This Black Widow Cake is an intense seductive dessert, wrapped in the disguise of innocent pastels. The rich chocolate cake is fortified with almond and cassis.
Black Widow Cake.
There are always two sides.
Anyone who says they are an open book, just hasn’t flipped over to show their next page.
Any art analyst at Sotheby’s can tell you it’s a play on contrast.
Delicate pastels, soft rounded corners, all drawing you in sweetly. Then the richness of dark chocolate, almond, and cassis envelopes your palette. The unassuming angelic exterior hides something ever-so-slightly evil. Would it not be the ultimate Halloween costume?
It truly is the game of a Black Widow spider.
The weaving seduction, it’s never not tempting. And who said that was a bad thing? Sometimes that intensity is what brings us to life. The fine line walk, playing on the edge, between sweet and sinister.
Why not play both?
Baking Talk:
This cake works well with the ingredients measured out in grams.
Beating the almond paste with the sugar allows for an even distribution.
This recipe makes a lot of cake and it can easily be halved to suit a normal portion. I carved my cake from two 8-inch round and two 8-inch square cake pans
I use basic buttercream to assemble this cake. I used this recipe but doubled it.
Other Intense Chocolate Cake Recipes:
Black Widow Cake
Ingredients
For the Black Widow Cake:
- 573 g all-purpose flour
- 188 g cocoa powder
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 400 g light brown sugar
- 350 g granulated sugar
- 200 g almond paste broken into pieces
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 cups buttermilk room temperature
- 2 cups strong coffee hot
For Assembling the Black Widow Cake:
- cassis liquor
- buttercream frosting
Instructions
To make the Black Widow Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 8-inch round and two 8-by-8 square cake pans with baking spray, set aside.
- In a large bowl, sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, set aside
- In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat sugars, almond paste, and oil on medium speed until smooth and lump free, scraping frequently, about 4 minutes.
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape bowl and paddle periodically. Beat in vanilla and almond extracts. On low speed gradually add dry mixture in 3 additions alternating with the buttermilk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with the dry mixture. Still on a low speed, add in the coffee, beating to combine. It will look very funny and soupy.
- Divide batter between prepared pans, baking until a toothpick inserted comes out with a moist, not wet, crumbs. Let cakes cool in pans for 5 before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely. Brush with a cassis liquor. Cool completely. For moister cakes, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
To assemble the Black Widow Cake:
- Use a serrated knife to even off the cake layers, brush cassis liquor onto layers.
- Cut round cakes in half.
- Place one square in center flanked by a half circle in each upper corner. Apply frosting. Top with corresponding layers. Do a thick crumb coat. Refrigerate for 20 minutes. Base ice with desired colors.
Notes
Cake recipe adapted from Rancho Valencia