Chocolate Strawberry Velvet Cake.....

[Jules711]

Too bad my DH doesn't enjoy fruit! I can't really experiment at home. Guess I'll just HAVE to pamper an office with it. My dentist office LOVES me! They look great!

 

[dianevill]

50-60 minutes would be if you used the fluted pan in the oven (that's my guess anyway, because of the "height"). Definitely around 30 minutes if you're using the skillet.

 

[Christ Follower]

I did mine in the skillet and it was about 40 minutes. Mine fell in the center though so when I tried to decorate it pretty all the strawberries and cream slid down to the middle....ha ha ha.

 

[laylaleigh]

ok, I am going to make this for an event on Friday. I don't want to make/test one ahead of time b/c I don't like strawberries. Do you think it will be ok to not test it first? I have made lots of micro cakes.

 

[Christ Follower]

ok, I am going to make this for an event on Friday. I don't want to make/test one ahead of time b/c I don't like strawberries. Do you think it will be ok to not test it first? I have made lots of micro cakes.

If you are going to do that, I would have EVERYTHING prepped in their proper bowls, etc. It helps to use that tip sheet that came with the your guide to theme shows paperwork. It tells what items you can prep ahead of time to make it easier.

 

[sddmom2]

Layla- I've made lots of micro cakes before too- however, I thought I would make it at a show without trying it at home- and it OVERFLOWED! What a mess and I was a little embarrassed. I emailed Test Kitchens to get advice. I recommend trying it at home at least once- sorry.

 

[Christ Follower]

Layla- I've made lots of micro cakes before too- however, I thought I would make it at a show without trying it at home- and it OVERFLOWED! What a mess and I was a little embarrassed. I emailed Test Kitchens to get advice. I recommend trying it at home at least once- sorry.

Mine overflowed too and I am making this at a show on Saturday. What did the test kitchen recommend when you emailed them?

 

[laylaleigh]

Thanks for the tip. I am making it at home and taking it some where. What did you do when it overflowed?

 

[sddmom2]

Layla- I've made lots of micro cakes before too- however, I thought I would make it at a show without trying it at home- and it OVERFLOWED! What a mess and I was a little embarrassed. I emailed Test Kitchens to get advice. I recommend trying it at home at least once- sorry.

Test Kitchens just called me and it looks like I am not the only consultant having a overflow problem. They asked tons of questions about brands of items used. I love this company! They're soooo supportive!

 

[laylaleigh]

maybe I will do it in the skillet instead. The pictures looked so pretty!

 

[sddmom2]

I am not the only consultant having a overflow problem.


OK, THAT SOUNDS WRONG!

When it overflowed, I just said to the host "you must have a powerful micro- I've never had that happen" everyone laughed. Then I wiped up the mess-it was sticky! The cake was delish!!! Everyone loved it!

 

[Christ Follower]

Test Kitchens just called me and it looks like I am not the only consultant having a overflow problem. They asked tons of questions about brands of items used. I love this company! They're soooo supportive!

Did they give any suggestions about what to do with the overflow thing? I am getting a little nervous b/c I have to do this at a show on Saturday!

The skillet version just took too darn long.

 

[laylaleigh]

Great to hear the cake still turned out. That's what I was wondering. If I do it at home and it overflows it's ok. As long as I can still take a descent tasting cake for others to eat.

 

[Christ Follower]

I am not the only consultant having a overflow problem.


OK, THAT SOUNDS WRONG!

When it overflowed, I just said to the host "you must have a powerful micro- I've never had that happen" everyone laughed. Then I wiped up the mess-it was sticky! The cake was delish!!! Everyone loved it!

Okay that's good wording. Mine was a sticky mess when mine overflowed at home the other day. There was really no "smooth" way to clean it up neatly. I think I made a bigger mess trying to wipe the rim than if I would've just flipped it as it was.

 

[sddmom2]

Mine overflowed too and I am making this at a show on Saturday. What did the test kitchen recommend when you emailed them?

They said they are trying to get their cakes to overflow- they haven't had this problem before. And to look for any results in an email. You should email them too!

 

[Christ Follower]

Great to hear the cake still turned out. That's what I was wondering. If I do it at home and it overflows it's ok. As long as I can still take a descent tasting cake for others to eat.

Oh tastewise it was wonderful! Just a messy cake in the microwave. Shame.

 

[sddmom2]

I think I made a bigger mess trying to wipe the rim than if I would've just flipped it as it was.

I was thinking the same thing!

 

[sddmom2]

Oh- It's Yummy!!!

 

[sddmom2]

Hey Ellen- where in Ca. are you?

 

[Christ Follower]

They said they are trying to get their cakes to overflow- they haven't had this problem before. And to look for any results in an email. You should email them too!

Okay I just emailed them also.

 

[Christ Follower]

Hey Ellen- where in Ca. are you?

I'm on the Central Coast (Santa Maria). We're about an hour north of Santa Barbara.

 

[fruit76loop]

I am not the only consultant having a overflow problem.


OK, THAT SOUNDS WRONG!

When it overflowed, I just said to the host "you must have a powerful micro- I've never had that happen" everyone laughed. Then I wiped up the mess-it was sticky! The cake was delish!!! Everyone loved it!

I am relived to see that you too have a flow...i mean overflow problem! I thought it was just me as I first read through this thread! Good to know I am not alone!

 

[sddmom2]

Your only 3 hours from me!
Well, I am off to the Dr. I have a terrible cough.

 

[Christ Follower]

Your only 3 hours from me!
Well, I am off to the Dr. I have a terrible cough.

Small world....lol!

Hope you feel better soon.


Okay ladies~~~END HI-JACK now. sorry about that!

 

[janetupnorth]

Has anyone tried reducing the eggs yet? Many box mixes say 3 but you should only need 1.

 

[Christ Follower]

Has anyone tried reducing the eggs yet? Many box mixes say 3 but you should only need 1.

I haven't tried that yet. I have to practice the cake at least one more time before Saturday's show. Maybe I will try that.

I hate having to practice it so much. Family loves eating all the cake but I can't afford to keep buying the strawberries, choc chips and jam over and over again! Yikes!

 

[wadesgirl]

I made it in the oven the first time and didn't have any problems. Sounds like I should try it in the microwave first before I offer this! DH likes chocolate cake so maybe I'll just put some frosting on it instead of the rest of the recipe.

 

[AlbertaJes]

I made it with raspberries/raspberry jam last night and it was soooo good.

 

[chefjwr]

I made it with my consultant friends. It overflowed and it had been in the microwave less than 9 min. The directions say 9-12 min. I don't know how I will ever know the strength of a hostess' microwave even if I do get it right at home. The fluted stone had a sticky mess in it after turning out the cake. Kind of embarrassing how detailed and time consuming the clean up can be and if you use a brush it can flick wet cake particles all over. The cake did come out of the stone well though and it was pretty. I would suggest small to medium strawberries for the garnish the larger ones were harder to place and looked too big and gave me less to put all around the cake. I am probably going to abandon the idea of doing this at my next party and try Becky's idea and make it in the 12" Exec. Skillet. Thanks Becky and all those who have reported overflow, I don't feel so bad.

PS. The mini quiche lorraines we made out of the SB Spring/Summer---YUM and we didn't even use the bacon. I think it would be a fun easy interactive part recipe.

 

[ChefBeckyD]

I made it with my consultant friends. It overflowed and it had been in the microwave less than 9 min. The directions say 9-12 min. I don't know how I will ever know the strength of a hostess' microwave even if I do get it right at home. The fluted stone had a sticky mess in it after turning out the cake. Kind of embarrassing how detailed and time consuming the clean up can be and if you use a brush it can flick wet cake particles all over. The cake did come out of the stone well though and it was pretty. I would suggest small to medium strawberries for the garnish the larger ones were harder to place and looked too big and gave me less to put all around the cake. I am probably going to abandon the idea of doing this at my next party and try Becky's idea and make it in the 12" Exec. Skillet. Thanks Becky and all those who have reported overflow, I don't feel so bad.

PS. The mini quiche lorraines we made out of the SB Spring/Summer---YUM and we didn't even use the bacon. I think it would be a fun easy interactive part recipe.

funny that you should mention the clean-up....I watched the Cake demo on the Spring Into Success DVD, and the longest part of the demo was cleaning up the messy edges of the cake before turning it out.....I thought that was funny - and it sure made it look like they had some issues with boil-over......

 

[chefjwr]

I think there may be too much room for error in an actual demo situation. I don't mind not having something perfect but I think that the recipe needs to look easy and fun to make.

 

[heat123]

That pic looked soo yummy of Diane's that I am going to make it at my show on saturday!

 

[fikibiff]

I have had other micro-cakes overflow. Both times I just used a scraper to scrape off the extra and then flipped it on a plate. It worked fine both times. I also put a piece of paper towel under the stone in the micro to catch the overflow.

 

[Christ Follower]

See and I have already told the host on Saturday that we are doing this cake so I am trying NOT to freak out. I am going to practice it AGAIN and see if I can get different results. I may use one less egg? IDK. Maybe I can scrap the top with the handy scraper when it's done?

 

[dianevill]

That pic looked soo yummy of Diane's that I am going to make it at my show on saturday!

Thank you . I've done the cake in the skillet a couple of times now at shows, and it definitely gets the oohs and ahhs. I'd be too chicken to do a microwave cake because of all the variables. Kudos to those of you doing it - you're much braver than I am!

 

[Christ Follower]

Thank you . I've done the cake in the skillet a couple of times now at shows, and it definitely gets the oohs and ahhs. I'd be too chicken to do a microwave cake because of all the variables. Kudos to those of you doing it - you're much braver than I am!

Are you making the cake ahead of time? It seemed to take forever in the oven when I tried it.

 

[dianevill]

I make the skillet cake when I do the bbq pork tenderloin shows. I make the cake right when I get to the host's house (I ask her to preheat the oven so that it's ready when I arrive). I arrive 45 minutes before the show; I mix up the cake and pop it into the oven; while it's baking I set everything else up. The cake takes 30-32 minutes to bake, so it's finishing as the guests are arriving. I start the introductions while the cake's cooling and then I flip it and continue w/ the demo (I brush the strawberry preserves on the cake and then I start the bbq pork recipe). While the pork is nuking I do the chocolate glaze for the cake and make the bbq sauce for the pork sandwiches. Then when the pork is "resting" I do the Cool Whip on the cake. During any "dead" time I go over the order forms, recruiting, questions, etc. It's been working out wonderfully.

 

[Christ Follower]

I make the skillet cake when I do the bbq pork tenderloin shows. I make the cake right when I get to the host's house (I ask her to preheat the oven so that it's ready when I arrive). I arrive 45 minutes before the show; I mix up the cake and pop it into the oven; while it's baking I set everything else up. The cake takes 30-32 minutes to bake, so it's finishing as the guests are arriving. I start the introductions while the cake's cooling and then I flip it and continue w/ the demo (I brush the strawberry preserves on the cake and then I start the bbq pork recipe). While the pork is nuking I do the chocolate glaze for the cake and make the bbq sauce for the pork sandwiches. Then when the pork is "resting" I do the Cool Whip on the cake. During any "dead" time I go over the order forms, recruiting, questions, etc. It's been working out wonderfully.

That sounds pretty good. I may have to try it that way. Except Saturday is just too soon! I've never done the pork so maybe I can squeeze something different in there. Hmmmmm.......

 

[fikibiff]

Tunnel of DoveI just got this recipe in my e-mail:

Tunnel of DOVE®
http://i264.photobucket.com/albums/ii177/fikibiff/DoveCake.jpg

I don't know if it would be good to do at a show, but looks great for using our fluted pan.

Treat someone special to this scrumptious tunnel of chocolate!
Prep time: 30 min.
Baking time: 55-60 min.
Decoration time: 10 min.
Difficulty: Moderate
What you'll need:
2 bags DOVE® Brand Dark Chocolate
Various sized mixing bowls
3 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup vegetable shortening
1 2/3 cups sugar
1 teaspoon orange zest
3 large egg(s)
1 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
Electric mixer
1/4 cup Karo syrup
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 12-cup bundt pan(s)
Microwave-safe bowl
Wire rack
1 Sheet pan
Waxed paper
What to do:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour the bundt pan, and set aside.
Combine the flour, baking powder, soda and salt in a mixing bowl, and set aside.
Microwave one bag of unwrapped DOVE® Brand Dark Chocolate until melted (about 1-1/2 minutes), stopping to stir occasionally. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the shortening, sugar and orange zest until fluffy; then add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
In another mixing bowl, combine the milk and sour cream. With the electric mixer on low, alternately add the flour mixture and the milk mixture into the shortening mixture, beating until smooth.
Stir 1 cup of the resulting cake batter into the cooled melted chocolate, and set aside.
Spoon half of the plain batter into the bottom of the bundt pan. Then cover it with the chocolate batter, and top with the remaining plain batter.
Bake for 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven, transfer to a wire rack, and let cool completely.
For the glaze: From the remaining bag, set aside 8 unwrapped DOVE® Brand Dark Chocolate. In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the remaining unwrapped DOVE® Brand Dark Chocolate with the Karo Syrup and heavy cream. Heat for 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently until smooth. Cool slightly (about 3 minutes).
Remove cake from pan, and place it on a wire rack. Then set the wire rack over a sheet pan covered with waxed paper. Spoon glaze over the cake, allowing the excess to drip.
Decorate with the reserved DOVE® Brand Dark Chocolate.
Makes 24 servings.

 

[wadesgirl]

That recipe almost looks like the oreo cake in the dessert's cookbook. It has crushed oreos that you bake in the center. So good!

 

[ChefBeckyD]

So I did the Chocolate Strawberry cake last night for a show for the first time. In the skillet. It just didn't WOW me the way I thought it would....but I think alot of it has to do with all of the Milk Chocolate in it - not a fan of milk chocolate.....I have to make it again on Monday, and I am going to sub Ghiradelli Dark Chocolate Chips and see if I like it better. It looked pretty ~ just wasn't the rich chocolate taste I was looking for.

 

[Christ Follower]

Okay ladies, I practiced the micro version (again) today. It didn't overflow. The only thing I did different was used Knott's jam instead of Smucker's. Also, instead of trying to scrape the rim with a paper towel (like in the dvd) I used my Handy Scraper and boy was it handy! I think I will be ready to do this by my show tomorrow! I'm hoping it'll go good!

 

[riggs62]

I was brave and made mine for the first time at a show. Had I read this thread first, I might have thought twice! LOL I would hate to "overflow" in a host's microwave. It came out beautiful! Everyone loved it.
I was thinking to myself that it was a bit on the dry side. My director made it tonight at her house and emailed me to ask if I thought it was dry.
Anyone else have this problem?

Other than that, I can't believe how amazing the presentation is!! I'll have to post a pic. I was so proud of it!

 

[wadesgirl]

i made mine in the oven so I haven't done the microwave version yet. Maybe it was microwaved for too long (stronger microwave).

 

[heatherkiss]

I've done at least 10 micro cakes at different shows. REALLY NO BIG DEAL!
This new cake is very fancy and has alot of steps.

I have a guest frost the inside of the bunt pam with half the frosting and another guest mix.

12 minutes and viola!

Maybe the overflow is due to too much batter..........

Good luck! Man that cake was good!

 

[laylaleigh]

ok, I made mine tonight for my event. it went over great!! It came over the rim but did not over flow in the microwave. I oiled the rim too, that way it would wipe off easily. everyone loved it!!!

No one new that it wasn't done when I lifted the pan off!!

Can you believe it. I baked it for 10 minutes and tested it near the center and it appeared done. I let it set for 10 mins and lifted off the pan and half of it still had runny mix on it!!!!!!! I am sure glad the glaze and chocolate covered it.

Nobody had a clue!!!

I hope everyone else's goes okay.

 

[emmabelle47]

If my fluted pan fits in the microwave, but doesn't turn because of the handles, should I turn it half way through, or just leave it? And has anyone figured out if the overflow problem was due to using 3 eggs instead of 1? I'm planning on practicing it tomorrow for the party I have next Saturday. Hoping it turns out...

 

[lacychef]

I'm finally making this:thumbup: I'm making it for our team meeting on Monday. I'm going to do it in the skillet though; my microwave's too small. Sheesh, strawberries are expensive right now though! Might not offer it for a show for a couple more months...

 

[janetupnorth]

So I did the Chocolate Strawberry cake last night for a show for the first time. In the skillet. It just didn't WOW me the way I thought it would....but I think alot of it has to do with all of the Milk Chocolate in it - not a fan of milk chocolate.....I have to make it again on Monday, and I am going to sub Ghiradelli Dark Chocolate Chips and see if I like it better. It looked pretty ~ just wasn't the rich chocolate taste I was looking for.

You just helped me figure out why I liked mine!

I did not use devil's food cake mix, I used Dark Chocolate cake mix.

 

[ChefBeckyD]

You just helped me figure out why I liked mine!

I did not use devil's food cake mix, I used Dark Chocolate cake mix.

I have a DH Dark Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix, and I think if I use that with dark chocolate chips, I will like it better!