School-party sheet cake
Cakes
When I bring treats to my girls’ school parties, I don’t want them to be mortified by their mom’s weird food—nor do I want to turn their classmates into hyperactive rascals with empty calories. That means something that looks familiar but tastes better than the original. Enter this easy sheet cake. Zucchini keeps the cocoa–chocolate chip cake extra moist, and sweet potato swirls into a frosting as creamy as that canned stuff, with far more flavor (and no added sugar). Dark chocolate—semisweet or a lower-percentage bittersweet—makes the cake luxurious and sophisticated enough for adults. Kids may ask about the bits of green zucchini in the cake. I’m not a believer in sneaking in veggies, so I tell them. Even if they balk, they still gobble up the cake once they take a bite or hear their friends raving. Party on! <br /> <br />Tips <br />–Use unsweetened pure canned sweet potato puree; it’s usually stocked near the canned pumpkin. Freshly cooked and pureed sweet potato is too granular and thick. <br /> <br />-Chocolate with a cacao content between 55 and 60% makes the frosting perfectly sweet and smooth. <br /> <br />-A glass or ceramic dish is nice for a sheet cake. Bake the cake in the greased dish, cool completely, and frost. You can cut it into pieces right in the dish. I have a Pyrex dish that comes with a stiff plastic lid, making it simple to tote to parties at school or a friend’s house. <br /> <br />-If you plan to cut your cake ahead and place the pieces on a serving platter, use a metal pan. Generally I prefer straight-sided metal cake pans, which produce clean edges. Line the bottom and sides with foil or parchment paper and grease the foil or paper. Once the cake has cooled completely, lift it out using the foil, then frost and cut it. To get perfect slices, you can freeze the frosted cake until firm before slicing, then bring it to room temperature before serving. <br /> <br />Excerpted from BETTER BAKING, (c) 2016 by Genevieve Ko. Reproduced by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt/Rux Martin Books. All rights reserved.
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