cocoa cake topping

as an alternative to decorating a small cake or cupcake with icing, Martha Stewart provides stencil forms in a variety of patterns which can be used with cocoa or powdered sugar.  this week, i experimented with cocoa powder which was sweetened, instead of cocoa powder for baking.  the taste was wonderful and provided just the adequate amount of sweetness, but much less calories than frosting.
by using a high quality cocoa, the taste was spectacular and the appearance of the cocoa was rich.  it is important to make certain that the cake stencil is firmly placed on the cake, while sifting the cocoa through a sieve to remove any large particles of cocoa.

i used the snowflake pattern for the one layer vanilla cake, and then sprinkled with powdered sugar to accent the snowflakes.

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