Chocolate Shadow Cake

Ⓒ Provided by The Spruce

By Diana Rattray, The Spruce

This chocolate cake is a layer cake with fluffy white frosting and a thin, chocolate glaze. The chocolate glaze is drizzled over the white frosting to create the "shadow" in the recipe name. In terms of both taste and visual display, this cake is a showstopper.

  

What You'll Need

    For the Cake

• 3/4 cup room-temperature butter or margarine

• 1 3/4 cups sugar

• 2 cups sifted cake flour

• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

•  3/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons room-temperature buttermilk

• 3 large room-temperature eggs

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

    For the Fluffy White Frosting

• 2 large room-temperature egg whites

• 1 1/2 cups sugar

• 1/8 teaspoon salt

• 1/3 cup water

• 2 teaspoons light corn syrup

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• For the Chocolate Shadow Glaze:

• 2 ounces semisweet baking chocolate

• 2 teaspoons shortening

How to Make It

Make the Cake

• Heat oven to 350 F. Butter and flour two (9-inch) round cake pans and set aside.

• In a large bowl, cream together butter and 1 3/4 cups sugar until light and fluffy.

• In a separate medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and 3/4 teaspoon salt.

• Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk into the butter-sugar mixture, combining well. Beat 2 minutes at low speed of electric hand-held mixer. Add eggs, and vanilla, and beat an additional 3 minutes.

• Pour into prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick tests clean. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before inverting onto the rack to cool completely.

Make the Fluffy White Frosting

• Combine 2 egg whites, 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and light corn syrup in the top of a double boiler set over rapidly simmering water.

• Beat with electric mixer for about 7 minutes, or until mixture will stand in stiff peaks. Beat in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and set aside.

Make the Chocolate Shadow Glaze

• In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the chocolate and shortening together 30 seconds at a time, mixing until smooth.

• Cool slightly and set aside.

Assemble the Cake

• Fill cake layers with frosting, then frost the sides and top of cake.

• Drizzle chocolate shadow glaze over the frosting. allowing some of the chocolate mixture to run down the sides of the cake.