May recipe week continues! Today’s recipe is another dessert: a chocolate cake with a surprise marzipan layer.
There is a special story behind this cake . . . so, this month the normally paid-subscribers only recipe is my gift to all of you.
As most of you know, I focus on allergy-friendly recipes as part of my autoimmune disease management. Over the years, I’ve met many people who have told me those recipes mean a lot to them, including those with severe food allergies but not necessarily autoimmune disease.
Late last year, I met Maryam De Groef, a fellow health coach and the mother of an allergy angel. Maryam shared with me that some of my recipes had meant the world to their family as they navigated safe eating for their nine-year-old daughter, Zeynah. Zeynah passed in early 2023 due to an anaphylaxis event.
A few weeks ago, I randomly decided to grab a gluten-free chocolate cake mix during my weekly grocery trip. I don’t do much deviating from my grocery list, and I don’t usually make too many treats outside of holidays or special occasions, but I had an idea forming for a layer cake and suddenly felt like I should get the cake mix. A few days after that, I learned from Maryam that Zeynah’s birthday was that same weekend, and Zeynah really relished it when she could have chocolate cake. Sometimes, the universe conspires.
I ended up fully pulling my idea together the following weekend, on Mother’s Day, so this Marzipan Celebration Cake is with kids like Zeynah and moms like Maryam in mind. It is the privilege of a lifetime to have created anything that serves families like theirs.
Marzipan Celebration Cake
(Notes from a Neighbor Original)
Prep Time: 3 hours + setting overnight
Cook Time: 18 mins
Servings: 8
Ingredients
(See the Notes section for helpful tips and modifications for dairy & nut-free options)
Cake
1 box gluten-free chocolate cake mix (I like King Arthur brand)
Stabilized Whipped Cream
2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
2 tablespoons water, cold
2 cups heavy whipping cream, cold
½ cup powdered sugar, sifted
2 teaspoons vanilla
Coconut Milk Soak
¼ cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Marzipan Discs
7 oz. marzipan (I like Solo brand)
Sprinkles
1/8 cup sprinkles (I like Trader Joe’s All-Occasion brand)
Instructions
Cake
Preheat the oven to 375°F and place rack in the center. Line a rimmed 13” x 18” half-sheet pan with parchment. Mix cake per box instructions, but don’t follow baking instructions. Instead . . .
Pour batter onto prepared sheet pan, spread into even layer with spatula.
Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until a knife tip comes out clean.
Transfer baking sheet to a wire rack to cool completely (complete cooling is important!)
While cake is cooling, make stabilized whipped cream, coconut milk soak, and marzipan discs.
Stabilized Whipped Cream
Put both mixing bowl and beaters in freezer for a few minutes.
Put gelatin in a small cup, add water, whisk until gelatin dissolves. Allow to sit for 5 minutes.
Pour cream into cold mixing bowl. Beat on high speed until it begins to thicken. Beat in powdered sugar. Add vanilla and continue beating until soft peaks form. Stop mixing.
Microwave gelatin until it dissolves again, about 5 to 8 seconds. (It should be liquefied but not hot.)
Start mixing cream again, while pouring liquid gelatin into cream in a thin, constant stream, until stiff peaks form. Cover bowl and store whipped cream in refrigerator until cake assembly.
Coconut Milk Soak
Stir coconut milk, sugar, and vanilla until sugar dissolves. Set aside until cake assembly.
Marzipan Discs
Lay a large piece of parchment paper on countertop, tape or weigh down edges. Dust parchment, rolling pin, and hands lightly with powdered sugar.
Knead marzipan and form into a ball, roll out into a roughly 14" circle about 1/8" thick. Use 6” parchment round as a guide or 6” cake ring to cut out two discs. (Store or discard excess marzipan.)
Cake Assembly
To remove cake from sheet pan, run knife around edge of pan, then place sheet of parchment on top of cake.
Place another same size baking sheet on top of the parchment, then invert. Peel parchment away from bottom of cake.
Using a 6" round of parchment as a guide or a 6" cake ring, cut three 6" circles out of cake. (Cake scraps can be frozen for later use.)
Line a 6" cake pan with plastic wrap to completely cover inside pan and substantially hang over sides.
Place 1 layer of cake into prepared pan. Brush with 2 tablespoons coconut milk soak.
Gently place a marzipan disc on top.
Spoon in about 2/3 cup stabilized whipped cream and spread evenly.
Repeat another layer of cake, soak, marzipan, cream — then place last layer of cake on top (it will seem like it all doesn’t fit, push down lightly).
Cover cake tightly with overhanging plastic wrap, transfer to refrigerator for setting overnight. Store remaining 2/3 cup whipped cream in refrigerator.
When you’re ready to finish the Marzipan Celebration Cake, remove it from refrigerator, unfold the plastic from the top, invert onto serving plate. Lift up pan and remove all plastic wrap. Evenly spread remaining whipped cream on the top and sprinkle generously with sprinkles.
Keep the cake refrigerated until ready to serve. Enjoy!
Notes:
To make this cake dairy-free, replace the whipped cream with a pre-made dairy-free whipped cream (I like So Delicious brand) or try a homemade recipe (like this one). To make it nut-free, simply eliminate the marzipan disc layer. Trust me, this is still a special, flavorful cake!
I call this sort of recipe “semi-homemade” in that it utilizes cake mix and pre-made marzipan. I like recipes like this because they save time on an already elaborate process, and I appreciate the consistency of the cake mix (which can be tricky with allergen baking) and pre-made marzipan. If you have from-scratch chocolate cake and/or marzipan recipes you’d like to use, feel free to sub them in.
Speaking of elaborate processes, if you want to make this cake much more simply, follow the instructions on the cake mix box for baking in a 9x13 pan. Allow the cake to cool completely, brush on the coconut milk soak, roll out your marzipan to roughly a 9x13 rectangle, layer onto the cake, and then top with the whipped cream and sprinkles. It's maybe not quite as fancy looking as a layer cake, but it still tastes amazing!
The whipped cream layers may come out with little plastic wrap lines in them from setting overnight. I’m fine with the look, but if you want it more “refined,” consider smoothing lightly with a spatula or making extra whipped cream to cover the full sides of your cake.
One Small Thing (5/22/24):
As a reminder, “One Small Thing” is a call to a community care step that I sometimes include in my notes to you all.
Zeynah was an organ donor who transformed lives through an incredible act of community care. Maryam has become an amazing advocate for the gift of organ donation, something I respect very much because my own family has been on the receiving end of that gift (my younger brother can see thanks to donation). If you’re not yet registered as a donor, consider taking that step. In the US, you can learn more here.
Looks amazing!
Oh I am holding this beautiful family in my heart! Thank you for sharing! I have to try for Nai, and will think of them. Prayers ♥️🙏🏾♥️🙏🏾 and love.