The real Meatcake post

This was not the most life-changing thing that happened this weekend, but in addition to getting married I also accomplished Meatcake!

First I must correct the previous attention-drawing credit...my buddy Kath was actually the source of the link to the meatcake blog referenced in the creation of my own personal meatcake. So thanks Kath!

Meatcake turns out to be a lot of work, but imminently doable. Your favorite meatloaf recipe will suffice, with some modifications. More breadcrumbs and less milk mostly...it has to be dry enough to stick together, even with another ~2 lbs of beef sitting on top. This is what I used...ish:

3.75 lbs beef
3 eggs
2.5 c. milk
2 c. bread crumbs
~3/4 c. onion
a handful of chopped parsley
~2 t. salt
~1/2 t. pepper
~1 T. ground sage

Mix in a bowl, bake at 350 to an internal temp of 170 degrees. The illustrated meatcake tour commences now.

Meat is the basis for meatcake. It is more expensive to get the less fatty stuff, but I figured it would help the solidity quite a bit if there wasn't a ton of fat making the whole mass slippery and squooshy. I went with the 93/7 variety and it worked well.

Add ingredients and mix, then squish into a pan. I got a couple 8.5" round disposable foil pans, because I figured if the final product didn't fall out I could cut them off. This was unnecessary. I lined the bottoms with waxed paper and Criscoed the sides and the baked meatloaves slid right out. (When using cake pans evening up a chunky meat mixture is more difficult than letting batter settle evenly. Take the time to do this as well as you can...it will make life easier later.)

The final round meatloaves were allowed to cool before assembly the next morning.
Side view; notice the uneven tops of the rounds. This was even after taking extra care to try to make them level. The tops were leveled off with a nice long knife before the layers were put together.
This picture skips a few steps...I didn't document the next morning very well. The bottom layer was placed on the cake carrier, then the usual ketchup-based meatloaf topping (doubled...1/2 c. ketchup, 4 T. brown sugar, 2 t. dried mustard) was slathered on top of that, then the top layer placed carefully on top. I cut around the sides to eliminate any crazy lumps and overhangs, then "iced" the whole mess with boxed mashed potatoes (the 4-serving preparation). The somewhat finished version seen here was accomplished by going around the cake twice with potatoes, since the 1st layer ended up fairly ketchupy. The second layer covered it nicely.


And then the finishing touches. Rather than a bloody uterus on top of my cake, I decided on a festive sprinkled look. Those are shredded carrots on top, with breakfast sausage links finishing off the trim.


And then it traveled across town to the reception. The meatcake was the semi-official Groom's Cake for the event, and it is pictured here next to the real wedding cake. My biggest complaint with this incarnation of meatcake is apparent here: the top layer slid. The ketchup layer was fairly thick and never baked, so the whole top layer just settled a little and disrupted the whole look. If there is a next time for meatcake, I will trim up the bottom layer and then throw it back in the oven with the ketchupy coating applied, like you do with a regular meatloaf. If that layer had been slightly more stable the look and taste distribution would have been much better.


Finally the last shot of the meatcake:
I was really surprised by the reaction to this concoction actually. The project was undertaken mostly as a fun thing for my brother, but it turned out to be quite the topic of conversation for the adults as well as the friends of the bride & groom. Quite a few people at the reception tried at least a little sliver...there was plenty of other food, so nobody needed a huge chunk of meat. The cake missing in the above picture disappeared about a 1/2" at a time (measured around the circumference) and fed lots of people. The experience would have benefited from the cake being not-cold, but even as a cold meatloaf experience it seemed to be a hit. I would definitely make one again, for the appropriate occasion, and the leftovers have been spectacular eating for lunches this week. All in all a smashing success!