Princess Castle Birthday Cake

I have a princess living in my home. She requested a princess castle cake for her birthday a while back and one can never say no to a princess. Especially one as cute and sweet as my princess :)

I doubled the below cake recipe to make this castle cake. I used a 9x13 sheet cake pan and a loaf pan to make the two tiers. (Cut each cake in half and layered them on top of each other). By filling the pans 2/3 full, I did have a little batter left over in which I used to make a few cupcakes. (Makes excellent cupcakes too!) I also filled fresh strawberries and a thin layer of strawberry jam in between the cake layers to give extra texture and added moistness.


I used regular buttercream icing, tinted to the colors of my choice, to ice the cake. I used a sugar cone, inverted over a regular ice cream cone to make the towers. And I used mini marshmallows to decorate. I am so pleased how it turned out. It wasn't a difficult cake to make but it did take a couple of hours to finish. Don't forget to add candles and sparklers, really adds to the fun!

I have used this recipe a couple of times. It's one of my keepers. It's truly decadent and chocolatey and I've had many folks all comment how tasty it is. The best part is that it really is moist and gooey. I plan on making it every time a prince or princess requests chocolate cake.

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princess castle decadent chocolate cake
makes two 9 inch cake pan cakes

2 1/2 cups cake flour (or use all-purpose white flour and substitute with 5 Tbsp cornstarch & 1.5 tsp baking powder)
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
3 1/2 ounces semisweet or bittersweet dark chocolate, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups cold water

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy. Add the cooled chocolate and vanilla and beat for 3 minutes to incorporate. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat for another 3 minutes. Gradually mix in the dry ingredients in 3 batches, alternating with the cold water. Beat for 1 minute after each addition to incorporate the ingredients. Mix until the batter is smooth.

Coat 2 (9-inch) round cake pans with non-stick cooking spray. Cut 2 circles of parchment paper to fit the pan bottoms and place them inside the pans; then spray the paper for added non-stick insurance. Pour batter into the prepared pans and smooth the surface with a spatula; the pans should be 2/3 full. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes at 350F.

Leave to cool for 40 minutes. Turn the cakes out of the pans and remove the paper. Decorate!

Recipe from: A Gooey, Decadent Chocolate Cake, Food network website