Momofuku Inspired Chocolate Stout, Pretzel, and Marshmallow Cake

My 2nd birthday cake comes to you almost a month after my actual birthday and barely in time for St. Patrick’s day (even though it’s St. Patty’s inspired). I wish I could say I was just too busy to make it in a timely manner, but really, it was put off due to sheer intimidation. This year, I really wanted one of my birthday cakes to be a Momofuku Milk Bar cake. At first, I toyed with the idea of ordering one online. I couldn’t decide on a flavor, so I was going to pretend that I had an upcoming wedding (even though I got married last year) and order the sampler pack. Slightly pathetic, I know, but my idea of a good birthday is eating an entire sampler pack of Momofuku cake in my pajamas while watching cheesy 90’s movies on Netflix. Hawt.
In the end though, I just couldn’t justify paying a shipping cost that was significantly more than the actual cake, so I figured it was time to put on my big girl pants and make one. I will say that once I assembled all of the ingredients and equipment, it was not as difficult as I made it out to be in my head. Time consuming, yes, but not so hard. I also think that making this cake would have been a lot less stressful had I not tried to do everything in a 24 hour period. I would actually recommend spacing it out over 5-7 days if you can, since a lot of it can be made in advance. I would also recommend reading through the entire recipe and familiarizing yourself with the process before you start making this cake.

After browsing the website, I decided on making the Salted Pretzel Cake because I love the idea of beer in a cake. I just recently discovered that I like beer, but only if it’s a darker beer that tastes like chocolate (such as this one). After checking out the Momofuku Milk Bar Cookbook from the library, I realized that other than the Pretzel Crunch, the rest of the Salted Pretzel Cake wasn’t in there. I was able to find the cake recipe online, but some of the instructions weren’t clear (or in weight measurements like the cookbook). For example, the recipe states that 3 cups of mini pretzels should be ground down into a powder, but should you measure the pretzels before or after you crush them? It’s a pretty big difference, since 3 cups of mini pretzels is only about 1 cup after it’s ground. There was no stout ganache recipe, but I found one online, and I replaced the burnt honey frosting with a charred marshmallow frosting (inspired by Momofuku’s Malted Chocolate Cake). In the end, I used my best judgement and was happy with the result. I’ve also included a few step by step photos at the bottom of this post as well. Please excuse the awkward lighting and non-prettiness since some were quickly snapped on my iPhone.

Here are the the components of the cake:

The Salted Pretzel Cake: This can be made up to 5 days in advance is kept wrapped in plastic in the fridge. I recommend making it at least a day in advance since it is easier to work with if you refrigerate it overnight.
The Stout Beer Soak: Just go buy your favorite stout beer. I used Samuel Smith’s Organic Chocolate Stout.
The Malted Chocolate Pretzel Crunch: These can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for a week or refrigerated for up to one month.
The Stout Ganache: Can be made a week in advance and kept in the fridge. You’ll need to rewarm it in order to spread it over the cake.
The Charred Marshmallow Frosting: This needs to be made and used immediately.

There’s also the equipment. You’ll need:

A quarter sheet pan. I used the 9×13 pan I had and got away with it. It’s a little smaller than a quarter sheet pan and required me to piece a few more scraps together.
A 6-inch cake ring. I used a 6-inch cheesecake pan with a removable bottom that I already had and it worked just fine. A springform pan would work too, but I wouldn’t recommend a regular 6-inch cake pan or anything with a closed, non removable bottom.
Two 3×20-inch strips of acetate. I was able to get 2.5×20-inch strips at my local cake supply store and they worked well. You can also find larger sheets on amazon and cut them down to size.

After you cut out two circles with the cake ring, line the inside of the cake ring with one strip of acetate. Use the leftover cake scraps to form the bottom layer. You can use you hand to gently press the cake scraps down and a pastry brush to soak the bottom layer with stout.

Spread 1/2 of the ganache on the bottom cake layer.

Cover the ganache with pretzel crunch. You can use up to 1/3 of it (I used a little less) and press it gently into the ganache).

Spread 1/3 of the charred marshmallow frosting over the pretzel crunch.

Before you start the second layer, tuck the second strip of acetate between the cake ring and the top 1/4 inch of the first strip of acetate. It should be sticking out of the cake ring high enough to support the next two layers. Then, repeat the process with the 2nd layer: the remainder of the ganache, 1/3 of the pretzel crunch, and another 1/3 of marshmallow frosting.

Place the last layer on top and spread the remainder of the marshmallow frosting on top.

Gently press the remainder of the pretzel crunch on top and put the cake in the freezer overnight (at least 12 hours).

After the cake has set in the freezer, pop it out of the cake ring. Since I used a cheesecake pan, I pushed the base from the bottom up and it slid right out. Peel of the first strip of acetate.

Then the second…

And voila! Let it defrost in the fridge for at least 3 hours and serve with chocolate stout.

Eat cake!

This cake will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Cake recipe adapted from the Momofuku website.
Pretzel Crunch recipe adapted from the Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook.
Stout Ganache recipe adapted from The Beeroness
Charred Marshmallow Frosting adapted from Cookies and Cups