Puzzle Cake

 I have been intrigued by the concept of a puzzle cake ever since I saw a picture of one in a cookbook. It is not a very common cake, probably because it takes some time to make and seems a bit complicated, Really, it isn't, it just takes some patience and a delicate touch. I decided to attempt to make one for the new year. Apparently each puzzle cake you make improves over the last one, which makes sense, because the first time you really don't know what you are doing or how it will work out. However, I think for my first attempt this puzzle cake turned out fairly well. Here from the outside, it simply looks like a regular cake. Actually it looks like a regular cake with a fancy chocolate collar around it, but more on that aspect of the cake later. 

 Now, cut into the cake and look at the layers. The distinct layers are a little difficult to make out. That's because a puzzle cake is supposed to be puzzling - there is a certain technique to get the layers looking complicated like that and it is quite neat. My layers could definitely be cleaner and more pronounced, but like I said it was my first attempt. I also ran out of cake layers - I thought I would have three layers each of both chocolate and white cake, but my recipe didn't make as much batter as expected and I didn't have the chance to make more cake. Next time I may also tint the frosting a slightly different color - maybe make a mocha or light cocoa frosting so it doesn't blend in with the cake quite so much.

Here you can see the wacky layers of chocolate and white cake a bit better. You may almost consider it a marble cake, but there is a layer of icing in the middle there too. It makes for quite a tasty cake, as you get some chocolate, vanilla, and frosting in each bite. You can also make puzzle cakes with many more layers and have each layer a different color for a rainbow-style puzzle cake. I will explain more on the process of making a puzzle cake in tomorrow's post.