Recipe

Puffed Rice White Anemones

1. Follow the instructions here to make icing with the egg white, lemon juice, and icing sugar. Scoop out a little of the icing into a separate bowl and stir in a few drops of green food coloring. Put the white icing in one piping bag and the green icing in another. Follow the instructions here to make the flowers (optional).

Chocolate Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a large baking pan or lasagna pan (around 12” x 16”) with parchment paper.
2. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter, then remove from the heat. Stir the chocolate into the hot butter until it melts. While the mixture is cooling, using a handheld mixer, beat the eggs and sugar together in a bowl until pale in color. On low speed, beat in the chocolate mixture, buttermilk, and coffee.
3. Stir together the flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder in a separate bowl. Sift the dry ingredients into the batter and fold in with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake the cake on the middle rack of the oven for about 15 minutes. Test the cake by sticking a toothpick into the middle. If it comes out clean, the cake is done.
4. Place the pan on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes, then loosen the cake and turn it out on the rack to cool completely.

Filling And Icing

1. When the cake is cool, slice it horizontally to make two layers. Spread the apricot jam on one layer, then place the other layer on top.
2. Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a small bowl, mix 1 tsp of water with a few drops of food coloring. Add the shredded coconut and stir to coat. Spread the coconut on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper. Place it in the preheated oven to dry for about 2 minutes.
3. In a small bowl, stir together the melted butter, icing sugar, cocoa, and coffee. Spread the icing over the cake, reserving a little to stick on the flowers, then sprinkle on the dried shredded coconut. Place the flowers on top, gluing them on with some icing if needed (optional).