Doughnut Cake With Mocha Whipped Cream
The cake will need to sit overnight before you serve it, so be sure to take that into account when making this recipe. I recommend making the doughnuts, assembling the cake, and making the ganache on one day, then on the second day you can top the cake with ganache and sprinkles, and you're ready to serve it! If you want to make glazed doughnuts to go on top like I did, I recommend using the chocolate and vanilla glazes in this recipe.
Cuisine: Cake
Serves: 12
Ingredients
For the Sour Cream Doughnuts:
13.5 oz (3⅓ cups) cake flour
2¼ tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground nutmeg
5¼ oz (3/4 cup) granulated sugar
1½ oz butter
3 large egg yolks
6 oz (3/4 cup) sour cream
1 quart canola oil, for frying
For the Chocolate Ganache:
4 oz heavy cream
½ tsp instant espresso powder
3 oz semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
For the Mocha Whipped Cream:
3 cups heavy cream
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ cup powdered sugar
2 tsp instant espresso powder
2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
To Make the Sour Cream Doughnuts:
1. Sift the cake flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg together in a bowl.
2. Combine the granulated sugar and butter in the bowl of a large stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
Cream them together until the sugar is moistened and it's the texture of wet sand. Add the egg yolks one at
a time, and mix until the mixture is thick and light.
3. Turn the mixer speed to low and add a third of the flour mixture. When it is mostly mixed in, and just a few
streaks of flour remain, add half of the sour cream. Continue to alternate adding flour and sour cream until
everything is added. Stop the mixer when there are just a few streaks of flour left and scrape down the
bottom and sides of the mixing bowl. The dough will be sticky.
4. Transfer the dough to a clean bowl, cover it with cling wrap, and refrigerate it for an hour to chill.
5. Once chilled, lightly flour your work surface and roll out the dough until it is a little thicker than ¼". Cut out
circles about 11/4" wide using a small circular cutter, then cut a hole in the center about ½" wide. (I used
the top of a large piping tip, Ateco #807, to make these small holes. A small round fondant cutter would
also work well.) Reroll the scraps and continue cutting the doughnuts. I got about 90 small doughnuts from
this batch.
6. Pour the oil into a large saucepan until it's about 1½2" deep. Insert a deep fry thermometer and heat the
oil over medium heat until it is 325 F. During the frying process, you'll want to monitor this temperature
carefully, and take the pan off the heat if it starts climbing too high. It's important that this temperature
remain steady so your doughnuts cook properly, so try always to maintain around 325 F.
7. Fry the doughnuts in small batches until they're puffed and golden, making sure not to overcrowd the pan.
It should only take about 1 minute on each side. Cover a baking sheet with paper towel, and transfer thecooked doughnuts to the sheet to let the excess oil be absorbed. Continue until all of the doughnuts have
been fried. Let them cool completely before assembling the cake.
To Make the Whipped Cream and Assemble:
1. Pour the cream into a chilled mixing bowl. Sift the powdered sugar, cocoa and espresso powder over the
cream, and add the vanilla extract. Whip until the cream holds firm peaks.
2. Place a cake cardboard in the bottom of a 7inch springform pan. Place a 4inch acetate cake collar around
the inside of the pan. If you don't have an acetate collar, you can form a tall ring with aluminum foil—you
just need something to extend the top of the springform pan about 4 inches. You can also use a different
size of springform pan, just be aware that you may not get the same number of layers if you make a larger
cake.
3. Spread a thin layer of mocha whipped cream on the bottom of the cake cardboard. Arrange a ring of
doughnuts around the edge of the cardboard, then fill in the center with more doughnuts, cutting some if
necessary to try and cover as much of the space as possible. Top this layer of doughnuts with a thick layer
of mocha whipped cream, spreading it out almost to the edge of the cake. Add another layer of doughnuts,
then continue to alternate layers of cream and doughnuts until you have four layers of doughnuts total.
4. Top the top layer of doughnuts with more whipped cream, spreading it into a smooth, even layer on top.
Cover the cake with a loose tent of plastic wrap, and refrigerate it overnight so the doughnuts soften and
everything melds together.
To Make the Chocolate Ganache:
1. Pour the cream into a small saucepan and add the espresso powder, and turn the heat to mediumhigh.
Place the chopped semisweet chocolate in a medium bowl nearby. Bring the cream to a simmer, so that
bubbles appear along the side of the pan.
2. Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate, and let it sit for one minute to soften the chocolate. Whisk
them together gently until the mixture is shiny and smooth. Press a layer of cling wrap on top and let sit at
room temperature until you're ready to use it.
To Finish the Cake:
1. Unclasp the springform pan and remove the cake from the pan. Unwind the acetate cake collar or foil collar
from the sides of the cake, and place the cake on your serving platter.
2. If the ganache has firmed up too much to be easily pourable, warm it in the microwave in short 5 or 6
second intervals, whisking often, until it is liquid and flows easily. Pour it on top of the cake, and gently
spread it to the edge of the cake so some of it drips down. Add sprinkles on top, if desired.
3. Refrigerate the cake for about 20 minutes to set the ganache. Once set, top with additional small
doughnuts, whipped cream, or any other garnishes if desired.
Notes
The doughnut recipe is adapted from the excellent book Top Pot HandForged Doughnuts.
Recipe by SugarHero at http://www.sugarhero.com/doughnutcakemochawhippedcream/
