posted by Becky 01-26-100 8:18 PM
Sixteen-Layer Chocolate Cream Cake
1 lb. sweet butter
2 cup sugar
12 eggs, separated
4 cups cake flour
1/2 tsp. salt
Grated orange peel
1 tbsp. orange brandy or flavoring
8 tbsp. cocoa
6 tbsp. heavy cream or sour cream
powdered sugar
Preheat to 350°. Grease four 9 inch cake pans.
In a large bowl, cream the butter while adding one cup of the sugar. Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each has been added.
Sift the flour and salt together, then add to the butter mixture. Add the orange peel and brandy (or flavoring). Set aside.
Beat the egg whites until quite stiff. Add the rest of the sugar, one tablespoon at a time, beating after each tbsp. and continue beating until to beat until the whites form a stiff meringue.
Fold the beaten egg whites very carefully into the flour mixture.
Divide the batter in half, putting it into two bowls. To one of the bowls, add the cocoa and the cream.
Put 3 tbsp. of white batter in each of the four pans and smooth with a spatula into as thin a layer as possible.
Bake these for 15 minutes, then turn out of the pans onto a cloth sprinkled with powdered sugar. Cover them with another cloth so they will not dry out.
Make four more layers of the white cake (pans do not need to be washed and regreased for the second baking). Turn out and cover the second set of layers. After finishing the white layers, wash and grease pans.
Bake 8 thin layers of the chocolate batter in the same manner as the white layers. While these are cooling, make the custard filling which will hold the layers together.
Custard Filling:
1 pint cream, or half and half
6 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup flour
1/2 lb. sweet butter
2 tsp. vanilla
Put cream, yolks, sugar, salt and flour in the top of a double boiler and cook until thick. Pour mixture into a bowl and gradually beat in the butter. Keep beating until cool and creamy. Add vanilla.
Start constructing cake:
Alternate layers of cake, (white, chocolate, white, chocolate) with a coating of custard between each layer. Continue until all 16 layers have been stacked. Do not put custard on top of the top layer.
Icing:
1 cup sweet butter
2 cups powdered sugar
3/4 cup cocoa
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
dash of salt
2 tbsp. hot black coffee
toasted almonds, opt
Cream the butter. Gradually add the sugar, cocoa, eggs, vanilla, and salt, beating well. Beat until creamy, then add coffee.
Frost the sides and top of the cake. Decorate with toasted almonds if desired.
Source: Grandma Rose's Book of Sinfully Delicious Cakes, Cookies, Pies, Cheesecakes, Cake Rolls and Pastries