;)
Chocolate Ribbon Cake
This fancy dessert is sure to become a family favorite for the holidays!
Prep time: 45 min.
Baking time: 27-32 min.
Decoration time: 60 min.
Difficulty: Challenging
What you'll need:
- 2 bags DOVE® Brand Rich Dark Chocolate
- 1 bag SNICKERS® Brand Minis
- 1 bag M&M'S® Brand Milk Chocolate Candies for the Holidays
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup light corn syrup
- 1 18.25-oz. box Devil's food cake mix
- 2 16-oz. cans vanilla frosting
- Plastic wrap
- 2 9-inch round cake pans
- Waxed paper
- Small, sharp knife
- Resealable plastic bag or pastry bag
- Rolling pin
What to do:
- For the bow & ribbon mixture:
- Unwrap the first bag of DOVE® Brand Rich Dark Chocolate pieces and place them in a large, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave until just melted, about 1 minute. Stir in the corn syrup until thoroughly blended. Cover with plastic wrap; set aside at room temperature for at least 4 hours. (If you find this mixture is still too soft, refrigerate about 15 minutes.) The mixture can be made up to 2 days in advance, if kept covered at room temperature.
- For the chocolate filling:
- Bring the heavy cream to a simmer in a large pot over medium heat. Remove from the heat and add the second bag of DOVE® Brand Rich Dark Chocolate. Cover and set aside for 5 minutes. Then uncover and stir until the mixture is smooth. Refrigerate until chilled and slightly thickened, about 30 minutes.
- For the cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line the two cake pans with the wax paper; grease and flour them. Roughly chop 20 SNICKERS® Brand Minis (2 cups); set aside. Prepare the cake mix according to the package directions. Fold the chopped SNICKERS® Brand Minis into the batter before dividing the batter between the prepared cake pans. Bake for 27 to 32 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool, about 10 minutes. Invert and let cool completely.
- For the frosting:
- Place the chocolate filling into a large mixing bowl and beat until thick and fluffy. Set one cake layer on a serving platter. Spread this layer’s top with the fluffy filling. Place the remaining cake layer on top of the first, and set both in the refrigerator about 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, spoon 1-1/2 cups of the vanilla frosting into a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4-inch round tip (or a resealable plastic bag with a 1/4-inch corner removed); set aside. Frost the cake with the remaining vanilla frosting; return it to the refrigerator until ready to decorate.
- For the ribbon and bow:
- Divide the chocolate mixture in half. For the bow, roll one piece between two sheets of wax paper into a 9 x 10-inch rectangle. Cut this into 18 strips, each about 4-1/2 x 1 inches wide; set aside. For the ribbon, roll the remaining piece between two sheets of wax paper into a 5 x 14-inch rectangle. Cut this into two 14-inch-long strips; trim the strips edges just to make them straight. Place the strips into the refrigerator until they’re ready to use.
- Remove the cake from the refrigerator. Peel the small chocolate strips off of the wax paper. Shape the strips into loops and pinch the ends closed. Using the photo as a guide, arrange nine loops on top of the cake: place 6 loops in the center, and top with 3 more loops to make the ribbon.
- Peel the waxed paper from the two larger strips. Wrap them around the sides of the cake, pressing them in slightly. Trim the ends if they overlap so that they make one continuous ribbon.
- Pipe a frosting border around the cake’s base. Randomly pipe dots of vanilla frosting around the chocolate on the cake’s sides. Press an M&M’S® Brand Milk Chocolate Candies for the Holidays piece into each dot.
Tip: If you don’t wish to make the chocolate bow, but want the same dramatic look, try replacing the continuous chocolate strips with a continuous line of store-bought ladyfingers. Wrap a piece of ribbon (3 inches wide and 16 inches long) around the ladyfingers. To replace the top chocolate bow, top the cake with a full, pre-made satin bow.
Makes 20 servings.
