting shows through.) Sprinkle the top only with the dyed coconut so that it looks like grass. Place the decorated vanilla wafer cookies on top of the cake to look like a field of flowers. Use mini marshmallows to prop some of the cookies up at a slight angle.

Steps:

• Cream butter in a large bowl. Gradually mix in sugar. Add 1 egg at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine buttermilk and baking soda; add to creamed mixture alternately with flour, beginning and ending with flour. Add melted chocolate, chocolate syrup and vanilla. Stir in 1 cup miniature chocolate chips. Pour into a greased and floured 10-in. fluted tube pan. Bake at 325° for 1-1/4 hours or until a toothpick comes out clean. Immediately invert cake onto a serving plate; cool completely., Meanwhile, in a microwave, melt white chocolate and 2 tablespoons shortening; stir until smooth. Cool slightly; drizzle over cake. Melt remaining chips and shortening in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from the heat; cool slightly. Drizzle over white chocolate.