The silos baking competition devil cakes
Our little cakes turned out perfectly!
I absolutely love to bake, and it’s something I now share with my children. Our youngest daughter is an especially gifted baker, so it was no surprise that she enjoyed watching The Silos Baking Competition with me. We absolutely loved contestant Lu! You’ll have to tune in to see who wins! The participants were not only judged on appearance, taste and creativity, but they were judged on compatibility with the Silos Bakery. Having visited the Magnolia Silos, I totally would have chosen these cakes. The bakery on the Silos campus yields many yummy treats (mostly cupcakes), but everything is pretty classic. This little devil cake is just that! It’s a classic, but a spin on a typical chocolate cupcake. We would describe it as literally eating cake with your hands, but my favorite part? It is not messy at all!!! The chocolate doesn’t stick to your fingers and the frosting does not ooze out. We followed the instructions exactly with the exception of subbing almond milk instead of heavy cream, simply because of my daughter’s dairy sensitivity. This is a splurge of a treat, but so very yummy! Lu presented them in little parchment paper bags. How cute would that be? We skipped the packaging and just enjoyed immediately! Lu gets our vote for sure! Let me know if you bake these!
Lu Aussem's Devil Cakes
For the cakes:
¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
½ tsp. vanilla extract
1 ½ cups whole milk, at room temperature (We subbed room temp almond milk because of dairy sensitivity and it worked great!)
3 cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
¾ tsp. baking powder
2 ¼ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. kosher salt
For the filling:
1 cup whole milk (Again, we subbed with almond milk and it was delish!)
6 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
Pinch of kosher salt
2 tsp. vanilla extract
Instructions:
Make the cakes: Preheat the oven to 350°. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl using an electric mixer on medium-low speed, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl using a rubber spatula. Add vanilla and continue mixing on low until well incorporated. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until each egg is fully incorporated. Slowly add the milk to the mixture, mixing until well incorporated.
In a separate large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Sift the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, mixing on low speed until just combined and there are no streaks of flour left in the batter. Spoon the batter by the heaping tablespoon, or use a two-tablespoon cookie scoop, onto the prepared baking sheets spaced 2-inches apart.
Bake for 12-14 minutes, until they have roughly doubled in size. The tops should be springy while the edges remain firm. Transfer the cakes to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Make the filling: In a small saucepan, heat the milk and flour over low heat, whisking constantly to avoid lumps, until the mixture thickens to a mashed-potato-like consistency. Set the mixture aside to cool completely.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl using an electric mixer on medium-speed, beat the butter until light and fluffy.
Add the cooled milk and flour mixture, sugar, vanilla and a pinch of salt. Continue mixing on medium-speed until the filling is light and fluffy, taking time to scrape down the sides of the bowl at least once.
Match up the cakes in twos, taking care that each round is approximately the same size. Spread the filling onto the bottom, flat side of one cake, and place the other cake atop, making a little sandwich.