Chocolate Coffin Cake

By The Canadian Living Test Kitchen

73 people added this to their Recipe Box

Photo: Chocolate Coffin Cake
Photography by Yvonne Duivenvoorden

This recipe makes 12 servings

Nutritional Info
Per each of 12 servings: about	-
cal	802802 cal
pro	10 g10g pro
total fat	47 g47g total fat
sat. fat	29 g29g sat. fat
carb	92 g92g carb
fibre	4 g4g fibre
chol	181 mg181mg chol
sodium	681 mg681mg sodium
% RDI:	-
calcium	1414 calcium
iron	2222 iron
vit A	4141 vit A
vit C	22 vit C
folate	2424 folate

More great recipes from this menu:

The dollar store is the ideal source for any scary items, such as the plastic skeleton and snake we used here. Beware of low-fat ice cream because it melts quickly and crystallizes when refrozen.

Ingredients

4 4cups cupsmint chocolate chip or vanilla ice cream
Silver dragée Silver dragéeSilver dragées
Fruit leather Fruit leather
Chocolate cake:
1-1/2 cups butter , softened1-1/2 1-1/2cups cupsbutter, softened
2-1/4 cups granulated sugar 2-1/4 2-1/4cups cupsgranulated sugar
3 eggs 3 3eggeggs
1-1/4 tsp vanilla 1-1/4 1-1/4tsp tspvanilla
3 cups all-purpose flour 3 3cups cupsall-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder 3/4 3/4cup cupcocoa powder
1-1/2 tsp baking powder 1-1/2 1-1/2tsp tspbaking powder
1-1/2 tsp baking soda 1-1/2 1-1/2tsp tspbaking soda
1/4 tsp salt 1/4 1/4tsp tspsalt
2-1/4 cups buttermilk 2-1/4 2-1/4cups cupsbuttermilk
Chocolate icing:
3/4 cup butter , softened3/4 3/4cup cupbutter, softened
1-1/2 cups icing sugar 1-1/2 1-1/2cups cupsicing sugar
3 tbsp whipping cream 3 3tbsp tbspwhipping cream
3 3oz ozunsweetened chocolate, chopped, melted and cooled
1 tsp vanilla 1 1tsp tspvanilla

Preparation

Grease sides of 13- x 9-inch (3.5 L) metal cake pan; line bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.

Chocolate cake: In large bowl, beat butter with sugar until light. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time; beat in vanilla. In separate bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt ; sift again to blend completely. Stir into butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, making 3 additions of dry ingredients and 2 of buttermilk. Scrape into prepared pan; smooth top.

Bake in centre of 350°F (180°C) oven until cake tester inserted in centre comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Let cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan; let cool completely on rack. (Make-ahead: Wrap in plastic wrap and store at room temperature for 24 hours.)

Chocolate icing: In bowl, beat butter until fluffy. Alternately beat in sugar and cream, making 3 additions of sugar and 2 of cream. Stir in chocolate and vanilla, leaving streaks to resemble wood. (Make-ahead: Cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours; let come to room temperature and beat until smooth.)

Let ice cream soften in refrigerator for 10 to 20 minutes. Place cake, top side down, on cutting board. Trim off corners to resemble coffin. Trace same shape onto heavy cardboard and cut out; wrap tightly with foil.

Cut cake in half horizontally. Place bottom layer on cake board or dark tray. Using palette knife, spread with ice cream; cover and freeze until firm, about 4 hours.

Working quickly, spread sides of bottom layer with icing. Position skeleton on top. Place large piece of cake trimming beside skeleton to prop open lid. Cover and freeze until firm, about 2 hours.

Meanwhile, place top of cake on prepared foil-covered cardboard; place on baking sheet. Spread top and sides with icing. Arrange silver drag? around edge; cut cross out of fruit leather and position in centre. Lightly cover and refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.

Place coffin lid on cake. Crumble cake trimmings and scatter over platter for dirt. (Make-ahead: Cover and freeze for up to 24 hours.) To serve, remove coffin lid; set skeleton aside and cut cake.

Source : Canadian Living Magazine: November 2005