Thompson Family Tree

This cake was so much fun to make. I cleaned out all of my recipes, and was looking through all of the little recipe books that I have and I came across this yummy dessert. The recipe is from Nestle Morsels Sweet Celebrations! It is under the Grand Finales chapter.

The picture in the booklet just looks so good. So I decided to make the cake for Mother's Day. It only took about an hour to do the mixing and baking. I did the first part Sunday morning before church, and finished it up Sunday afternoon.

The cake is made up of thin layers of yummy cake and is topped off with a sour cream topping.

I am sure that you are wondering how I made all of those layers. When I tell you, you will think no way.......you "broil" each layer. That's right BROIL! Crazy I know.

Don't let the instructions scare you away from giving this recipe a try. It really was fun, and pretty easy, and it taste sooooo good. Everyone enjoyed this cake. It is a heavy textured cake, some people thought it kind of tasted like cheesecake. It does seem to have a creamy feel in your mouth. I think that is from the sour cream topping. Your guest will be impressed, and wont believe you when you tell them that each layer is broiled. So give it a try. I know that I will make this recipe again!

Pre-heat your over on broil and grease your spring form pan. Make sure that your oven rack is as close to the broiler as it can get and still slide the spring form pan in.

All of the chocolate in this recipe is melted semi sweet chocolate chips. I melted them in the microwave. Watch your chip melt, check them every 30 seconds. You don't want to burn the chocolate.

While the melted chocolate is cooling, separate your eggs. You will use both the yokes and the egg whites.

Mix the dry ingredients together and set aside. Place the butter into you mixing bowl and cream, add the sugar and vanilla and beat until fluffy. Add the egg yokes one at a time. Slowly add the flour and cornstarch mixture-beat in slowly so that you don't have flour all over your kitchen. Then take half of the batter out of your mixing bowl and place it in another bowl.

Mix the cooled melted chocolate into the remaining batter. Remove the chocolate batter to another bowl. Then clean your main bowl and beater.

Pour the egg whites into the mixing bowl. Beat the egg white until soft peaks form.

Gradually add the remain sugar to the egg whites.

Beat until stiff peaks form.

Divide the egg whites between the two batters and fold in. The batter may look a bit curdled but that is OK.

Spread a scant-not a whole 1/2 cup of chocolate batter into the bottom of a greased spring form pan.

I love using my spring form pan. It is so easy to get the cake or whatever you make in it, out. The hardest part about a spring form pan is getting the bottom into the sides of the pan right.

I used the back of a large spoon to spread the batter. Use a different spoon and measuring cup for each batter.

Slide the pan into the oven and set the time for 2 minutes. When the time goes off remove the pan from the oven. Remember the pan will be hot. Spread a scant 1/2 cup plain/vanilla batter on top of the cooked chocolate layer. Cook again for 2 minutes. Repeat until all the batter is gone. You will have about nine or ten layers of cake.

While the cake layers cook mix the sour cream mixture, it needs to be ready when all of the cake layers are cooked.

Spread the sour cream mixture on top of the cooked cake and broil for 1 minute. Remove from the oven and cool for 15 minutes. The cake will pull away from the sides of the spring form pan as it cools. Remove the sides of the pan and cool the cake completely.

When the cake is completely cooled, melt the chocolate chips for the sour cream frosting. This recipe doesn't make a lot of frosting but it makes plenty for the cake. It is good with leftover strawberries too.

Frost the side of the cake. This is so easy with the bottom of the spring form pan still holding the cake. Place some of the frosting in the center of the cake plate/stand, and place the cake, spring form pan bottom and all on top of the frosting. The frosting will hold the cake in place on the cake stand.

Wash and dry your strawberries, slice the stems off of the strawberries and cut in half. Place on top of the sour cream topping.

With a large star tip in your in your pastry bag, load the bag with the remaining frosting. Pipe the frosting onto the top of your cake. I piped some frosting around the bottom of the cake, but I think that it would have looked better without that.

Here is the complete recipe.

1 6oz cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided (1/3 cup for cake)

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar, divided

1 teaspoon vanilla

7 eggs, separated

2/3 cup flour

3 Tablespoons cornstarch

Sour Cream layer

2/3 cup sour cream

3 Tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Chocolate Sour Cream frosting

2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

3 Tablespoons butter

1/3 cup sour cream

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

2-2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Garnish

Fresh strawberries, halved

Cake:Preheat broiler. Melt 1/3 cup chocolate chips in the microwave or on hot, not boiling water, cool. Beat together butter, 1/2 cup sugar, and vanilla until fluffy. Add egg yokes, 1 at a time, beating well after each yoke. Combine flour and cornstarch; stir into butter mixture. Divide batter in half, leaving half in mixing bowl. Mix in cooled melted chocolate chips. Set both batters aside. In a clean mixing bowl beat egg white until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar; beat until stiff peaks form. Fold half the beaten whites into each portion of batter. Spread a scant 1/2 cup of chocolate batter in bottom of greased 9-inch spring form pan. Place pan under broiler and cook for 2 minutes. Spread a scant 1/2 cup of vanilla batter on top of chocolate cake layer. Broil for 2 minutes. Repeat until all batter is used. Spread top layer with sour cream mixture and broil for 1 minute. Cool 15 minutes, remove sides of pan and cool completely. Frost sides of cake with chocolate frosting. Arrange strawberries on top of cake. Pipe remain frosting onto top of cake between strawberries. Chill. Serves about 10.

Sour Cream layer. Combine sour cream, sugar and lemon juice.

Chocolate Sour Cream frosting

Melt 2/3 cups of chocolate chips and butter, stir till smooth. Cool for 10 minutes. Stir in sour cream and vanilla. Gradually beat in powdered sugar until frosting is smooth and spreading consistency.

Enjoy!