I Eat My Words (and Cake)

I love making (and eating!) birthday cakes. Unless it’s mine, that is. It’s really fun to think of a cake that’s just perfect for the birthday boy/girl in question. It’s also a good time to show off, or try something fancy.
The last birthday cake that I made was for Sean’s birthday. Since he is always eating Snickers Bars, I decided to find a recipe that would work for his taste buds and my baking skills. The result is a cake that is very rich, and perhaps even gratuitously sweet, but it was a hit at the birthday party. The cake has a good, rich chocolate flavor that compliments the caramel and peanuts of the candy. In the end, it was the chocolate icing that could benefit from some adjustment. Possibly a light ganache, applied sparingly over the top of the cake, and in between layers, would be adequate for this cake. However, this was to be Sean’s birthday cake, and so a sweet, fluffy , over-the-top icing was in order. Regardless of what you choose, whoever you make this cake for will know that you love them.
My recipe for Snickers Birthday Cake is a very loose adaptation of a recipe I found on Epicurious.com. If you wanted to make a show-stopping cake in a hurry, you could use a boxed German chocolate cake mix with canned icing. Just add Snickers. The cake recipe here calls for two nine inch cakes or three eight inch layers. I used the chocolate cake recipe from Craig Claiborne’s New York Times Cookbook, 1990 edition, as shown below. However, any good chocolate cake recipe would do. The frosting recipe was something that I found online (maybe cooks.com or allrecipes.com ?) while looking for an eggless butter cream.

Snickers Birthday Cake
Makes two nine inch layers or three eight inch layers
For Cake:
2 cups cake flower, sifted
2 Teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
½ cup plus two teaspoons cocoa powder, preferably dark
1 ½ cups sugar
½ cup plus two tablespoons vegetable shortening
½ cup warm water (warmed on stove or in microwave)
2/3 cup milk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For Frosting:
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 cup unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoons whipping cream
10 ounces chocolate, finely chopped
10 ounces Snickers Bars, chopped into small pieces (I used the small, one bite ones that are an ounce each).

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease two nine inch or three eight inch cake pans, and line the bottom with circles of parchment paper that have been cut approximately 1/8 inch smaller than the pans.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cocoa and sugar together. Add the shortening, water, milk, eggs and vanilla. Blend on very low speed until the ingredients are just moistened. Mix three minutes on medium speed , scraping down to fully mix ingredients. Scraping time should not be included in the three minutes.
Pour the mixture into the prepared two nine inch cake pans. Bake until the cakes bounce back when gently pushed in the middles. This will take about 25 to 30 minutes. Cool the pans on a cake rack for ten minutes before removing them from the pans. Allow to cool completely before applying the frosting or Snickers.
While the cake layers are baking, melt the chocolate in a double boiler or microwave. Set aside and allow to cool, but do not let the chocolate harden. Chop the Snickers Bars and set aside.
In a small bowl of an electric mixer, mix butter and sugar until well-blended; reduce the speed and mix for three minutes. Add vanilla, cream and chocolate. Beat an additional one minute, or until the chocolate is blended.
Place about 1 1/2 cups of frosting in a bowl. Add the Snickers pieces and gently mix. Refrigerate if not immediately using.
When icing the cake, spread the Snickers frosting mixture on the top of one cake that has been placed on a serving platter or cake stand. Place the second layer over top, and cover top and sides of the cake with the non-Snickered icing.