CHOCOLATE CAKE
When I hear the word dessert … homey, rich, chocolatey cake is what springs to mind. Everybody should make it at least once. And this Ina Garten’s Chocolate Cake recipe ~ it’s a classic!
I think this cake is the perfect celebratory cake for any and all occasions.
It will take a lot for me to look for another chocolate cake recipe in the near future. The texture and flavor of THIS chocolate cake is just my style — it’s very moist without being dense or heavy at all, and has just the right balance of sweetness with rich chocolate flavor. I can see why this is a beloved recipe, and will be my go-to from now on.
Although I get it….how different can a chocolate cake be, right?! It’s all the same ingredients with the eggs, butter/oil, sugar, flour etc. But there's actually research done behind changing the quantities of ingredients and there’s been a significant change. I mean, everyone knows that baking is a science, so evidently it requires technique, which is a different skill set. Another factor in my opinion that causes a different result for people with the same recipe is the use of product (ingredients). From what kind of butter you’re using to the type of chocolate to even cocoa powder. If a recipe calls for certain ingredients to be at room temperature and you miss that step for any reason, it could change the entire process.
Ok I think this a discussion for another day. Now getting back to this Chocolate cake. 💁🏻
This easy cake has the light, even texture of a boxed cake mix
The chocolate cake itself is similar to my Devils food cake, but even a little bit simpler to put together, as it calls for oil and cocoa powder rather than butter and coca powder . You can feel confident going with either one, depending on whether you’re in a butter creaming mood or not. They both bake up perfectly with a nice, deep, rich color and fabulous chocolate flavor.
I did make a couple of changes to the original frosting recipe to suit my preferences ~ I added a pinch of salt, some sour cream, and increased the amount of powdered sugar. These changes help to bulk up the frosting a bit so that there’s plenty to generously frost a double layer cake (I’m paranoid about running out!)
I feel that the salt and sour cream help offset the added sugar a little bit. The added sour cream also makes for a slightly softer frosting that doesn’t go quite as crusty over time as a plain buttercream frosting tends to do.
Tips for decorating a chocolate cake
-One of my favorite ways to decorate any chocolate surface is with chocolate shavings: just take a bar of chocolate and a vegetable peeler and peel off little curls.
-Chocolate sprinkles look pretty on a chocolate cake, you can decorate the top, or press them into the sides.
-Even better, Pop some berries on top, strawberries and raspberries are perfect. Intersperse some green mint leaves.
How to crumb coat a layer cake
The moist, delicate texture of this cake mean that it is a little bit trickier to frost without getting crumbs in your frosting, so I recommend doing a quick “crumb coat,” which, if you’ve never bothered with one in the past, really isn’t as complicated or annoying as it might sound!
To make a “crumb coat,” simply frost the top and sides of the cake with a thin layer of frosting, getting everything as smooth as you can. Don’t worry if there are crumbs showing.
Then, refrigerate the cake for at least 15 minutes. This sets the frosting and effectively locks all those crumbs in place before you move on to your next coat of frosting, so they won’t be floating around and getting in your way! That’s it!
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
Wet Ingredients
1 cup buttermilk (I used heavy cream, which worked fine, too! only because I had that in hand and was out of buttermilk)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup hot coffee ( 1tsp coffee mixed in 1 cup hot water)
For the frosting
6 ounces—170gms semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup (225 gms) unsalted butter , room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 pinch salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream
Instructions
For the cake
Preheat oven to 180C. Butter two 8-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper discs.
Whisk all the dry ingredients together well in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk together all the wet ingredients EXCEPT the coffee.
Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, mixing as you go. Once incorporated, add the hot coffee, and mix everything until there are no pockets of dry flour left. The batter will be very thin.
Divide the batter between the two cake pans, and bake for 35 minutes until risen and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out without wet batter clinging to it.
Allow the cakes to partially cool in the pans, then turn out onto a cooling rack to completely cool before frosting. The cakes can be made a day or two ahead and kept in the refrigerator before frosting.
For the frosting
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave using short bursts. Stir until smooth and set aside to cool slightly.
Beat the room temperature butter in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment for a couple minutes. Slowly add the powdered sugar, and beat until noticeably paler in color and fluffy. Now add the salt, and vanilla, beating on a low-medium speed until everything is smooth.
Whisk the sour cream into the partially cooled melted chocolate. This both cools down the chocolate and warms up the sour cream so that both are more-or-less room temperature before adding to the butter mixture.
Add the chocolate and sour cream mixture to the mixer bowl and beat on low speed until everything is smooth and combined.
If your frosting seems a little too loose, don’t panic, you can refrigerate it for 15 minutes to allow it to firm up a little bit. Then give it a good stir before frosting the cake.
NOTES:
A dear friend asked me about frosting yesterday, and I thought to include the tips in this blog post to perhaps help someone else with the same concern. There are a couple of types of frosting, from butter cream to cream cheese, French meringue butter cream, ganache to even whipped ganache (which is basically letting the ganache set in the fridge for a while then whipping it with an electric hand beater).
Now, because this is a chocolate cake and we're obviously making a chocolate frosting, the most important factor in my opinion is the type of chocolate you’re using. It can vary through personal preference, as most people don’t like the taste of dark chocolate. So you can use either milk or semi-sweet. I personally would not recommend using milk chocolate.
