There is the Maui Cake! I'm not sure which intrigued me more: the name of this dessert, or the scrumptious-looking picture posted along with the recipe. It was probably the picture. Anything topped with a flower and chocolate-covered espresso beans will get me everytime. Now, let me start off with a few of the lessons which I learned from this experience of cooking a layer cake:
1) When it says to grease and flour the pan, actually do it. Don't take the easy way out and use cooking spray unless you want to spend time scraping your cake layers out of the pans and then begging your mother to fix the falling-apart cake to make it look nice and actually stay in one piece.
2) You may want to skip the chocolate-covered espresso beans. For me, doing so was not an option, but it turned into a nearly impossible mission just to find them. I finally did at Peet's. Not even my beloved Starbuck's had any!
3) I highly recommend adding coconut to the top of the cake, and skipping the flower. I made these alterations to the original recipe, which called for a fresh flower to put on top of the case for aesthetic's sake. I skipped it because I was making this cake for a holiday party and that seemed sort of out of place. But if you are making it for a luau, maybe it is worth it. I will let you be the judge. The coconut addition, however, seems like a necessity!
Without furthur ado, I will present you with a picture and see if my photography skills make it look as inticing as the original picture did for me.
Just looking at these now makes me want to make another one! Acutally not quite, it was pretty delicious but it was a lot of effort- so be prepared for a bit of work!
Maui Cake Recipe (originally from myrecipes.com)
Ingredients (for cake layers)
Combine 1 cup water and raisins in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover, and simmer 10 minutes. Drain and reserve water, adding water to make 1/2 cup; cool.
Egg Custard Filling:
Ingredients
Preparation:
Beat first 4 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Stir in vanilla.
1) When it says to grease and flour the pan, actually do it. Don't take the easy way out and use cooking spray unless you want to spend time scraping your cake layers out of the pans and then begging your mother to fix the falling-apart cake to make it look nice and actually stay in one piece.
2) You may want to skip the chocolate-covered espresso beans. For me, doing so was not an option, but it turned into a nearly impossible mission just to find them. I finally did at Peet's. Not even my beloved Starbuck's had any!
3) I highly recommend adding coconut to the top of the cake, and skipping the flower. I made these alterations to the original recipe, which called for a fresh flower to put on top of the case for aesthetic's sake. I skipped it because I was making this cake for a holiday party and that seemed sort of out of place. But if you are making it for a luau, maybe it is worth it. I will let you be the judge. The coconut addition, however, seems like a necessity!
Without furthur ado, I will present you with a picture and see if my photography skills make it look as inticing as the original picture did for me.
Maui Cake Recipe (originally from myrecipes.com)
Ingredients (for cake layers)
- 1 cup water
- 1 1/2 cups raisins
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
Combine 1 cup water and raisins in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover, and simmer 10 minutes. Drain and reserve water, adding water to make 1/2 cup; cool.
Combine flour and next 4 ingredients in a bowl.
Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add sugar, beating well. Add egg, beating just until combined. Add flour mixture alternately with reserved water beginning and ending with flour mixture; beat just until combined. Stir in raisins and walnuts. Spread batter into 2 greased and floured 9-inch round cake pans.
Bake at 375° for 15 to 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Run a knife around edge of pans; cool in pans on a wire rack 10 minutes. Remove from pans, and cool completely on a wire rack. Spread egg custard filling over one cake layer; top with remaining cake layer. Frost top and sides of cake with Mocha Frosting. If desired, place chopped nuts around sides of cake, and garnish with chocolate-covered coffee beans and coconut. Store cake covered and chilled!
Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add sugar, beating well. Add egg, beating just until combined. Add flour mixture alternately with reserved water beginning and ending with flour mixture; beat just until combined. Stir in raisins and walnuts. Spread batter into 2 greased and floured 9-inch round cake pans.
Bake at 375° for 15 to 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Run a knife around edge of pans; cool in pans on a wire rack 10 minutes. Remove from pans, and cool completely on a wire rack. Spread egg custard filling over one cake layer; top with remaining cake layer. Frost top and sides of cake with Mocha Frosting. If desired, place chopped nuts around sides of cake, and garnish with chocolate-covered coffee beans and coconut. Store cake covered and chilled!
Egg Custard Filling:
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 cup milk
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preparation:
Combine sugar, cornstarch, egg yolks, and milk in top of a double boiler; stir well with a whisk. Cook over simmering water 8 to 10 minutes or until thickened, whisking constantly. Remove from heat; whisk in butter and vanilla. Pour custard into a bowl; place plastic wrap directly on top of custard to prevent a skin from forming.
Mocha Frosting
Ingredients: (I would advise doubling this- I used a LOT of frosting, but had to mend a broken cake which may have been why)
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/4 cup cocoa
- 3 tablespoons cold strong brewed coffee (I accidentally used tea that was flavored like hazelnut coffee, but it somehow turned out really delicious anyways)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Beat first 4 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Stir in vanilla.
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