Mini Brooklyn Blackout Icebox Cakes Food

MINI BANANA SPLIT ICEBOX CAKES

Steps:

• In a blender, puree the diced strawberries with 1 to 2 tablespoons water until thick and smooth. Using an electric mixer, whip the cream until soft peaks form, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the confectioners' sugar, vanilla and strawberry puree and continue whipping until slightly stiff peaks form, 1 to 2 minutes.
• For each dessert, place a chocolate cookie on a plate. Dollop with 1 tablespoon of the strawberry whipped cream; gently press another cookie on top. Repeat, alternating cookies and whipped cream, to make a stack 6 cookies high, ending with a cookie. Wrap lightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until the cookies soften slightly, 3 to 4 hours. Cover and refrigerate the remaining whipped cream.
• Just before serving, use an offset spatula or butter knife to smooth the sides of the cakes. Top each cake with a few strawberry and banana slices and some of the remaining whipped cream. Drizzle with chocolate syrup. Sprinkle with peanuts and top with a maraschino cherry.

BROOKLYN BLACKOUT CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• Butter and flour 2 (9-inch) cake pans. Cut 2 circles of parchment paper or waxed paper to fit the bottoms of the pans, then press them in. In a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (or using a hand mixer), cream the butter and shortening together. Add the sugar and mix until light and fluffy. One by one, add the eggs, mixing after each addition. With the mixer running at low speed, add the vanilla, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and mix. With the mixer still running at low speed, add about 1/3 of the cake flour, then about 1/3 of the milk, and mix. Repeat with the remaining cake flour and milk and mix. Pour into the prepared pans and bake until dry and springy to the touch and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean (a few crumbs are okay), 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto wire racks and let cool completely, to room temperature. Using a long serrated knife, cut the cake layers in half horizontally. Reserving 3 halves for the cake, put the remaining half in a food processor, breaking it up with your hands. Pulse into fine crumbs.
• To finish the cake, place a cake layer on a cake plate or serving platter (reserving the most even layer for the top) and spread with cooled custard. Top with another layer of cake, then custard, then the final layer of cake. Cover the top and sides of the cake with the remaining custard. Coat the cake with the cake crumbs. Chill until ready to serve, at least 2 hours. Serve the same day.
• Pour 2 1/2 cups of the water, the sugar, corn syrup and cocoa powder into a large non-reactive saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking occasionally. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk the remaining 1/2 cup of water and the cornstarch. Whisk into the cocoa mixture in the saucepan and return the mixture to a boil, whisking constantly. Cook, whisking constantly, until very thick, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla. Pour into a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, lightly pressing the plastic against the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Chill until firm, about 45 minutes.

BROOKLYN BLACKOUT CAKE

Steps:

• In a small heavy saucepan, mix sugar, cornstarch and salt. Whisk in milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat to low; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Stir in chocolate until melted. Transfer to a bowl; stir in vanilla. Cool slightly, stirring occasionally. Press plastic wrap onto surface of pudding. Refrigerate, covered, 2 hours or until cold., Preheat oven to 325°. Line bottoms of two greased 8-in. round baking pans with parchment; grease paper. In a small bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add cocoa; cook and stir until blended. Stir in sugars. Remove from heat; stir in buttermilk, coffee and vanilla. Whisk in eggs, one at a time, until blended. Stir in flour mixture just until combined., Transfer batter to prepared pans. Bake 35-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes before removing to wire racks; remove parchment. Cool completely., For frosting, in the top of a double boiler or a metal bowl over hot water, melt chocolate and butter; stir until smooth. Remove from heat. Whisk in hot water, all at once. Whisk in corn syrup and vanilla. Refrigerate 25-30 minutes or just until spreadable., Using a long serrated knife, cut each cake horizontally in half. Place a cake layer on a serving plate. Spread with half of the pudding. Repeat layers. Top with a third cake layer. Spread frosting over top and sides of cake., Crumble remaining cake layer; sprinkle over top and sides of cake, pressing lightly to adhere. Refrigerate leftovers.

BROOKLYN BLACKOUT CAKE

Steps:

• In a small bowl, whisk together the ¼ cup whole milk and the cornstarch until smooth. Set aside.
• In a medium saucepan, combine the remaining 1¾ cups milk, sugar, dark chocolate, dark Dutch-process cocoa powder, vanilla extract and sea salt. Heat over medium-low heat, whisking, until the chocolate is melted.
• Whisk the cornstarch mixture into the chocolate mixture until fully incorporated.
• Reduce the heat to low, and continue to stir briskly with a wooden spoon or a heatproof spatula. The mixture will come to a simmer and will slowly begin to thicken.
• Continue to cook for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the pudding coats the back of the spoon and slowly drips off. It will be thick and will just be starting to bubble. Remove the pudding from the heat and pour into 4 serving ramekins or bowls. Let cool.
• Cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate the pudding until it sets, and serve.
• Cut the cold butter into ½-inch pieces. Let it come to room temperature.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the butter, 3 cups of the confectioners' sugar, ½ cup dark Dutch-process cocoa powder, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ¾ cup Salted Dark Chocolate Pudding, and mix on low until just incorporated. Then beat on medium-high until the mixture is creamy and ingredients are incorporated, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
• Add more confectioners' sugar, 1 cup at a time, and mix on low until the frosting is thick but spreadable. Beat for 1 minute after each addition. You may not need to add all the remaining sugar. Once you have your desired consistency, scrape down the sides of the bowl.
• Raise the speed to medium-high, and beat for 3 to 4 minutes, or until very light and fluffy. The buttercream should be thick but spreadable. If the buttercream appears too thick, add more cream, 1 tablespoon at a time. If it appears too thin, add more confectioners' sugar, 1 heaping tablespoon at a time.
• Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease two 9-inch cake pans with butter and dust with flour. Line with parchment rounds and grease the rounds.
• In a large heavy saucepan over medium heat, bring the stout and unsalted butter to a simmer. (You can also melt the butter in your oven or in a large, microwave-safe bowl in a microwave oven and then whisk in the beer.) Remove the stout-butter mixture from the heat, add the Dutch-process cocoa powder and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Let cool for 5 minutes.
• While the stout-butter mixture cools, in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.
• In a separate large bowl, whisk together the sour cream and eggs.
• Add the stout-butter mixture to the egg mixture and whisk to combine. Then add the flour mixture, and combine with a rubber spatula until all the ingredients are incorporated and the batter is smooth, with no lumps. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl to incorporate any dry flour bits.
• Divide the batter equally between the prepared cake pans. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of each layer comes out clean. Transfer to a rack to cool.
• Frost the cake with the Dark Chocolate Pudding Buttercream.

BROOKLYN BLACKOUT CAKE

Steps:

• Make the custard first as it needs to chill. Put all the ingredients, except the vanilla, in a large pan and bring gently to the boil, whisking all the time, until the chocolate has melted and you have a silky, thick custard. It will take 5-7 mins from cold. Stir in the vanilla and a generous pinch of salt, then scrape the custard into a wide, shallow bowl. Cover the surface with cling film, cool, then chill for at least 3 hrs or until cold and set.
• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Grease then line the bases of 2 x 20cm sandwich tins. Melt the butter in a pan, then remove from the heat and beat in the oil, buttermilk, coffee and eggs. In a large bowl, whisk the dry ingredients togetherplus 1/4 tsp salt (saves sifting) and squish any resistant lumps of sugar with your fingers. Tip in the wet ingredients and whisk until smooth.
• Divide the batter between the prepared tins and bake for 25-30 mins until risen and a skewer inserted into the middle of the cakes comes out clean. Cool for 10 mins, then transfer to a rack to cool completely, parchment-side down.
• Remove the parchment linings from the cakes. If the cakes are domed, trim them flat. Now cut each cake across the middle using a large serrated knife. Put your least successful layer and any trimmings into a processor and pulse it to crumbs. Tip into a large bowl.
• Sit one layer on a cake plate and spread it with a quarter of the custard. Sandwich the next layer on top, add another quarter of the custard, then top with the final layer of cake. Spoon the remaining custard on top of the cake, then spread it around the top and down the sides until smooth. Chill for 15 mins to firm up the custard again.
• Hold the cake over the bowl containing the crumbs, then sprinkle and gently press a layer of crumbs all over the cake. Brush any excess from the plate. You'll have some crumbs left. Chill for 2 hrs, or longer, before serving, and eat it cold. Can be made up to 2 days ahead. The cake gets fudgier and more enticing the longer you leave it.