Kids will love surprising mom (or grandma) with this adorable flower cake for Mother’s Day or a birthday! Kids will need help with baking, but let them get creative when it comes to decorating. This recipe (by Juliette Lalbaltry) is featured in the book Cakes for Kids: 40 East Recipes that Will Wow!
Prep time: 45 mins.
Baking time: 35 mins.
Ingredients
For cake
7 oz. dark chocolate
1/2 cup unsalted butter + more for the pan
4 eggs
2/3 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour + more for the pan
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
Pinch of salt
For decoration
1½ cups chocolate-hazelnut spread (such as Nutella)
20 oval cookies (such as Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies or Vienna Fingers)
1 bag M&M’s
1 bag M&M’s Minis
Round sprinkles
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Directions
- Break chocolate into pieces and cut butter into cubes. Put both ingredients in a large measuring cup and melt in the microwave.
- Separate egg yolks and egg whites into two separate bowls.
- Add the sugar to the egg yolks and beat until the mixture is light in color.
- Add the melted chocolate mixture and mix well to incorporate.
- Sift flour and baking powder together then whisk into the wet ingredients.
- Add the salt to the bowl with the egg whites and whisk until stiff peaks form.
- Gently fold the egg whites into the cake batter.
- Butter and flour an 8-inch round cake pan and pour the cake batter into the pan.
- Bake for 35 minutes. Keep baking for a few minutes if the cake isn’t done.
- Let the cake cool to room temperature before removing it from the pan.
- Spread the whole cake with chocolate-hazelnut spread, smoothing the surface with a rubber spatula.
- Place oval cookies vertically all around the cake (the cookies will stick to the chocolate-hazelnut spread) then tie a pretty string around the cake.
- Make several flowers of various sizes and colors using mini and regular M&M’s.
- Decorate the cake with sprinkles.
Recipe excerpt from “Cakes for Kids” by Juliette Lalbaltry. Photography by Delphine Constantini. Reprinted by permission of Gibbs Smith.
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