Black Bile Cakes

I really love Graves at Sea.
Besides having a fucking great band name, they're brutal as hell.
To my dismay, they formed in 2002, and broke up in 2005. *sigh*
But they've left us all with their brilliantly heavy, sludge metal to cherish always.

Documents of Grief is their only full-length album. I suggest if you don't already own a copy, drop what you're doing and go get it, NOW.

It's okay, this recipe will still be here when you get back.

To honor the disbanded Graves at Sea, I give you:

Graves at Sea:
Black Bile Cakes







Metal Constituents:

• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• ¾ cup milk

For the Filling:

• 2 cups Whole milk
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• pinch of salt
• 4 egg yolks
• ¼ cup cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons butter
• Black food coloring

For the Ganache:

• 10 ounces bittersweet chocolate
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon butter, room temperature
• 2 cups powdered sugar

Merciless Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°, and line a cupcake tin with baking cups.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Add eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
5. Beat in vanilla.
6. Add flour mixture and milk alternatively, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
7. Divide batter evenly among cupcake liners, about three-quarters full each.
8. Bake until golden and tops spring back when touched, about 20 minutes, rotating pan once if needed. Transfer pans to wire rack; cool completely.
9. To make the Black Bile Filling: Heat milk, ¼ cup of the sugar, the vanilla, and salt in a pan over medium until it reaches a simmer.
10. Whisk egg yolks, cornstarch, and remaining ¼ cup sugar in a medium sized bowl until combined.
11. Slowly add ½ cup of the hot milk mixture to the egg mixture, whisking continuously.
12. Add remaining milk mixture slowly while whisking.
13. Transfer back into the pan and heat over medium-high heat, whisking constantly until it thickens. It will thicken all of a sudden, give it a good whisk then take it off the heat.
14. Transfer to the bowl of an electric mixer, add the butter, and enough black food coloring to achieve the desired shade of black bile.
15. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes.
16. Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap touching the cream, and refrigerate until cool, about an hour or so. *This can be made a day in advance*
17. To Make the Ganache: Chop chocolate and transfer into a heat proof bowl.
18. Heat cream until bubbles form around the edge of the pan, pour cream over the chocolate.
19. Let sit for 1 minute then stir until combined.
20. Add butter and vanilla and stir until all chocolate is melted and combined. If the chocolate won’t completely melt, place bowl over a water bath to finish the job.
21. Transfer to the bowl of an electric mixture and let cool for 10 minutes.
22. Sift powdered sugar into the mixture and beat until combined.
23. Continue to beat with an electric mixer until lighter in color and creamy.
24. Transfer to a bowl and chill in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours.
25. To assemble cakes: Once cakes have cooled completely,use a small pairing knife, and cut off the top of each cupcake in the shape of a cone.
26. Flip the top over and cut off the cone.
27. Using a small spoon, or a pastry bag, fill the cavity with pastry cream -I mean black bile.
28. Replace the top of the cone.
29. Frost cakes with ganache. I also added a touch of red decorating gel to mine.
30. Your cake runneth over with blood and bile.

Here's some live footage of Graves at Sea playing "Pariah," enjoy!: