The Chocolate Castle

by Cindi Sutter, Founder & Editor Spirited Table® - Recipe excerpt from Cakes for Kids by Juliette Lalbaltry. Photograph by Delphine Constantini. Reprinted by permission of Gibbs Smith.

For 6 to 8 kids - Preparation: 1 hour - Baking time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

7 ounces dark chocolate 

1/2 cup unsalted butter + more for the pan 

4 eggs

2/3 cup granulated sugar 

3 /4 cup all-purpose flour + more for the pan

1 /2 teaspoon baking powder

Pinch of salt 

To Decorate

1/2 cup chocolate-hazelnut spread 

20 Lu Prince or other vanilla sandwich cookies 

1 package Cadbury Fingers 

1 Lu Chocolate Barquette or another oval-shaped thumbprint cookie 

4 waffle ice cream cones 

6 marshmallow strawberries or red gumdrops 

1 bag M&M’s Minis 

1 white pastry decorating pen or icing tube 

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Break the chocolate into pieces, cut the butter into cubes, then transfer both ingredients to a measuring cup. Melt in the microwave.

2. Separate the egg yolks and whites into two separate bowls.

3. Add the sugar to the egg yolks and beat until the mixture is light in color. Add the melted chocolate mixture then mix well to incorporate. Sift the flour and baking powder together then whisk into the wet ingredients.

4. Add the salt to the bowl with the egg whites and whisk until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the cake batter.

5. Butter and flour an 8-inch round cake pan then pour the cake batter into the pan.

6. Bake for 35 minutes. Keep baking for a few minutes if the cake isn’t done. Let the cake cool to room temperature before removing it from the pan.

7. Cut out 4 semicircles the same size as half of a sandwich cookie from the 4 “corners” of the cake.

8. Spread the whole cake with chocolate-hazelnut spread then smooth the surface with a rubber spatula.

9. Make 4 towers out of 5 sandwich cookies by placing a dab of chocolate-hazelnut spread between each cookie to hold them together. Place the towers where you cut out the holes in the cake.

10. Cover the side of the cake with Finger cookies, leaving a space about 1 inch wide on one of the sides. Set 1/2 of a chocolate Lu Barquette into that spot to create the door.

11. Cut off the top of the ice cream cones so that they are flat then place one over each of the towers to form the tops. Stick 1 marshmallow strawberry or gumdrop on each point.

12. Add 1 marshmallow strawberry in the center of the cake and one over the door.

13. Place M&M’s all around the towers, attaching them with drops of icing from the pastry decorating pen.