Almond Joy cake

I thought that I was just SO original when I thought of doing and Almond Joy cake for a girl's night.  Apparently I wasn't the first to think of this, so I borrowed a few ideas to bolster up my own.  I needed to modify this cake to be eggless since one of the ladies attending is allergic.  I found a great little tip sheet online of the best ways to modify your dish depending on what the eggs are used for.  You can find it here.  (*the link won't work.  :-/  But here's the web address for it.  http://www.tryveg.com/img/files/egg-free-cooking.pdf)  Great stuff.

I was going to make my traditional, oh-so-moist and yummy chocolate cake that I've made 1000 times before.  I've done all sorts of fillings, but never a gooey coconut one.  I wanted to match the texture you'd get when you bite into a delicious Almond Joy candy bar.  I found the idea for the filling on Pinterest, but decided that I wanted the almonds to be in the filling as well (instead of in the frosting like most that I found-here was my inspiration if you want to check it out).  I toasted the almonds to bring out their flavor and mixed it in with the filling.  Then I layered all of that on top of each of my three 9 in cakes.  A nice layer of butter-cream frosting to hold it all together and then a very healthy "drizzle" of chocolate ganache over the top.  I decided to toast some coconut and threw that on top with a few more almonds to make a fancy looking garnish.


Warning:  This cake is RICH.  Very sweet with the coconut filling and just a bit of bitter sweet with the ganache. We each enjoyed a very thin slice, and called it good.  Personally, that is how I like my desserts!  I'd rather have a thin slice of something that is rich and chocolaty, than to eat a "regular" or large portion of something that I don't enjoy quite as much.  


Here's the recipe as I put it together.  I hope you enjoy!

The frosting was tinted pink for our V-day GNO

Ingredients:

Cake:

2 cups flour

1 cup cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cups butter (Softened)

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1 cups white sugar

3 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups buttermilk (I use the buttermilk powder that's next to other powdered milks in the store)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350*.  Grease and flour 9x13", 3-8" or 9" pans (or 24 cupcake tins).  In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, soda and cocoa.  In a large mixer, beat butter and sugars on low speed until blended.  Increase speed to high and mix for 5 minutes or until pale and fluffy, occasionally scraping down sides.  Reduce speed and add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add the vanilla.  Add flour mixture alternating with the buttermilk.  (Beginning and ending with the flour mixture.)  Beat just until smooth, scraping sides of bowl occasionally.

Spoon batter evenly into prepared pans.  (If making cupcakes, this batter rises better if you let it rest in the pan for at least 5 minutes before baking.)  Bake for 22-25 (about 18 minutes for cupcakes) minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool on wire racks for 10 minutes.  Loosen sides of cake with a small knife and invert onto racks to finish cooling.  Fill or frost as desired!

Coconut Filling:

1/2 can evaporated milk (not sweetened condensed)

1/2 cup sugar

3 1/2 cups marshmallows

3 cups coconut 

1 cup toasted, chopped almonds (optional)

In a small saucepan, stir together 1/2 can of milk and 1/2 cup sugar.  Bring the mixtures just up to a boil and remove from heat.  Stir in marshmallows until they are completely melted.  Add coconut and almonds and stir again.  Layer on top of cake by spoonfuls, being careful not to tear cake.  (The original recipe said to add the coconut mixture while the cake was still warm.  I didn't do this because it was taking my milk longer to boil, but it turned out totally fine!)

I used a standard buttercream recipe for the frosting like this one.  

Chocolate ganache:

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp sugar

12 oz chocolate chips

Cook the cream, sugar and butter over medium heat, just until it boils.  (I have also done this in a 2-cup Pyrex measuring cup for 60-90 seconds.  Works wonderfully and is easy to pour!)  Remove from heat and add the chocolate chips.  Allow it to rest for 5 minutes until chocolate is softened and whip with whisk or fork to incorporate.  Allow to cool slightly to room temperature before pouring over a frosted cake or dipping cupcakes.  Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Not the best "inside look" ever, but it was so good, who cares!