One of the greatest aspects of putting this book together was the people I have met, and one of those very special people is the photographer, Susan Powers. Her blog, Rawmazing.com, is the most beautiful compilation of her work! Not to mention healthy. And after making all the cakes for this book, we needed healthy!
Her talent was especially obvious when I saw her shoot this cake. She captured the mood that I envisioned perfectly! Because of her amazing skills, I think this is one of my favorite cakes in the book. You can make this delicious cake and sit down to watch your favorite vampire-themed show!
1 box dark chocolate cake mix (or add dark brown food coloring to the recipe for Chocolate Cake)
½ recipe White Cake
½ recipe Chocolate Buttercream
Dark brown gel food coloring
½ recipe Basic Buttercream
Red Glaze
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT:
2 8-inch round pans; cupcake tin (optional); offset spatula; 4½-inch round cookie cutter; paring knife
DIFFICULTY: Easy
red glaze
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon corn syrup
1 to 2 tablespoons red gel food coloring
Up to ¼ cup milk, for thinning
Combine the powdered sugar and corn syrup and add red gel food coloring to get the shade you want. If necessary, add milk to create a somewhat runny consistency—think runny pancake batter.
1. Bake the dark chocolate cake in two 8-inch round cake pans. Cool to room temperature, then chill for about 6 hours (unlike some other surprise-inside cakes, this one needs no more than 6 hours—this is a very simple design).
2. Bake the white cake as cupcakes or in whatever pan you like. You’ll only need about ¼ of the cake.
3. Make the chocolate buttercream and add dark brown food coloring to make it the same color as the chocolate cake.
4. Place one chocolate layer on a cake stand. Cover in a layer of chocolate buttercream and top with the second chocolate layer.
5. Gently insert a 4½-inch cookie cutter into the center of the cake to create a guideline.
6. Use a small, sharp knife to create a V-shaped valley in the cake. Working ½ inch from the guideline on the inside, insert the knife at an angle toward the guideline and cut carefully around the entire cake, going no deeper than the first layer. Next, insert the knife ½ inch outside the guideline at a 45-degree angle toward the other cut to make a V, then cut around the cake.
7. Remove the cake between the cuts to make a channel.
8. Crumble a quarter of the white cake into a bowl, removing any dark or hard bits. Combine 1 cup of the crumbled white cake and 1 to 2 teaspoons of white buttercream in a small bowl and combine to make a cake mixture. Make a snake out of the mixture, cut it into sections for ease of use, and flatten two sides into a point that will fit the channel you created in the chocolate cake. This will be your pointed vampire tooth.
9. Fill the cavity (ha-ha!) with sections of the cake mixture.
10. Cover the top of the cake in the chocolate buttercream. Freeze the cake for at least 15 minutes to help the buttercream set.
11. Immediately before serving, pour the blood (red glaze) onto the center of the cake and let it spill over the edges. Better yet, do this in front of the guests . . . it’s truly a sight to behold!
Want to make a fun treat? Make vampire cupcakes! Simply level out a chocolate cupcake, then create a tooth channel in each the same way you would for a full-size cake. Fill the channel with white frosting, then cover in dark chocolate frosting. Chill before you serve. Be sure to let the recipient know there’s a surprise inside!
