Introduction: Make a Domokun Cake
We all love Domokun. But wouldn't Domokun be better if we could eat him? And he was made out of chocolate? I agree. Here are instructions on how to make a Domokun cake of your very own.
Step 1: Get a Reference Image
You need to know what Domokun looks like in order to make a cake version of him/her/it. This was my reference image that I stole off of Google Images. Isn't he a cuddly looking beast?
Step 2: Gather Weapons and Ammo!
Now that we have an image that we are going to try to replicate, we must get supplies. You need lots of ingredients to make a cake of this size. But on the bright side, you can probably feed 20 hungry people with this cake, maybe 30 not-so-hungry people. I personally ate around two thirds of mine, but it took me five days to do it. This might not sound like a lot of cake based off of that, but I eat cake like nobody's business.
I used the following recipe for the cake and the frosting, which was quite tasty: http://www.hersheys.com/recipes/recipes/detail.asp?id=184&page=1&per=10&keyword=perfectly
As you can see, that recipe only makes one 9" x 13" cake. I tripled my recipe for the cake and doubled the frosting recipe.
You'll need the following supplies:
-5 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (cake flour might work too)
-6 cups sugar
-6 cups powdered sugar (AKA confectioner's sugar)
-3 7/12 (yes, seven twelfths) cups cocoa powder (I used Hershey's since it's their recipe)
-3 2/3 cups whole milk (just buy a quart)
-1 cups unsalted butter (honestly, who buys salted butter? Only suckers, that's who!)
-6 eggs
-1 1/2 cups vegetable oil (I used soybean oil)
-8 teaspoons vanilla (You can buy a quart of pure vanilla at Smart & Final for 12 or 13 bucks, which absolutely dominates regular supermarkets like Safeway in price. So buy it from Smart & Final or some discount bulk store)
-4 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
-4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
-1 tablespoon salt
-3 cups boiling water (apparently stores don't sell boiling water, they expect me to make it myself...sigh)
-A 9" x 13" straight sided cake pan (two would be better, three would be best...it's a big cake)
The following items are somewhat negotiable, you need something to use for the eyes, the red mouth background and the teeth. I used the following, feel free to substitute.
-Chocolate eyeballs (I used two See's candy caramel wafer things. Any type of circular chocolate truffle type thing will work wonderfully)
-White candies that you can cut to form teeth
-Raspberries
I used the following recipe for the cake and the frosting, which was quite tasty: http://www.hersheys.com/recipes/recipes/detail.asp?id=184&page=1&per=10&keyword=perfectly
As you can see, that recipe only makes one 9" x 13" cake. I tripled my recipe for the cake and doubled the frosting recipe.
You'll need the following supplies:
-5 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (cake flour might work too)
-6 cups sugar
-6 cups powdered sugar (AKA confectioner's sugar)
-3 7/12 (yes, seven twelfths) cups cocoa powder (I used Hershey's since it's their recipe)
-3 2/3 cups whole milk (just buy a quart)
-1 cups unsalted butter (honestly, who buys salted butter? Only suckers, that's who!)
-6 eggs
-1 1/2 cups vegetable oil (I used soybean oil)
-8 teaspoons vanilla (You can buy a quart of pure vanilla at Smart & Final for 12 or 13 bucks, which absolutely dominates regular supermarkets like Safeway in price. So buy it from Smart & Final or some discount bulk store)
-4 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
-4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
-1 tablespoon salt
-3 cups boiling water (apparently stores don't sell boiling water, they expect me to make it myself...sigh)
-A 9" x 13" straight sided cake pan (two would be better, three would be best...it's a big cake)
The following items are somewhat negotiable, you need something to use for the eyes, the red mouth background and the teeth. I used the following, feel free to substitute.
-Chocolate eyeballs (I used two See's candy caramel wafer things. Any type of circular chocolate truffle type thing will work wonderfully)
-White candies that you can cut to form teeth
-Raspberries
Step 3: Start Following the Recipe
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Do it now. Seriously. Go.
Grease your pans and then flour them. If you don't do this you will be very sorry later. I have no pictures of me doing this step. I was very sorry later. Do it or you will end up with the eternal question, "How do I remove a cake from a sheet cake pan without breaking it into a million pieces?" Indeed.
Throw a pot on the stove and put like 5 cups of water in it. No need to measure, but make sure it's at least 4 cups and not more than 5 or 6 cups. Cover the pot with a lid and turn on the fire! Or if you have an electric stove, do the less exciting sounding turn on the resistor!
Grease your pans and then flour them. If you don't do this you will be very sorry later. I have no pictures of me doing this step. I was very sorry later. Do it or you will end up with the eternal question, "How do I remove a cake from a sheet cake pan without breaking it into a million pieces?" Indeed.
Throw a pot on the stove and put like 5 cups of water in it. No need to measure, but make sure it's at least 4 cups and not more than 5 or 6 cups. Cover the pot with a lid and turn on the fire! Or if you have an electric stove, do the less exciting sounding turn on the resistor!
Step 4: Mix the Dry Ingredients
This is standard baking here. You mix your dries. Later you mix your wets. Then you combine. Your dries for your cake will vary based on how many cake pans you have. If you have three and you can fit all three in your oven, then go for the gusto and throw it all together in the biggest bowl you have. If you only have two or one you'll have to come back later and redo this step again.
Don't just think you'll be clever and mix all the ingredients now and save time. Because then you'll end up with baking soda that gave its all producing gas for you sitting in the bowl instead of in your oven and you'll end up with a dense flat pathetic cake that is no thicker than a piece of pita bread. I will laugh at you. In fact, I'm laughing now. Don't make me smack you, follow my instructions.
NOTE: You might want to double-check my work on these amounts since I don't know how to multiply.
Here is the breakdown for your pans, if you have one pan you use this amount:
2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
Two pans you use this:
4 cups sugar
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon baking soda
2 teaspoon salt
Three pans you use this:
6 cups sugar
5 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 cup cocoa powder
4-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
4-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon salt
Stir the ingredients to produce a nice light brown color. Reminds me of dry cake ingredients stirred together.
Don't just think you'll be clever and mix all the ingredients now and save time. Because then you'll end up with baking soda that gave its all producing gas for you sitting in the bowl instead of in your oven and you'll end up with a dense flat pathetic cake that is no thicker than a piece of pita bread. I will laugh at you. In fact, I'm laughing now. Don't make me smack you, follow my instructions.
NOTE: You might want to double-check my work on these amounts since I don't know how to multiply.
Here is the breakdown for your pans, if you have one pan you use this amount:
2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
Two pans you use this:
4 cups sugar
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon baking soda
2 teaspoon salt
Three pans you use this:
6 cups sugar
5 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 cup cocoa powder
4-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
4-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon salt
Stir the ingredients to produce a nice light brown color. Reminds me of dry cake ingredients stirred together.
Step 5: Wets!
Now onto the wet ingredients. Mix these in a separate container from the dry ingredients. Separate! After you add your wet ingredients stir them together to make something that looks like extremely liquidy vomit. Here are your breakdowns:
1 pan:
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 pans:
4 eggs
2 cup milk
1 cup vegetable oil
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 pans:
6 eggs
3 cup milk
1 1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1 pan:
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 pans:
4 eggs
2 cup milk
1 cup vegetable oil
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 pans:
6 eggs
3 cup milk
1 1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
Step 6: Start Throwing Stuff Together Like a Madman
Hopefully your water from step 3 is boiling by now. If it is, then it is time to start mixing. Dump your wet ingredients (not including the boiling water) into your dry ingredients. Stir like crazy, but don't spill. Those are Domokun guts you're dealing with. Once it is all stirred up it should look a lovely brown color. You'll be tempted to put some on your face to exfoliate your pores. Or you'll come up with a childish diarrhea joke to say to your friends. Very clever, you earned yourself a "Special" sticker.
Step 7: Time to Play With Boiling Water
Measure out your boiling water. Here is the breakdown:
1 pan:
1 cup boiling water
2 pans:
2 cups boiling water
3 pans:
3 cups boiling water
Measure it carefully, don't burn yourself. Not that I don't want you to hurt yourself, but the leavening agents are at work and they need to get into the oven quickly! So no burning. And if you burn yourself, then run your burn under cold water while continuing to work with your feet.
Pour the boiling water into the bowl, stir carefully so you don't splash 212 degree chocolate molten fire all over the place. The batter will become strangely elasticy. You will be slightly concerned. The batter will also be extremely liquidy. You will become even more concerned. Nevertheless, we must continue on.
1 pan:
1 cup boiling water
2 pans:
2 cups boiling water
3 pans:
3 cups boiling water
Measure it carefully, don't burn yourself. Not that I don't want you to hurt yourself, but the leavening agents are at work and they need to get into the oven quickly! So no burning. And if you burn yourself, then run your burn under cold water while continuing to work with your feet.
Pour the boiling water into the bowl, stir carefully so you don't splash 212 degree chocolate molten fire all over the place. The batter will become strangely elasticy. You will be slightly concerned. The batter will also be extremely liquidy. You will become even more concerned. Nevertheless, we must continue on.
Step 8: I Transfered From Mixing Bowl State to Baking Pan University
Time to transfer the contents. You will need to properly divide up your batter into your pans. People with one pan will have the most difficulty here. Do it quickly but get it right. Once the batter is evenly distributed, toss the pans in the oven and set your timer to 30 minutes.
I know the recipe says 35-40, but we're setting it for 30 for two reasons. One, because I say so. Two, because it's better to check early and see if the cake is done. You can't undo baking. Over-baked cake is no good. We want cake that is just barely finished. This way it stays moist. That's the idea anyway.
After the 30 minutes check the middle of the cake with a toothpick or a knife or something similar. If it comes out clean in BOTH cakes then pull them both out. If one needs more time then you can pull the other out, but be sure to set the timer if you are going to come back in two minutes. Otherwise you might forget and end up with a brick instead of fluffy Domokun innards.
I know the recipe says 35-40, but we're setting it for 30 for two reasons. One, because I say so. Two, because it's better to check early and see if the cake is done. You can't undo baking. Over-baked cake is no good. We want cake that is just barely finished. This way it stays moist. That's the idea anyway.
After the 30 minutes check the middle of the cake with a toothpick or a knife or something similar. If it comes out clean in BOTH cakes then pull them both out. If one needs more time then you can pull the other out, but be sure to set the timer if you are going to come back in two minutes. Otherwise you might forget and end up with a brick instead of fluffy Domokun innards.
Step 9: Go Back and Bake More Cake
Here is the part of the instructions where you go back to step 3 and do it all over again unless you had three baking pans. You must have three cakes before you can proceed. Here are two of mine...they look like black holes of chocolate goodness. They aren't burnt though...they're just chocolatey.
Step 10: Sugary Chocolatey Butter Equals Frosting!
Time to make the frosting since you have your three cakes. I doubled the frosting recipe for my three cakes, which gave the the correct amount of frosting. If you want a ridiculous amount of frosting then feel free to make more. Here is Hershey's recipe, which I have doubled here:
2 sticks (1 cup) butter or margarine
1 1/3 cups cocoa powder
6 cups powdered sugar
2/3 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
The recipe calls for melted butter here. I just let my butter sit out for a day. Do what you wish. Add your cocoa to the butter and mix well. Start adding powdered sugar and milk, alternating between the two and mixing before adding more. When you're all done with the sugar and milk you can add more sugar if you want a stiffer frosting or more milk if you want a more spreadable frosting. I added a bit more milk to make sure I could spread the frosting on the cake without destroying it. Finally add your vanilla and mix it in.
2 sticks (1 cup) butter or margarine
1 1/3 cups cocoa powder
6 cups powdered sugar
2/3 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
The recipe calls for melted butter here. I just let my butter sit out for a day. Do what you wish. Add your cocoa to the butter and mix well. Start adding powdered sugar and milk, alternating between the two and mixing before adding more. When you're all done with the sugar and milk you can add more sugar if you want a stiffer frosting or more milk if you want a more spreadable frosting. I added a bit more milk to make sure I could spread the frosting on the cake without destroying it. Finally add your vanilla and mix it in.
Step 11: Assembly Time
Time to start the final leg in the process. Assembly. We have the frosting, we have the cake. Lets introduce the two, shall we? Get your sheets of cake all lined up and ready to go. Get a butter knife or a spatula or some item that can spread frosting.
Find a large serving platter or plate or tray or something that you can move around a 9" x 13" cake with arms and legs attached to it. All I had was a cookie sheet which barely fit the arms and legs. You'll want around 6" on the sides and bottom. Position your cake on whatever you have and apply a thin layer of frosting to the top of One of the sheets of cake. Take another sheet of cake and put it on top of the layer of frosting, make sure its sides are lined up evenly with the first layer. I had to adjust mine a bit after I took this picture. Put a layer of frosting over the top sheet cake.
Find a large serving platter or plate or tray or something that you can move around a 9" x 13" cake with arms and legs attached to it. All I had was a cookie sheet which barely fit the arms and legs. You'll want around 6" on the sides and bottom. Position your cake on whatever you have and apply a thin layer of frosting to the top of One of the sheets of cake. Take another sheet of cake and put it on top of the layer of frosting, make sure its sides are lined up evenly with the first layer. I had to adjust mine a bit after I took this picture. Put a layer of frosting over the top sheet cake.
Step 12: Insta-appendages
Cut out arms and legs out of the third cake. Transfer them to the body and place them in the correct location. Do final shaping with a knife. I should have done a better job with his legs and his arms. The reference picture shows his arms and legs being slightly rounded. He also has a little crotch that his legs fit on both sides of. I failed to look at my reference picture at this point and didn't capture everything perfectly. Domokun also has little hands and the top of his head is slightly rounded. You can get as precise as you want. Take your time cutting the pieces.
Step 13: I Cut My Teeth on Cutting Teeth
Prepare your teeth. I had to cut mine out. You probably will too unless you found white candies that look like teeth. If you did I applaud your awesomeness. You have to find a balance between your cake's body size, your teeth size and the number of teeth you need to make. My reference picture shows Domokun with four teeth on the top and bottom. This would produce a mouth too small on my cake, so I upped his teeth to five on top and on bottom.
Prepare your mouth background (raspberries for me) by cutting them in half if you'd like. I put my teeth on the cake first, then put my raspberries on and then cut raspberries into even smaller pieces to fit between the teeth.
My eyes are round pieces of candy, so they required no preparation, but if yours do, then prepare your eyeballs now and add them to your cake.
Prepare your mouth background (raspberries for me) by cutting them in half if you'd like. I put my teeth on the cake first, then put my raspberries on and then cut raspberries into even smaller pieces to fit between the teeth.
My eyes are round pieces of candy, so they required no preparation, but if yours do, then prepare your eyeballs now and add them to your cake.
Step 14: Our Quest Is Over...
We are finished! Now devour. You'll want to refrigerate the cake since the raspberries will begin to mold if left out. Ask me how I know...yeah. You can probably come up with some realistic looking fur by dusting the frosting with cocoa powder, but I was hesitant to do it for fear of ruining the taste of the cake. It probably would have tasted fine though. Try it out on the excess of the third cake and see how it tastes if you're unsure about it too. I hope you enjoyed making your own edible Domokun. It was a fun little project for me to do.