Chocolate Cake Solar System Model

Want a bite of the solar system? In this instructable, you'll be making a hands-on, edible model to share with your friends and family by baking a chocolate cake and then adding fruit on top.

Please note that the short videos do not accurately show the amounts of ingredients you'll need to add. Follow the instructions in the text. This instructable is not for beginner bakers.

The recipe outlined in this instructable is linked to here: HERSHEY’S “Perfectly Chocolate” Chocolate Cake.

1. 2 cups sugar
2. 1 3⁄4 cups all-purpose flour
3. 3⁄4 cups & ⅔ cups cocoa powder
4. 1 1⁄2 tsps baking powder
5. ½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
6. 3 cups confectioner's sugar
7. 1 1⁄2 tsps baking soda
8. 1 tsp salt
9. 2 eggs
10. 1 cup & 7 tablespoons milk
11. 1⁄2 cup vegetable oil
12. 2 tsps and 3 tsps vanilla extract
13. 1 cup boiling water
14. Cooking spray
15. 13x9x2-inch pan
16. Large mixing bowl
17. Small stovetop pan
18. Beater
19. Spatula
20. Oven and stovetop
21. Long, thick toothpicks
22. Fruits and veggies (grapes, lettuce, an orange)

First of all, preheat your oven to 350° Fahrenheit.

Place the mixing bowl on your table, and plop 2 cups of sugar inside.

Add 1 ¾ cups of all-purpose flour to the mixing bowl. You won't need to mix the ingredients until step 7.

Add ¾ cups of cocoa powder to the bowl.

Add 1 ½ tsps baking powder to the bowl.

Add 1 ½ tsps baking soda to the bowl.

Add 1 tsp salt to the bowl. Mix all the ingredients together thoroughly.

After you are done mixing the dry ingredients, dump the contents of two cracked eggs into the bowl. Again, wait to mix the new ingredients until step 11.

Add 1 cup of milk to the bowl.

Add ½ vegetable oil to the bowl.

Add 2 tsps vanilla to the bowl. Then, smash the eggs and mix everything together again, this time for at least two minutes. Make sure that everything is evenly distributed.

Pour 1 cup of water into the small pan. Set it on your stovetop and cook it on high until you see the water inside start to bubble.

Add the boiling water from step 14 into the mixing bowl, and stir it in until you have consistency in the batter.

Take your 13x9x2-inch baking pan and spray it lightly with cooking spray (or rub it with a stick of unsalted butter). Then, dust it very lightly with a bit of flour. Please note that in the videos above I add too much cooking spray and flour to my pan.

Scrape all of the batter out of the mixing bowl and into the pan with a spatula. Wait till the oven is ready, and then put the cake pan into it. The cake should bake for 30-35 minutes. If 'a wooden toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean', then the cake is done (Hershey cake recipe)! Make sure to be very careful handling the hot pan and oven.

Put the cake on the stove to cool for about an hour. Then, since it tastes best cold, transfer it to the refrigerator.

Combine 3 cups of confectioner's sugar, 2/3 cups cocoa powder, 1/2 cup of melted unsalted butter (1 stick), 7 tablespoons milk, and 1 tsp of vanilla extract in a bowl. Put the ingredients in one at a time and then mix them together. Now you should have a delicious, thick chocolate frosting.

Pour the frosting out onto the cake, and spread it out with a spatula to make sure it covers the top of the cake evenly.

I must admit that I never made it to this step. Unfortunately the cake was eaten at the birthday party of a family member and didn't live long enough to be turned into a model. But that shouldn't hinder you from decking out yours!

Grab a vegetable or fruit of your choice to act as the centerpiece in the solar system. I suggest using a small mandarin orange for this. Poke a toothpick through the center of it, and then place the orange and toothpick in the center of the chocolate cake to make 'the Sun'. Next, grab a piece of lettuce, bunch it up into a ball, and place the ball onto a second toothpick. The lettuce can be 'the Earth'. Place it a good distance away from the orange on the cake.

What next? Maybe a purple grape could be Mars, or a walnut could be Pluto. I honestly regret not making the cake sooner and giving myself more time to experiment and document the solar system model process, but this gives you much more freedom to use your own imagination.

Now you can show off your edible solar system model to your friends and family! Remember to scrape out the pan and eat every last bite. You could even use this as an educational opportunity to quiz others about the positions and sizes of the planets. Of course, the model will not really be to scale.

Have fun baking and most importantly, have fun sharing and eating this instructable with others!