While browsing other blogs this week I came across this delectable looking recipe: homemade devil dog, ding dong or hostess cake at smittenkitchen. This was my first time looking over Deb's site but I instantly fell in love. Since I was due to bake a birthday cake today anyway I decided to take a stab at her creation.I have a fall back chocolate cake recipe that everyone says they love but I've been getting SO terribly bored of it. Also, because it's egg-free it doesn't hold up well in layer cakes. So I took Deb's recipe, used the 9-inch pan directions (2/3 of the recipe), used some dairy-free Sharfen Berger semi-sweet chocolate, and substituted 1 cup of soy milk mixed with 1 tablespoon of vinegar for the buttermilk. The batter was beautiful, dark and rich looking. I managed to not overbake it and pulled it out with perfect timing (not usual for me).
Then I made the marshmallow frosting but added 2 tablespoons of Earth Balance margarine at the end to make it richer and more like a Swiss buttercream. For the ganache I substituted 6 tablespoons of soymilk and 2 1/2 tablespoons of Earth Balance margarine for the 1/2 cup of cream. A substitution for heavy cream in recipes that aren't going to be whipped is ¾ cup milk + 1/3 cup butter (or sub) for each cup of heavy cream. I decided to leave out the 2 T of butter at the end but after taking a taste added a 1/4 cup of sifted powdered sugar to sweeten it slightly. After filling the middle of the two layers of cake with the 7 minute frosting and covering the outside with the ganache I couldn't resist the play on Hostess and mixed up some powdered sugar icing to decorate the top.
The cake was great! I think I let the ganache cool just a little too long, it was a little too thick on the outside. I loved the 7 minute frosting with a little fat added. I have to try it on a bumpy cake some time. Finally, I have to keep the cake batter recipe on hand. It was excellent and had great structure and so held up in the layer cake beautifully. Thanks for the recipe Deb!
