Step One: Bake two 8" or 9" rounds of devil's food cake. Go ahead and use a mix. I won't tell Martha if you don't.
Step Two: Mix an 8 ounce container of Cool Whip with 2 teaspoons mint extract and a tiny bit of green food coloring. I think they actually make mint-flavored Cool Whip during the holiday season, but in the event that's not lurking in your fridge in April, the mint extract will do.
Step Three: When the cake has cooled, slice each round in half horizontally. Try to keep the cut as even as possible. And if you are interested in knowing how to level cakes properly, don't look to me for answers. As you can see from my layers, I have no idea what I'm doing.
Step Four: Put a layer of the minty green Cool Whip between each layer of cake. Spread each layer of Cool Whip to an inch from the edge--it will spread to the edge as the other layers are added.
Seriously, look at those crazy layers! While it may not be structurally sound (let's all give thanks I'm not an architect or construction worker), it is structurally delicious.
Step Five: Once the cake is assembled, cover it in creamy chocolate frosting. Again, it's okay to use the canned stuff. Your secret is safe with me.
Step Six That Is Really Crucial To The Success of This Cake: If you are not serving the cake right away, then you must freeze it overnight. Leaving it in the refridgerator is okay, but the layers really tend to smash the Cool Whip and then slide around, leaving you with a lopsided cake. And if your layers are really uneven, that only makes the storage problem worse.
I make the cake, put it in my cake carrier, and then put it in the freezer overnight. Take it out a few hours before serving, and it defrosts to perfection.
Note: my cake is really messy. That can happen with this recipe. Between uneven layers, really soft Cool Whip and assembling it at an ungodly hour, my cake looks like a wreck. This is okay. Once people take a bite, they'll think it's the most beautiful thing they've ever seen.
With the mint and the green, this cake works wonderfully for Christmas and St. Patrick's Day. But it tastes great 365 days of the year. In fact, it would taste great tonight! Give it a try. You'll thank me for it later.
4 comments:
That looks absolutely divine! And cake is a great breakfast food. It has eggs, flour, and .....other breakfasty stuff. I think. I'm nearly certain of it!
Agreed! And with the Cool Whip, that's a full serving of dairy right there. If you don't have Special K at the ready, then I think this cake is a perfectly acceptable substitute. ;)
Without a handy cutter, you can put the cake layer on a cookie sheet/jelly roll pan and lay your knife on the edge as you slice. Serrated knife, of course.
for the layers, would it work to make four thin layers instead of two thick that must be cut? Like using 4 pans for the batter instead of two. Or, maybe using a jelly roll pan for the cake and then making the cake rectangular would work, too. Or, just saying to hell with it, crumbling the cake and the frosting and the coolwhip all together and going for function over form! L
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