Saturday, September 29, 2012

Super Simple Fool-proof Dark Chocolate Cake




I spent Saturday afternoon baking, frosting, and decorating this delectable chocolate cake for my parents to take to some random asian poker party.
Not gonna lie- Sharing this recipe with y'all is a way of soothing my conscience about not being able to post as often.
Yes, it is slightly malformed, but it has not only provided me with the experience of making a layer cake; I've also discovered one of the best and easiest chocolate cake recipes ever! I mean, it's TSAC-proof. That itself should speak worlds for this recipe. The Espresso Chocolate frosting is a recipe I've been using forever, and it's just a basic chocolate buttercream with espresso powder thrown in. you can omit the espresso, but I find that coffee really brings out the chocolate flavor well. Almost tastes a bit like tiramisu! Which, I guess, is up next on my baking list for fall, after everything pumpkin-related of course.



I kind of screwed up flipping the layers (it's my first ever layer cake!) but only because I accidentally ripped a corner with my spatula. Better luck next time. Let's just say that my first try at making a layer cake ended in an ecstatic yet exhausted orgy of chocolate frosting and cake crumbs.

CAKE RECIPE: food.com (Serves 20-24 making 2 layers of cake, or maybe just two if I'm there ;p )
*2 cups sugar (I used 1 1/4 cup because I loaded it with frosting)
*1 3/4 cups flour*3/4 cup cocoa powder
*1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
*1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
*1 teaspoon salt
*2 eggs
*1 cup milk
*1/2 cup vegetable oil
*2 teaspoons vanilla extract
*3/4 cup boiling water 

FROSTING RECIPE:food.com, makes about one to two cups
*1/2 cup butter, softened
*2 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
*1/3 cup half-and-half, or sub. un-whipped cream
*1 to 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder

For a:light frosting- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
medium frosting- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
very rich frosting- 3/4 cup cocoa powder

*Mix all together and store in refridgerator 

PREPERATION:
1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2.) Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans or one 13 x 9 inch pan
3.) In large mixer bowl, stir together dry ingredients
4.) Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla
5.) Stir in boiling water
6.) Pour into prepared pan(s)
7.) Bake 30-35 minutes in two round 9-inch pans, 35-40 minutes for retangular pan, or until pick comes out clean
8.) Let completely cool, then run pick along the side of the cake to loosen it.
9.) Put plate on top of a pan and flip upside down so the plate is on the bottom. Tap the pan if the cake does not come out, or carefully insert a thin spatula under cake to help it come out.
10.) IF MAKING A LAYER CAKE: Frost top of first layer
11.) Flip the other layer out, and place on top (with help of a spatula) of frosted layer
12.) Decorate as you like! I covered the entire thing with frosting to hide the damage, and then topped it with some chocolate shavings. Suggestions-
  • Cover with chocolate ganache (one cup of cream + 8 ounces of finely chopped and melted chocolate)
  • Pipe with frosting
  • Add strawberries or raspberries on top




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