Chocolate Pinwheel Cake Recipe

Reviews More Reviews

Most Helpful Positive Review

Aug 18, 2010

There is a mistake in this recipe! It should be 2 teaspoons (tsp) of baking powder, not tablespoons. Maybe that is why some people have complained about the texture of the cake... I make this cake for my mom's birthday every year - it's been her favorite cake since she was a kid. The dark chocolate swirls are a nice contrast to the sweet, fluffy chocolate filling. It is best served cold, and we think it gets even better a day or two after it is made. To answer another reviewer's question, yes, it should read 1 1/4 cups evaporated milk in the cake itself and another 1/4 cup evaporated milk in the filling. I buy a regular 12oz can of evaporated milk, measure out 1/4 cup milk for the filling, then dump the rest of the can into the cake batter. I have measured it, though, and it ends up being just about 1 1/4 cups.

—MarcieJ

See full review »

Most Helpful Critical Review

Aug 18, 2010

Something is wrong with this recipe. My grandmother use to make this cake. It was a favorite. I didn't have her original recipe, so I looked on the internet to make it. I made this recipe, but made it with butter instead of shortening. It was a flop. It raised then, fell in the center. It was dry, not moist like I remember my grandmother's. Also, it fell apart when I tried to cut the layers. This recipe calls for two tablespoons of baking powder. I think this is part of the problem. I'm wondering if anybody else has had a similar experience with this recipe. Also, my grandmother didn't make the filling like this recipe called for. I know that she changed it. She would whip cream, add cocoa powder, vanilla and sugar. I'm not sure if she added fine granulated sugar or confectioners sugar. I am still trying to perfect this recipe.

—flora

See full review »

9 Ratings

May 20, 2003

we have been making Pinwheel Cake for Walker family special occasions for almost 50 years, my mom got the recipe from a magazine. Serve it really cold, in small servings. The bits of bitter chocolate and the fluffy filling are a great contrast. Bad for you, but oh so good.

—KATHYU

See full review »

Sep 18, 2009

This has also been a favorite in our family. But we lost the recipe from the original chocolate wrapper. I've made the cake before from a hand-me-down hand-written recipe with uneven success. The issue is the quantity of two ingredients. Specifically, is it really 2 TABLESPOONS of baking powder? Or 2 teaspoons? 2TBS sounds like too much. Also, I understood that the total evaporated milk was 1 1/4 cups, divided between the cake (1 cup) and the filling (1/4). Please confirm that it is really 1 1/4 cups of evaporated milk in the flour mix; and another 1/4 cup later in the filling. My concern is that with the ingredients as now listed the cake mix will be too wet (that extra 1/4 evaporated milk) and might rise so high (2 TBSP baking powder) as to flop.

—John

See full review »

Aug 29, 2002

dry and the bits of chocolate are bitter.

—RLAWRENCE118

See full review »

Sep 15, 2005

Wow, this cake is for real chocolate lovers. Very chocolatey! It has a fine old-fashioned texture (not greasy like cake-mix cakes) and holds together really well, considering you have to slice it crosswise. I thought that was the trickiest part. You can control how bittersweet the decoration is, by how much you swirl the pinwheels. I found I had to drizzle the chocolate fairly close to the pan edge, otherwise the pinwheels shrink toward the center; and cut the chocolate deep into the cake as I swirl or else it forms a bitter crust.

—madwina

See full review »

Aug 16, 2008

This cake has been our family favorite since my Mom started making it 40 years ago. Now my Dad, my sister, my daughter and I all make it for special occasions. The little chips of unsweetened chocolate balance the fluffy shortening filling beautifully!

—Pinwheel

See full review »

Aug 29, 2002

Looked like a good cake recipe but was very dissapointed. The cake was dry and the filling was much too sweet. Other problems were the pinwheel design was hard to see and there were no chocolate chunks.

—beverly

See full review »

Rate This Recipe

Edit

Glad you liked it! Your friends will, too:

Did you tweak the recipe? Edit and save your own version of it!

Edit this recipe

More Recipes Like This See all

Chocolate Web Cake

Chocolate Rapture Cake

Swiss Chocolate Cake

Favorite Chocolate Cake

Brownstone Front Chocolate Cake

Special Chocolate Cake II

Chocolate Buttermilk Cake

Chocolate Mocha Cake II

Chocolate Custard Cake

Double Chocolate Cake I

ADVERTISE WITH US

Nutrition

Calories
497 kcal
25%

Carbohydrates
57.1 g
18%

Cholesterol
44 mg
15%

Fat
29.4 g
45%

Fiber
2.3 g
9%

Protein
6.4 g
13%

Sodium
561 mg
22%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Nutritional Information

Chocolate Pinwheel Cake

Serving Size: 1/12 of a recipe
Servings Per Recipe: 12
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 497
Calories from Fat: 265

% Daily Value *
Total Fat 29.4g 45 %
Saturated Fat 10.5g 52 %
Cholesterol 44mg 15 %
Sodium 561mg 22 %
Potassium 228mg 6 %
Total Carbohydrates 57.1g 18 %
Dietary Fiber 2.3g 9 %
Protein 6.4g 13 %
Sugars 36.8g
Vitamin A 2 %
Vitamin C < 1 %
Calcium 30 %
Iron 40 %
Thiamin 22 %
Niacin 23 %
Vitamin B6 2 %
Magnesium 18 %
Folate 27 %

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
** Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.
(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.