Monster Cake inspired by Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Zelda: Breath of the Wild may very well be the first open-world RPG developed for the Switch, released in 2017, not including DLC, to so prominently feature cooking in its story and strategy. At least it will be in my mind until someone angrily corrects me in the comments. Seldom have fruits and vegetables dancing in a wok over an open fire yielded so many hearty stews, stamina potions, and pixelated monstrosities.
Ingredients
6 ounces white chocolate
1/4 cup corn syrup
Violet food coloring/ube extract
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
7 large eggs, separated
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup whole milk
4 ounces grated ube (or other purple/white yam)
3-4 tsp ube extract
Violet food coloring as necessary
3/4 cup sugar
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
4 ounces goat butter (or normal unsalted butter), at room temperature
4 cups sifted powdered sugar
1-2 tsp ube extract/violet food coloring
4 ounces durian meat (or other tropical fruit - coconut, pineapple, mango would work very well)
Brown food coloring as necessary
Method
Makes six 4-inch cakes
Melt white chocolate in a double boiler. Fold in corn syrup, mix until homogenous and a thick paste forms. Wrap in plastic wrap and allow to set in a cool room for 24 hours. Remove from plastic wrap, add a few drops of ube extract or food coloring, and fold into the chocolate until the desired color is achieved. If the chocolate starts to become oily, add a bit of sifted corn starch. Shape into horns and set aside, refrigerating if the chocolate needs to firm up.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Sift together flour, baking powder, 3/4 cup sugar, and salt. Whisk to combine. In a separate bowl, whisk together egg yolks, vegetable oil, milk, ube, ube extract, and food coloring, until a deep purple color is achieved, and whisk together with dry ingredients. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat egg whites until light and frothy. Add 3/4 cup sugar, and beat with the whisk attachment until glossy stiff peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the cake batter, taking care not to deflate them.
Lightly oil 4-inch mini springform pans (or a cupcake pan or large casserole), and fill 3/4 full with cake batter. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until a tester comes out clean, and the exterior of the cake is golden brown. Remove from the oven, allow to cool 10 minutes, and remove from springforms/cake pans. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together cream cheese and butter. Add sifted powdered sugar and mix slowly, gradually increasing mixer speed as sugar is incorporated, until a thick frosting forms. Divide in half, and mix first half of frosting with ube extract until light purple. Beat together second half with durian or fruit of choice, coloring with brown food color as necessary until the correct color is achieved.
Assemble the cakes: slice the cakes in half latitudinally, and spread on a generous layer of light purple frosting. Top with top half of cake, pipe on a cone of durian frosting, and press white chocolate horns into each side of the frosting.