Chocolate Mint Crock Pot Cake

Directions

1. Into a blender add the egg, mustard, salt, sugar, lemon juice, cayenne and 1/3 cup of vegetable oil. Blend until just combined, then on medium high speed add the remaining 2/3 cup of oil in a slow drizzle through the top opening of the blender until thick and creamy.
2. Grease and flour your cake pan. For extra security, cut a round of parchment paper to fit the bottom of the pan and spray the parchment with vegetable spray. Set aside.
3. Combine the flour, baking soda, sugar, salt, and cocoa powder in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Add the mayonnaise, hot water and mint extract. Beat on medium speed with a hand mixer for 1-2 minutes, until well combined. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and secure with the cake pan lid or tent loosely with tin foil vented with small slits. Place the crock pot lid on the crock pot and "bake" for 2 1/2-3 1/2 hours until cake tester comes out clean. Cool to room temperature on a cake rack, then turn cake out onto a plate to frost.
4. In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese and butter. Mix on medium high speed with a hand mixer until well combined. Add the peppermint and vanilla extracts and powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time beating until smooth.
5. Use a long serrated knife to slice the cake in half making two equal rounds. Add a few tablespoons of icing to the bottom round and using an offset spatula, spread it evenly over the cake. Place the other half of the cake on top of the first tier. Set aside.
6. Divide the remaining frosting equally into 3 small bowls. Set aside one bowl of frosting with no food coloring added. Add 1 drop of food coloring to the second bowl. Add three drops of food coloring to the third bowl. Mix each bowl well so that you have gradually darkening colors.
7. Start with the white frosting Put several spoonfuls on top of the cake and use your offset spatula to evenly cover only the top surface. Transfer the rest of the white frosting to a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip. Pipe the white frosting over the top third of the sides of the cake. When you've used all of the white frosting, add the lighter pink frosting to the bag and pipe it around the next third of the cake. Then add the dark pink frosting and pipe it around the lower third of the cake. Note - when piping, depending on the size of your piping tip, you may have to make serpentine lines to loosely cover each third of the cake.
8. Use your offset spatula to create the ombre effect. Hold the spatula vertically from top to bottom firmly against the cake and gently turn the cake plate around. This will smush the icing flat against the cake and the different tones will naturally run into each other creating the effect. Continue to spin the cake until the sides are completely coated.
9. Switch the round tip to a star tip and pipe any remaining frosting around the base of the cake . Sprinkle crushed peppermint candies around the top rim.
10. Notes My grandmother gave me her crock-pot cake pan which is essentially a tall round pan with a vented lid -- It fit her crock pot from the 1960s which was more vertical than today's modern crock pots. To jury-rig one for your crock pot, find a cake pan that will fit comfortably inside your crock pot. After filling the pan with batter, loosely tent aluminum foil over the pan and cut several vents in the top -- being careful that the foil isn't too close to the batter - you don't want it to stick to the foil as it rises. Bake covered in the crock pot for 2 1/2 - 3 1/2 hours. After the first 2 1/2 hours, use a cake tester to check doneness. If it comes out dry, it's done, if batter is wet and sticks to the tester, give it an extra 1/2 hour to an hour.