Page 395 - Chocolate Cake Doctor

C O O K I E S , B A R S , A N D B R O W N I E S 377

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven
R and preheat the oven to 350°F. Set aside
an ungreased 13- by 9-inch pan.
the Cake Mix Doctor says 2. Place the cake mix, eggs, oil, and

water in a large mixing bowl. Blend with
To save time, use two 1-ounce packets
an electric mixer on low speed until the
of premelted unsweetened chocolate
dough is well combined, 1 minute.
(found in the baking aisle) in the glaze;
Transfer the batter to the ungreased pan
melt the butter and combine it with the
and smooth it evenly to the sides with a
chocolate.
rubber spatula. Place the pan in the
Sarah prevents her cake from
oven.
developing a crust around the edges by
attaching wet terry-cloth baking strips
3. Bake the cake layer until it puffs up
to the outside of the pan.This helps the
and cracks and the edges look crusty,
cake layer to bake flat all the way
20 to 23 minutes. Don’t overbake this
across.These strips are sold where you
layer; it should look jiggly when you
find cake-decorating supplies.
shake the pan. Remove the pan from the
Take care not to overbake the cake
oven and place it on a rack to cool for 10
layer in this recipe. It needs to be
minutes. Set aside.
chewy.
Sarah and her family have had fun
4. For the filling, place the confection-
tinting the peppermint filling in this
ers’ sugar, half-and-half, 2 tablespoons
recipe to suit the season.She adds a
room-temperature butter, and pepper-
drop or two of green food coloring for
mint ex tract in a medium-size mixing
St. Patrick’s Day, a drop or two of red
bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on
and yellow to make orange for
low speed to in corporate, 30 seconds.
Halloween, but she wouldn’t advise
Increase the mixer speed to medium and
you to add yellow alone: “One time my
1
beat until fluffy, 1 ⁄2 minutes. Spread
daughter added yellow and the filling
this filling thinly over the warm cake,
came out looking like mustard!”
using a long metal spatula or dinner
knife to reach the edges. Let the cake
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely rest until the filling forms a thin crust
on top, 10 minutes.
chopped