Pink Snowball Cake Recipe
This cake is sure to be the center of attention at any spring or Easter gathering. Bake a dome-shaped chocolate cake, fill with marshmallow creme, frost with pastel pink icing and top with toasted coconut.
Yield: Serves 8-10
Ingredients
For the cake:
6 tablespoons cocoa
6 tablespoons hot water
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter (12 tablespoons)
1 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup sour cream
For the filling/frosting:
1 pound unsalted butter, softened
1 16-ounce jar marshmallow creme
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 generous cup sweetened flaked coconut
pink soft gel food coloring
Directions
For the cake:
1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. Grease a 2-quart, heatproof bowl with shortening and lightly flour. Set aside.
3. Whisk together cocoa and hot water. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
4. Melt butter with sugar in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring to combine. Remove from heat, and pour mixture into a mixing bowl. Beat with an electric hand mixer until mixture has cooled enough to add eggs without scrambling them.
5. Add eggs, vanilla and cocoa mixture. Beat until well combined. Reduce mixer speed and add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with sour cream.
6. Pour into greased bowl and bake for 60-70 minutes, or until a toothpick tester comes out clean. Let cool slightly. Run a knife around edge of cake, then turn out onto a cake stand or serving tray lined with wax paper strips. Let cool completely (Image 1).
7. Cut dome of cake off about 1/3 of the way down from top. With your fingers, press to make an indentation in middle of base of cake. This will make room for marshmallow filling without wasting any cake.
For the filling/frosting:
1. In bowl of stand mixer, beat butter until fluffy. Add marshmallow creme and beat again, scraping down sides and bottom of bowl as needed.
2. When thoroughly combined, remove 1 cup of white mixture and place in center of cut cake. Place top of cake over marshmallow center and line up edges as best as possible.
3. Add 1 cup of confectioners' sugar to remaining frosting. Mix well.
4. Use a small dab of pink food coloring to tint frosting pastel pink (Image 2). Make sure to scrape down sides and bottom of bowl so no white streaks remain. Frost cake with an offset spatula (Image 3).
5. In a medium bowl, tint coconut with a drop of pink gel food coloring (Image 4). Mix well — you can use a fork but I found my fingers did a much better job.
6. Coat frosted cake with pink coconut. Remove wax paper strips from underneath cake and tidy up serving plate edges if coconut remnants are present.
