Unique Wedding Cakes

Mexican Chocolate Cakes on the sides; Banana Nut Cake in the middle

I usually save my food/recipe posts for the week-end, but I have been rather busy with my son's wedding this past week-end and many people requested the recipe I am sharing today.


Being the groom's mom is significantly easier than being the bride's mom.  I agreed to be responsible for the cakes for my oldest son's wedding.  He and his sweet bride wanted cakes exactly like my daughter made for her January wedding.

So, with help from my daughter, we created the cakes you see in the photo.  I baked and froze the cakes, my daughter worked her magic on assembling and decorating.

I posted the Marvelous Banana Nut Cake recipe after her wedding. Many people at my son's wedding loved the Mexican Chocolate Cake with Mascarpone frosting.

This cake has a unique flavor because it includes cinnamon and cayenne pepper in the batter.  The frosting is really good too, if you don't like your frosting to be super sweet.

My daughter found the recipe at BakedBree's blog.
Jump over to her post to see how she keeps the cake from doming in the middle.  I have used this technique, but bought the Wilton Bake Even Strip Set to make it easier for all the cakes I baked.

I baked the cakes in 3- 9" pans for about 30 minutes instead of 2-8" pans. 

MEXICAN CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH MASCARPONE FROSTING

1 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 3/4 cups flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 Tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 Tablespoons vanilla

Mix all dry ingredients together in mixing bowl.  Add wet ingredients.  Mix with hand mixer on low speed until mixed well.

Pour batter into round cake pans that have been prepared by greasing and putting parchment paper in the bottom of pan. Grease parchment paper.

Bake at 350 degrees.  If using 3 pans, bake about 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.  If using 2 pans, bake 45-50 minutes.

Let cool in pans 10 minutes.   Turn out on wire rack.

If you are going to freeze your cakes, wrap in plastic wrap and then foil while still warm.

FROSTING

1 (8-ounce) tub of mascarpone cheese
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar
pinch of salt
2 cups heavy cream

Whisk together everything but cream.

In separate bowl, with electric mixer, whip heavy cream until stiff peaks form.

Fold the mascarpone mixture into the cream mixture. 

We cut each layer in half (torted) to create 6 layers.  Frost between layers and on outside of cake.  Refrigerate cake if not serving immediately.  Refrigerate leftovers.

If you have leftover frosting, it is really good used as a coffee creamer!

You may have noticed the same cake topper in this photo and the banana cake photo from my daughter's wedding.  I think my children may have started a tradition of using their grandparents cake topper from their 1960 wedding!