Chocolate Cake

By lauramae

I have three rules about chocolate cake: 1. It should be easy, 2. It should never look perfect, and 3. Chocolate cake should be so good that you want a second slice, but so chocolaty and rich that you don’t dare take a second slice.

This cake is just that, a pretentious-free, no-fuss, chocolate cake worthy of any celebration – or any other day for that matter.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces flour
• 1 pound sugar
• 3 ounces cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup freshly brewed coffee, hot
• 2 pounds chocolate buttercream frosting (recipe below)
• 12 ounces chocolate (dark, semisweet or bittersweet)
• 1 pound unsalted butter, at room temp.
• 1 pound powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Preparation

Step 1

1. Preheat an oven to 350°F. Prepare the two baking pans by buttering them, lining the bottom with parchment paper, buttering the paper, then dusting the pans with flour. Set aside.

2. Sift together the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda & salt). Set aside.

2. Mix the eggs for about a minute until broken a part. Add the cream, sour cream and melted butter and mix until homogenous.

3. Pour the egg cream and butter mixture into the dry ingredients and mix until a batter forms.

4. Add the vanilla and hot coffee to the batter and mix in until homogenous.

5. Evenly distribute the batter into the two prepared cake pans.

6. Bake in a preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out just barely clean (a few straggling crumbs is ok).

7. Allow the cakes to cool completely before frosting them. Place one layer on a cake stand or plate. Add a liberal helping of frosting to the top and spread out evenly to the edges of the cake. Carefully place the second layer of cake onto of the frosting. Since these cakes are incredibly crumbly, I suggest adding a layer of dirty icing before completely frosting the cake – to do this spread a very thin layer, gently, on the cake (top and sides), just enough to cover the cake and loose crumbs, and refrigerate until stiff, about 10 to 20 minutes. Once  the dirty icing is stiff, frost the rest of the cake like you normally would any other cake.



Chocolate Buttercream Frosting Instructions:

1. Melt the chocolate over a double boiler until the chocolate is completely melted. Set aside.

2. Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, cream the butter until it is light and fluffy. Add the sugar and vanilla and mix until a thick frosting begins to form.

3. Add the chocolate to the frosting and mix until it is completely combined on a medium-low speed. You may need to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to ensure the chocolate is completely mixed in.

4. Set aside until ready to use.

Enjoy!