This was a cake I made in dedication of my (now ex) co-worker Karen, who was celebrating her husband’s birthday. She is a very sweet person who works really hard, and tries her hardest to make things easier for everyone around her, so naturally, I just wanted to help her when she said that she had no time to bring him a cake for his birthday. Well, that and as a compulsive baking addict, I just kind of had to use any excuse to bake (and baking for somebody who I respect and outright adore is honestly the perfect excuse).

For the cake, I wanted to do something inspired by angels and devils, since that’s kind of the best cake to make for a couple. The devil’s food cake beneath consists of layers of chocolate cake with chocolate mousse and glaze, while the angel food is vanilla spongecake with lemon mousse, blackberry centers, and a pink glaze, garnished with white chocolate angel feathers.

For the chocolate cake:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1 cup boiling coffee
a pinch of salt
2 egg whites
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons Chinese black vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup oil

Whip egg whites with sugar, baking soda, vanilla, and vinegar until stiff. Melt down the chocolate in the water and oil and combine with the whipped egg whites. Sift together the flour and cocoa. Combine ingredients together. Pour onto a lined baking tray and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. Cool completely. Cut two 6 inch rounds of the cake.

For the chocolate mousse:
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 egg yolks
1 1/2 teaspoons gelatin powder + 1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup coffee (1 1/2 tablespoons coffee grounds mixed with 1/4 cup water then strained)
1/3 cup granulated sugar

Melt gelatin into coffee. Temper egg yolks and sugar with the coffee. Melt down the chocolate chips and fold into the egg yolk mixture then allow to cool to room temperature. Whip cream to stiff peaks. Fold together. Line the 6 inch ring mold, then add in one layer of the cake, then the mousse, then another layer of the cake. Refrigerate.

For the chocolate glaze:
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon gelatin powder + 1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons coffee

Melt ingredients together. Pour onto the chocolate cake and chill down to set.

For the vanilla spongecake:
3 egg whites
1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon canola oil

Whip egg whites with sugar, baking powder, cream of tartar, and vanilla until stiff. Sift the flour. Mix together the lemon juice and canola oil. Fold everything together. Spread out on a lined baking tray and bake at 325 degrees F for 20 minutes. Cool the cake completely before cutting out 3 inch circles.

For the blackberry center:
1/4 cup blackberry puree
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon gelatin powder + 1 tablespoon water
a pinch of salt

Combine ingredients and bring to a simmer. Pass through a strainer then pour into mini silicone half dome molds. Freeze until set.

For the lemon mousse:
2 egg yolks
2/3 cups heavy cream
1 1/4 teaspoons gelatin powder + 1 tablespoon water
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon water
1/3 cup granulated sugar

Simmer gelatin, lemon juice, zest, and water together. Temper with egg yolks and sugar. Whisk over medium high heat for 2 minutes then strain out the zest. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature. Whip heavy cream until stiff. Fold together and pipe into silicone half dome molds with 3 inch diameters. Press the blackberry centers into the mousses and scrape off any excess mousse before you freeze solid.

For the pink glaze:
1/4 cup blackberry puree
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1 packet gelatin powder + 3 tablespoons water
a pinch of salt
3 tablespoons lemon juice

Bring gelatin, puree, lemon juice, and salt to a simmer. Take off heat and add in white chocolate chips. Allow to sit for another minute before pureeing. Strain to remove air bubbles. Store until it is time to pour, in which case, you will need to reheat the glaze to 90 degrees F.

For the white chocolate feathers:
White chocolate

Temper the white chocolate over a double boiler. Using an offset spatula or a paring knife, as well as parchment or acetate, cover the surface of the blade against the white chocolate then press against the nonstick surface. Slowly remove the blade and pull downwards to from the quill of the feather. Repeat this until you have as many feathers as you want. Refrigerate until set.

Assembly:
Press the vanilla cake rounds onto the half dome mousses, then glaze with the pink glaze to finish. Stack the two on top of each other and then on top of the set chocolate cake. Garnish with the white chocolate feathers.