Chocolate Praline Pancake Cake Food

CHOCOLATE-PRALINE LAYER CAKE

Steps:

• In a small heavy saucepan, combine the brown sugar, butter and cream. Cook and stir over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Pour into two greased 9-in. round baking pans and sprinkle with pecans., In a large bowl, beat the cake mix, eggs, milk, butter, sweetened condensed milk and pudding mix; beat on low speed for 30 seconds. Beat on medium for 2 minutes. Transfer to prepared pans., Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely., In a large bowl, beat cream until it begins to thicken. Add confectioners' sugar and vanilla; beat until stiff peaks form., Place one cake layer on a serving plate, praline side up. Spread with half of the whipped cream. Top with remaining cake layer; spread remaining whipped cream over top. Garnish with chocolate curls and candies.

CHOCOLATE PECAN PRALINE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325.
• In a small heavy saucepan, cook the butter, whipping cream and brown sugar over low heat, stirring occasionally, just until butter is melted. Divide evenly into two 9" cake pans. Spread this mixture over the bottom of pans and sprinkle liberally with ½ cup pecans in each.
• In a large bowl, combine cake mix, oil, water & eggs at low speed until moistened; then beat 2 minutes at high speed. Divide evenly into the two cake pans by carefully spooning batter over pecans around edges of pan and then over the center area.
• Bake 50-60 minutes or until ice pick inserted in the center tests clean.
• Cool 5 minutes only. Then cover each pan with wax paper and invert onto wire racks to finish cooling. Determine which cake layer will be the top layer and add as many additional chopped pecans as desired to make topping lush and attractive looking.
• When completely cooled, with both hands, carefully lift up the layer of cake to be the bottom layer and remove the waxed paper. Place on a serving/cake platter.
• Spread frosting over the top of the pecans, filling in all the spaces around the bottom layer. Repeat procedure to place top layer of cake on the bottom layer, except DO NOT frost the top. Frost the sides only.
• Then melt chocolate morsels with about a teaspoon of vegetable oil to a consistency that you can drizzle back and forth across the top of the cake to give it a finished look. You can do this by putting the chocolate chips and oil in a small Ziploc bag and placing the sealed bag in a pan or dish of hot water for a few minutes until chips are melted. Lift bag from water and dry off. Then compress the contents together with your fingers until well blended. Snip off a very small corner and the bottom of the bag and allow glaze to drizzle out while moving bag across top of the cake.

CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH GANACHE AND PRALINE TOPPING

Steps:

• For cake:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 9-inch cake pan with nonstick spray. Line with parchment. Spray parchment. Dust with flour, tapping out any excess.
• Place butter and cocoa powder in medium bowl. Pour 1/2 cup boiling water over; stir. Let stand 2 minutes; whisk until blended. Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and coarse salt in another medium bowl. Whisk buttermilk, egg, and vanilla in large bowl. Gradually whisk cocoa mixture into buttermilk mixture; whisk until smooth. Add flour mixture in 3 additions, whisking to blend between additions (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pan.
• Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Run knife around pan edges to release cake. Invert onto rack; remove pan and parchment. Cool completely.
• For ganache:
• Place chocolate and cream in microwave-safe bowl. Heat in microwave in 15-second intervals, stirring occasionally, until melted and smooth. Stir in butter. Let stand until spreadable, about 30 minutes. Spread over top and sides of cake. Transfer cake to plate. Chill 2 hours and up to 1 day.
• For praline:
• Stir first 3 ingredients in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat until butter melts. Boil 1 minute without stirring. Remove from heat; whisk in sugar and vanilla. Add pecans; stir just to incorporate. Quickly pour praline over cake. Spread just to edges (topping sets quickly). DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover with cake dome. Store at room temperature.

NEW ORLEANS DOUBLE-CHOCOLATE PRALINE-FUDGE CAKE

Steps:

• Cake:
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Combine butter, cocoa and water in a saucepan.
• Cook, stirring constantly, over low heat until the mixture is smooth and butter has melted; remove from heat and cool.
• Combine the buttermilk, eggs, baking soda and vanilla; beat on medium speed with a mixer until smooth.
• Combine the butter mixture and buttermilk mixture; beat until well blended.
• Combine the sugar, flour and salt in a bowl; mix well.
• Gradually add the flour mixture to the buttermilk mixture; beat until blended.
• The batter should be thin.
• Spray three 8" round cake pans with cooking spray and line them with wax paper.
• Pour the batter evenly into the pans and bake at 350 degrees for 22-24 minutes or until cake tests for doneness.
• Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes; remove from pans and cool completely.
• To assemble the cake:.
• Spread 1/2 c ganache between the cake layers; spread the remainder on the sides of the cake and chill for 30 minutes.
• Slowly pour the frosting over the center of the cake.
• Spread it to the edges of the cake, allowing some frosting to run down the sides.
• Chocolate Ganache:.
• Microwave the chocolate and cream in a glass bowl for 2-3 minutes, or until the chocolate is melted; whisk until smooth.
• Gradually add the butter, whisking until smooth and melted.
• Cool, whisking often, until spreading consistency, about 15-20 minutes.
• Praline Frosting:.
• Combine the butter, brown sugar and whipping cream in a 2 quart saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring often.
• Boil 1 min; remove from heat and whisk in powdered sugar and vanilla.
• Add the pecans and stir gently for 2-5 minutes, or until the frosting begins to cool and thicken slightly.
• Pour immediately over the cake.

DEVIL'S FOOD CAKE WITH HAZELNUT PRALINE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius (nonfan)/375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line the bottom of 2 (20-centimeter/8-inch) cake pans (tins) with a removable base with parchment paper and grease the sides. Alternatively, grease the bottoms and sides of 2 (20-centimeter/8-inch) regular cake pans, line with parchment, and grease the parchment.
• In a large bowl, whisk together cocoa, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugars. In a separate bowl, add the oil, eggs and kefir, and whisk just to combine. Add to the dry mixture and use a spatula to gently fold through. Add the 3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons/220 grams hot coffee and mix gently to combine. It'll look very runny at first, but will soon come together into a glossy, pourable batter.
• Divide the batter evenly between the two cake pans, about 21 ounces/600 grams per pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Set aside to cool for about 30 minutes, then slide a butter knife along the sides to help release the cake. Brush the tops lightly with the remaining 1 tablespoon/14 grams extra coffee (discard any extra).
• Invert one cake onto a board, remove the parchment, then invert it again onto a cake stand or the platter you intend to serve it on (domed side up now). Invert the other cake onto a board (don't remove the paper). Invert it again, onto a plate, so that it's paper side down. (This will help prevent it from sticking.) Set both cakes aside to cool completely.
• Make the praline: With the oven still at 200 degrees Celsius/375 degrees Fahrenheit, spread the hazelnuts onto a parchment-lined medium baking sheet (tray) and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until deeply golden, shaking the pan halfway through baking. Set aside, keeping the tray and parchment paper. You'll use them again later.
• Place a large saucepan over a medium-high heat and, once quite hot, sprinkle in a third of the caster sugar to cover the base. It should immediately start to melt at the sides but not brown too quickly. Swirl the sugar in the pan a little, then add another third of the sugar, allowing it to melt a little before adding the remaining third. Turn the heat down to medium and cook until the sugar is an amber caramel, stirring with a spatula just a couple times (but not much more). Add the hazelnuts and 1/4 teaspoon salt, stirring to coat, then quickly transfer the mixture to your parchment-lined tray and leave to cool completely.
• Once cool, roughly break apart the praline and add it to a food processor. Pulse a few times until you have very coarse crumbs, then measure out about 1/2 cup/75 grams of the mixture and transfer to a bowl. Blitz the remaining mixture in the food processor for about 5 minutes or until it turns into the consistency of a smooth nut butter, stopping to scrape the inside of the bowl as necessary. Transfer this to a separate bowl.
• Make the mascarpone cream: Add all the ingredients to a stand mixer and beat on medium-high speed for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, or until you have medium peaks. Refrigerate if not assembling right away (you want it nice and cold).
• When ready to assemble, top the cake on your cake stand with half the cream mixture. Spoon over about 2 tablespoons of the smooth praline and gently swirl it through the cream with your spatula. Top with another 2 tablespoons of the praline, this time without swirling. Sprinkle with half the praline crumble. Carefully invert the other cake on top now, removing the paper. Top with the remaining cream and repeat the same process with the smooth praline and praline crumble. Serve right away, or refrigerate overnight to firm up the cream before serving. (The cake will keep refrigerated for up to 3 days.)

CHOCOLATE PRALINE LAYER CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325 degrees.
• In a heavy saucepan, combine butter, 1/4 cup whipping cream and brown sugar.
• Cook over low heat just until butter is melted, stirring occasionally.
• Pour into two 9-inch round cake pans; sprinkle evenly with chopped pecans.
• In a large bowl, combine remaining cake ingredients at low speed until moistened; beat 2 minutes at high speed.
• Carefully spoon batter over pecan mixture around edges of pan; spoon remaining batter in center of pans.
• Bake at 325 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes, or until done.
• Cool 5 minutes; remove from pans and cool completely.
• In a small bowl, beat 1 1/4 cup whipping cream until soft peaks form.
• Blend in powdered sugar and vanilla; beat until stiff peaks form.
• To assemble cake, place 1 layer on serving plate, praline side up.
• Spread with half of whipped cream.
• Top with second layer, praline side up; spread top with remaining whipped cream.
• Garnish with pecan halves and chocolate curls if desired.
• Store in refrigerator.

CHOCOLATE PANCAKES

Steps:

• Tip the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and sugar into a large bowl with a small pinch of salt. Add the eggs and whisk until smooth. Gradually whisk in the milk until you have a smooth batter, then mix in the chocolate chips.
• Heat a splash of the oil and a little of the butter in a non-stick frying pan until sizzling. Cook the pancakes, using 2 tbsp batter for each, for 2 mins until bubbles start to form on the surface. Flip and cook for 2 mins more (you'll need to do this in batches). Keep the pancakes warm in a low oven while you cook.
• To serve, whip the cream with the icing sugar and vanilla until thick. Top the pancakes with the whipped cream, berries and maple syrup, if using.