  |   Christmas sprinkles |  |
 |  fold in mini-morsels |  spread batter in pans |  cool then level |  invert halves on rack |
 glaze ingredients |  glaze halves |  frost bottom half |  top on ~ fill gaps |  ganache & sprinkles |
I love my Williams Sonoma giant donut cake pans and use them quite often. (I bought the set {new} on eBay for about $10. My daughter got remarried in March, and the youngest of my 2 newest grandsons is having his 14th birthday this week. Since his favorite cookies are my chocolate chip, I decided to make this giant CHOCOLATE CHIP DONUT CAKE and bring it over tomorrow. (Hope they take a photo after it's cut, so I can add it later!)
You want a fairly dense cake, so that it resembles the texture of a cake donut and that's why there's a hint of nutmeg in here too. The 2 halves of the donut are put together with a thin layer of chocolate frosting. Then I cover the entire donut with a clear glaze. The top can have a thick layer of chocolate frosting or chocolate ganache ~ with SPRINKLES, of course!
Giant CHOCOLATE CHIP DONUT CAKE
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour……………………..…2 tsp. vanilla
Pinch salt……………………………………………...2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 cup (12 TB) butter, room temperature
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature ……...…1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 cup granulated sugar …………………………….3/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 cups mini-morsel chocolate chips…………..….4 large eggs
***
1 can chocolate fudge cake icing ~OR~ CHOCOLATE GANACHE (recipe at end)
***
CLEAR GLAZE:
1/4 cup clear corn syrup……………….1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
***
Preheat oven to 350. Spray giant donut pans with non-stick baking spray (containing flour) and set aside. (Make sure you get the tops of the center and sides.)
Cream together butter and cream cheese in your electric mixer bowl. Add sugars and beat about 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time while mixer is running; then add vanilla. Stop and scrape down sides.
Beat in salt, nutmeg & baking powder. Then gradually add flour; beating just until blended. Do not over mix. Stop mixer; scrape down sides & paddle, and fold in chocolate chips. Evenly spread the cake batter in the donut cake pans. (TIP: I use an ice cream scoop to put the same number scoops of batter into each pan. I use the dampened back of a spoon to smooth out & level each pan.) Give each pan a sharp tap on the counter to break any air bubbles.
Bake until the cakes begin to pull away from the sides of the pans and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 38 to 43 minutes. Transfer pans to wire rack and let cool completely in the pans. Use a long, thin serrated knife to trim off the tops of the cakes (using the sides of the cake pan as your guide).
Put a piece of waxed paper under the rack (to catch drips), and turn the cakes out onto the rack. Set the rack over the cakes, invert the pans onto the rack. Brush completely with clear glaze (don’t forget the inside of the holes). Let the glaze harden before assembling.
CLEAR GLAZE: whisk clear glaze ingredients together in a small microwave-proof bowl until smooth. Microwave for 30 seconds (it should be bubbly).
***
Before you assemble ~ put the bottom half on a serving plate or cake board. Put strips of waxed paper under all the edges to catch drips.
ASSEMBLE: Turn 1 side to cut-side-up and spread with ganache or chocolate frosting (I prefer the canned chocolate frosting as the filling, because it hardens quickly & acts as "glue"). Then put other half, cut side down, on top. Use more ganache or frosting to fill in any gaps between the 2 halves.
***
Next, when the frosting/ganache "filler" has hardened up ~ get either your CHOCOLATE GANACHE (my choice) or chocolate glaze ready to go. Set out your sprinkles, so you can put them on quickly before the chocolate ganache or glaze hardens.
CHOCOLATE GLAZE: In a small bowl, add 1/2 tub of canned chocolate or fudge frosting, and melt in the microwave 30-45 seconds until it is able to be drizzled over cake.
Pour glaze over the top of the cake and immediately decorate with colored sprinkles. Let glaze set for 15 minutes before slicing. When the ganache has set, gently pull out the waxed paper strips. Serves 16.
***
EASY CHOCOLATE GANACHE:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 bag (12 oz) semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
Put heavy whipping cream in a large microwave-safe bowl and heat for about 2 minutes. (You want the cream to be just boiling.)
Carefully pour chocolate morsels into cream... (it may rise up and bubble and this is ok.)
Let sit for 5 minutes. Whisk the chocolate and cream until shiny and smooth, about 1 minute. Pour over cooled donut cake, add sprinkles.
***
TIP: Use the cake that you cut off to level the pans to make EASY CAKE BALLS. Crumble the extra cake into a bowl, and mix in just enough canned chocolate frosting so that you can form it into about 1” balls. Now, you can cover the balls with melted chocolate glaze ~ or roll them in powdered sugar or chocolate jimmies.
You want a fairly dense cake, so that it resembles the texture of a cake donut and that's why there's a hint of nutmeg in here too. The 2 halves of the donut are put together with a thin layer of chocolate frosting. Then I cover the entire donut with a clear glaze. The top can have a thick layer of chocolate frosting or chocolate ganache ~ with SPRINKLES, of course!
Giant CHOCOLATE CHIP DONUT CAKE
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour……………………..…2 tsp. vanilla
Pinch salt……………………………………………...2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 cup (12 TB) butter, room temperature
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature ……...…1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 cup granulated sugar …………………………….3/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 cups mini-morsel chocolate chips…………..….4 large eggs
***
1 can chocolate fudge cake icing ~OR~ CHOCOLATE GANACHE (recipe at end)
***
CLEAR GLAZE:
1/4 cup clear corn syrup……………….1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
***
Preheat oven to 350. Spray giant donut pans with non-stick baking spray (containing flour) and set aside. (Make sure you get the tops of the center and sides.)
Cream together butter and cream cheese in your electric mixer bowl. Add sugars and beat about 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time while mixer is running; then add vanilla. Stop and scrape down sides.
Beat in salt, nutmeg & baking powder. Then gradually add flour; beating just until blended. Do not over mix. Stop mixer; scrape down sides & paddle, and fold in chocolate chips. Evenly spread the cake batter in the donut cake pans. (TIP: I use an ice cream scoop to put the same number scoops of batter into each pan. I use the dampened back of a spoon to smooth out & level each pan.) Give each pan a sharp tap on the counter to break any air bubbles.
Bake until the cakes begin to pull away from the sides of the pans and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 38 to 43 minutes. Transfer pans to wire rack and let cool completely in the pans. Use a long, thin serrated knife to trim off the tops of the cakes (using the sides of the cake pan as your guide).
Put a piece of waxed paper under the rack (to catch drips), and turn the cakes out onto the rack. Set the rack over the cakes, invert the pans onto the rack. Brush completely with clear glaze (don’t forget the inside of the holes). Let the glaze harden before assembling.
CLEAR GLAZE: whisk clear glaze ingredients together in a small microwave-proof bowl until smooth. Microwave for 30 seconds (it should be bubbly).
***
Before you assemble ~ put the bottom half on a serving plate or cake board. Put strips of waxed paper under all the edges to catch drips.
ASSEMBLE: Turn 1 side to cut-side-up and spread with ganache or chocolate frosting (I prefer the canned chocolate frosting as the filling, because it hardens quickly & acts as "glue"). Then put other half, cut side down, on top. Use more ganache or frosting to fill in any gaps between the 2 halves.
***
Next, when the frosting/ganache "filler" has hardened up ~ get either your CHOCOLATE GANACHE (my choice) or chocolate glaze ready to go. Set out your sprinkles, so you can put them on quickly before the chocolate ganache or glaze hardens.
CHOCOLATE GLAZE: In a small bowl, add 1/2 tub of canned chocolate or fudge frosting, and melt in the microwave 30-45 seconds until it is able to be drizzled over cake.
Pour glaze over the top of the cake and immediately decorate with colored sprinkles. Let glaze set for 15 minutes before slicing. When the ganache has set, gently pull out the waxed paper strips. Serves 16.
***
EASY CHOCOLATE GANACHE:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 bag (12 oz) semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
Put heavy whipping cream in a large microwave-safe bowl and heat for about 2 minutes. (You want the cream to be just boiling.)
Carefully pour chocolate morsels into cream... (it may rise up and bubble and this is ok.)
Let sit for 5 minutes. Whisk the chocolate and cream until shiny and smooth, about 1 minute. Pour over cooled donut cake, add sprinkles.
***
TIP: Use the cake that you cut off to level the pans to make EASY CAKE BALLS. Crumble the extra cake into a bowl, and mix in just enough canned chocolate frosting so that you can form it into about 1” balls. Now, you can cover the balls with melted chocolate glaze ~ or roll them in powdered sugar or chocolate jimmies.
 |  5 Texas grandkids ~ the dark-hair boys are my newest grandsons (far right is the "birthday boy") |  cake balls |
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