Volcano Surprise With Lemon Mousseline Cake Food

VOLCANO CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 2 (8-inch) cake pans, 2 (10-inch) cake pans and 1 (6-inch) Bundt pan with cooking spray and set aside.
• Beat cake mix, water, oil, and egg whites in a large bowl with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl and beat for 2 minutes on medium speed. Divide batter equally between prepared cake pans.
• Bake 8-inch cakes and 6-inch Bundt cakes in oven for 35 to 40 minutes and 10-inch cakes for 45 to 50 minutes, or until tester comes out clean. Remove and cool completely.
• To assemble, use a serrated knife to slice off the tops of the 8 and 10-inch cake so the surface of each cake is flat. Place the cut tops into a large bowl and break up to from large crumbs. The crumbs will be used a "lava rocks" at the base of the volcano. Slice the bottom off the 6-inch bunt cake so it sits flat.
• Spread a thin layer of chocolate frosting between the 10-inch cake layers and stack. Spread a thin layer of chocolate frosting between 8-inch cake layers and stack. Place another thin layer of frosting on top of the 8-inch layer cake and place the bunt cake cut side down on top. Place a dollop of frosting on top of the 10-inch cake and carefully, place 8-inch cake on top and center of 10-inch cake.
• Use a serrated knife to trim edges around the tops of both cakes to create a cone shaped cake. (Make angled cuts downward and leave a round base on top for icing to "flow" from.)
• To decorate, frost outside of entire cake with remaining chocolate frosting. Place the cake crumbs around the base of the cake. Pipe green icing around the entire bottom of the cake for "grass". To create "flowing lava" pipe red icing a quarter from the top of cake in downward strokes to the middle of the cake with ribbon tip. Repeat technique with orange icing, starting almost at top of cake and ending where red icing begins with slight overlap. Repeat technique with yellow icing starting at the very top of cake and overlap orange icing. Drizzle yellow and red gel coloring around the very top of cake.
• For the smoke effect place a few pieces of dry ice into glass candle votive. Place the votive into the hole of the bunt cake. Pour a small amount of warm water into the votive and watch it smoke.

LEMON VOLCANOES

Steps:

• Make Classic Sugar Cookies with 1 cup granulated sugar total (omit confectioners') and lemon zest instead of orange; omit baking powder. Chill. Pulse 1/4 cup granulated sugar and 1 tablespoon lemon zest in a food processor. Roll dough into two 1-inch-thick logs and roll in the lemon sugar. Freeze logs 20 minutes, then slice 1 inch thick. Bake 20 to 25 minutes at 325 degrees.

MINI BUNDT VOLCANO CAKES

Steps:

• For the volcano cakes: Coat 12 mini bundt pans with cooking spray. (If working with fewer than 12 pans, coat the pans with spray between batches.)
• Prepare the chocolate cake batter according to the package directions. Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake until a cake tester comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool. Using a 1/4 teaspoon measure, scoop small chunks from the center of each cake to create a "crater."
• For the chocolate lava: Put the white chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in the microwave in 15-second increments, stirring after each, until the chocolate has completely melted. Add a few drops of food coloring and stir to combine. Continue adding food coloring until desired color is achieved.
• Transfer the cakes to serving plates and pour chocolate lava over each volcano cake. Sprinkle with the rock candy.

VOLCANO SURPRISE WITH LEMON MOUSSELINE CAKE

Steps:

• To make the lemon mousseline cake:
• Put the egg yolks, sugar, grated lemon rind, and vanilla in a bowl, and mix well with a whisk until smooth and thick. Add the potato starch and flour, and mix with a whisk.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In another bowl, beat the egg whites until firm. Add about one-third of the egg whites to the egg-yolk mixture, and mix with a whisk to lighten the batter. Fold the remainder of the egg whites into the batter. Pour the batter into a buttered 9-inch springform pan.
• Bake on a cookie sheet in the 350-degree oven for approximately 35 minutes. The cake should be nice and puffy as it comes out of the oven. Let cool in the pan in a warm place. The cake will shrink slightly but remain moist and spongy inside.
• Prepare the base of the volcano surprise:
• Butter the center of a round ovenproof platter and slice the cake horizontally into four layers. Place one of the cake slices on the buttered platter. Spoon the ice cream onto the cake slice, mounding it in the center, and smooth with a spatula.
• Cover the top of the ice-cream mound completely with cake, breaking the remaining slices of cake into large pieces, as needed, to make them fit snugly and over the filling entirely. (Any leftover cake can be frozen for future use.) Sprinkle the cognac over the cake. At this point, the dessert can be placed in the freezer while you prepare the rest of it.
• For the soufflé mixture:
• In the bowl of a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until firm. Meanwhile, mix the egg yolks and the vanilla in a separate bowl with a fork just until blended. When the egg whites are firm, add the sugar fairly quickly, and continue beating with the whisk for another 15 to 20 seconds to incorporate it. Gently fold the egg yolks into th egg whites with a spatula. Spoon some of the souffé mixture on top of the ice-cream cake, and smooth and round it into a conical shape.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. You should have approximately a 1-inch thickness of the soufflé mixture on the cake, with the soufflé higher in the center. Spoon the rest of the soufflé mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a fluted tip, and make a spiral decoration all around the bottom of the volcano. Continue decorating the cake as you like with the remainder of the soufflé mixture.
• Embed the hollowed-out half-lemon shell in the center of the top of the volcano. Work quickly, so the ice cream and the soufflé coating remain firm. Bake in the 400-degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes. The outside of the cake should be nicely browned, and it should be just set inside.