Copycat Olive Garden Chocolate Lasagna
"This is a copycat recipe posted by request -- I have not made this recipe, and so the times are just a guess. You have to practice making the frosting in order to get the consistency right. The filling is softer than the top frosting but the flavor is exactly the same (which is why you should use the same recipe for both). You should have no trouble finding clear almond and clear vanilla extract. The colorless butter flavor is a little more difficult. If you can't find it anywhere else, Wilton sells it online.)"
- Ready In:
- 3hrs 50mins
- Ingredients:
- 18
- Serves:
-
10-12
ingredients
-
FOR THE CAKE
- 6 cups cake flour
- 5 1⁄4 cups sugar
- 2 1⁄4 cups hershey's cocoa
- 2 tablespoons baking soda
- 4 1⁄2 cups milk
- 1 1⁄2 cups butter
- 12 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
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FOR THE BUTTER CREAM
- 2⁄3 cup water
- 4 tablespoons meringue powder
- 12 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
- 1 1⁄4 cups shortening
- 3⁄4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon clear almond extract
- 1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon colorless butter flavoring
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MISCELLANEOUS
- 1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Hershey's syrup
directions
- Heat oven to 350°F Grease three 10-inch springform pans.
- In mixing bowl, stir together sifted cake flour, sugar, Hershey 's Cocoa and baking soda. Add butter and mix well. Add milk, eggs and vanilla. Mix thoroughly.
- Pour about 5 cups of the cake batter into each prepared pan. Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in cake center comes out clean.
- Cool for 10 minutes before you remove the cake from the pan, then cool completely on a wire rack.
- To make buttercream filling, combine water and meringue powder; whip at high speed until peaks form. Add 4 cups of sugar, one cup at a time, beating after each addition at low speed.
- Alternately add shortening and remainder of sugar. Add salt and flavorings; beat at low speed until smooth. Thin out ½ of the frosting with a little extra water. The thinned frosting is used as the filling between layers.
- To assemble the cake, place one 10 inch cake on a large round plate or a large round cake platter. Spread half of the thinned frosting on top, frosting only the top of the cake (not the sides). Sprinkle very lightly with semi-sweet chocolate chips. (There are very few chips on this layer, usually only 1 or 2 per wedge, so sprinkle very, very lightly).
- Place the second cake on top of the first. Frost the top with the remaining thinned frosting. Sprinkle with semi-sweet chocolate chips. (You can be a bit more generous with this layer).
- Place the third layer on top of the second. Frost the top with all of the butter cream that was NOT thinned. This is a thick layer of frosting so pile it on, and try to get the top as smooth as you can. Sprinkle with semi-sweet chocolate chips.
- To serve, cut the cake into wedges, as you would cut a pizza. Using Hershey's chocolate syrup, create a design on your dessert plate. Place the wedge of chocolate lasagna at the 11 o'clock position on your dessert plate with the point facing down, so that you can see some of the syrup design.
- NOTE: The frosting seems more authentic if you let it set up (sit out) for an hour at room temperature. Wrap the sides lightly with foil to keep the cake from drying out as well.
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Reviews
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I make this and add just a little cherry extract to my cake. As for the butter, buy butter-flavored salt and substitute it for the regular salt in the frosting! Enjoy!
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
Millereg
Christmas Island
Gavin "Miller" Duncan passed away November 12, 2004 in Laurel, MD from complications of a "broken" heart. The outpouring of support from the Recipezaar community while his health was declining was a huge comfort to him and even "perked him up" a bit in his final month. Miller was a huge asset to Recipezaar, not only due to his incredible collection of recipes, but his participation in the forums. Miller was known for his wonderful low-sodium recipes, his warmth, and last, but not least, his wicked, dry sense of humor.
Liza at Recipezaar
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No, the picture to the left is not me. It is, in fact, a picture of famous TV Chef Jamie Oliver (a/k/a Thpit Boy)’s grandfather, the late Sir Topaz McWhacker. Note the strong family resemblance, most noticeable in the nose, eyebrows, and general lack of cleanliness Legend has it that Topaz taught Thpit everything that he knows about whacking and about only washing and combing his hair twice a year.
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Instead of the trivia that many Recipezaar members have displayed on their “About Me” pages, I thought it might be a tad more helpful if I were to provide some beneficial information that you can put to good practical use either in your own kitchen or when you are watching the antics of some celebrated TV chefs. So, for your enlightenment.....
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Chairman Kaga:
When he says “Ion Shff”, he really means “Iron Chef” or, perhaps, “I need a Kleenex”
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Chef Paula Deen:
When she says “awl”, she really means “oil”.
When she says “y’all”, she really means “everyone except m’all”.
When she says “bring the water to a bawl”, I have no clue what she means - I thought you could only make a baby “bawl”.
And, boys and girls, you can easily Deenize the sentences that you use in your very own kitchen, such as “All y’all can bawl your corn in olive awl or wrap it in aluminum fawl”.
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Emeril Lagasse:
When he says “confectionery sugar’, he really means “confectioners’ sugar”.
When he says “pappa-reeka”, he really means “paprika”.
When he says “inside of”, he really means “in”.
When he says “a little”, he really means “a lot”. Have you ever tried to count the number of times he says “a little” during any given show? Don’t – it will drive you nuts.
When he says “cardamin”, he really means “cardamom”.
When he says “my water don’t come seasoned”, what he really means is “I need a new joke writer”.
When he says “that www dot food thing”, he really means “I flunked Computerese 101”.
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Iron Chef Morimoto:
When he says “Foo Netwu”, he really means “Food Network”.
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Dessert Dude Jacques Torres:
When he says “I going”, he really means “I am going”. (The verb “to be” has apparently been deleted from the French language.)
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Spit Boy Jamie Oliver:
When he says “whack it in the oven”, he really means “I am into hot, kinky stuff”.
When he says “Bob’s yer uncle”, what he really means is “you’d better ask your aunt how well she REALLY knew that mailman named Robert”.
When he says “rocket”, he really means “an older weapon being used in Iraq”.
When he says “Fewd Netwuk”, he really means “Food Network”.
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Numerous chefs:
When they say “codfish” and “tunafish”, what they really mean is “cod” and “tuna”, respectively. Please note that they use these terms so that you don’t go out and buy “codanimal” or “tunavegetable” by mistake. Having said that, I have no clue as to why they don’t refer to “troutfish”, “salmonfish”, “red snapperfish”, etc., etc.
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Giggly-Wiggly Rachael Ray:
When she says “EVOO”, she really means “don’t use BOCO (boring old corn oil)”.
When she says “a little lettuce action going on”, she really means “with only 8 minutes left in the game, cabbages are still in the lead, but lettuces are making a strong comeback”.
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Two Fat Ladies:
When they say “I gwing”, they really mean “I am going” or “Sorry, but we have been watching too many episodes of Jacques Torres’ show”.
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Please note that the above is not all-inclusive. If there are other celebrity chef words or phrases that have you stumped, please post an "ISO" message in the discussion forums and I will find the translation for you.
