The Best Chocolate Cake Ever - for mother's day . . .

[StarryNightDave]

Just made the cake part of this. Smells wonderful.



The Best Chocolate Cake Ever

1 3/4 cups flour, plus more for dusting cake pans
2 cups sugar
3/4 cups cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup hot, strong coffee*

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter two 8" cake pans and dust with flour. If you wish (but I didn't and it turned out just fine), you can butter each pan, line it with a circle of parchment paper, and then butter and flour the pans. Combine all dry ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix until combined. In a small bowl, combine buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Pour buttermilk mixture into dry ingredients and beat just until smooth. Add coffee and mix just until incorporated. Divide batter, which will be incredibly runny, evenly between the two pans. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until a toothpick stuck in the center of each cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool in the pans for 10-15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Frost cakes as desired (click HERE for my favorite recipe for chocolate frosting).

*I almost forgot my asterisk! We don't drink coffee, but adding coffee to chocolate cake deepens the chocolate flavor and really makes it sing, so I don't like skipping that or adding water instead (blah!). So I use Pero, which is just an instant beverage powder that is made from malted barley and chicory and smells vaguely coffee-esque. It can be found near the teas, coffees, and hot cocoas at the grocery store.

[cjelephant]

I got my wife Sharrri's Berries - after hearing them advertised for years on every conservative radio show.

Wow - they are really good.

[StarryNightDave]

Cake turned out amazing! The cake part especially. I think it has one of the best textures I've ever had. Plus, this was a very easy recipe to make. The batter was very thin, almost watery like a gingerbread batter.

Not so sure about the icing, but it wasn't bad or anything. I may try a different icing next time.

And what are Sharrri's Berries?

[LandLover]

http://www.berries.com/

I got some too....one day it was flowers, the next day was strawberries. He got some sort of combo deal. Beautiful flowers from Pro Flowers and the strawberries are yummy. I have a couple left = I'm pacing myself.

Super delish!

[StarryNightDave]

So I made this again. I think this is becoming my favorite cake. I used cocoanut oil, which I had to microwave to use. And I used Callebaut cocoa powder and my homemade vanilla extract. The batter was heaven!

This was originally from the Barefoot Contessa. I think I'll try her icing recipe.

Chocolate Frosting

6 ounces good semisweet chocolate such as Callebaut
½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 extra-large egg yolk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1¼ cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon instant coffee powder

Chop the chocolate and place it in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until just melted and set aside until cooled to room temperature.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until light yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and continue beating for 3 minutes. Turn the mixer to low, gradually add the confectioners’ sugar, then beat at medium speed, scraping down the bowl as necessary, until smooth and creamy. Dissolve the coffee powder in 2 teaspoons of the hottest tap water. On low speed, add the chocolate and coffee to the butter mixture and mix until blended. Don’t whip! Spread immediately on the cooled cake.

[Justine]

I made this cake last week. It was wonderful! The only change I made was that I used superfine sugar instead of regular sugar, because I had read that superfine sugar gives a better tighter texture. Will absolutely make this case again! thanks!

[StarryNightDave]

I think it's time for me to make this again too.

[StarryNightDave]

And, it's in the oven right now!


So, to recap . . .

The finer points of this recipe, for me, are

1. Use an above average quality chocolate. I use Callebaut Belgian Cocoa Powder that I get from http://worldwidechocolate.com/ Definitely not the most expensive, but Martha recommends it.

2. I use Cocoanut Oil which I melt in the microwave before adding to the recipe.

3. I used super fine sugar in the batter

4. I used a very good quality coffee and made a pot of French Press to make the 1 cup of strong coffee called for. You can't taste the coffee in the finished cake, but you can REALLY taste it in the batter. I have a wonderful time cleaning up.

5. TEST, TEST, and TEST. Make sure the cake is perfectly done. Just starting to come away from the edges, and a toothpick comes out clean from the center.

[tattulip]

That's almost exactly like the cake recipe on the Chocolaterie Stam website! Except for the water/coffee. Do you use cake flour?

Ingredients:
Original recipe makes 1 - 4 layer 9 inch cake
Cake

2 cups white sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened Stam cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Frosting

3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
5 1/3 cups confectioners' sugar
2/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 9 inch cake pans.Use the first set of ingredients to make the cake. In a medium bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla, mix for 3 minutes with an electric mixer. Stir in the boiling water by hand. Pour evenly into the two prepared pans.Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to cool completely. To make the frosting, use the second set of ingredients. Cream butter until light and fluffy. Stir in the cocoa and confectioners' sugar alternately with the milk and vanilla. Beat to a spreading consistency. Split the layers of cooled cake horizontally, cover the top of each layer with frosting, then stack them onto a serving plate. Frost the outside of the cake.

[trailboss]

2. I use Cocoanut Oil which I melt in the microwave before adding to the recipe.

Dude....no microwave needed.



PWF lives in the forks of the horizon, and we have a cavern filled with the stuff, recipe ready.

[StarryNightDave]

Sometimes I wish I had that problem boss!

And I just made this AGAIN! I'm getting better at making it too. I think my favorite part is licking the batter just after the cake goes in the oven. You can taste the coffee and chocolate together and it's wonderful. Almost like a really good Mocha Latte.

[Pixie]

2. I use Cocoanut Oil which I melt in the microwave before adding to the recipe.

Dude....no microwave needed.



PWF lives in the forks of the horizon, and we have a cavern filled with the stuff, recipe ready.

Oh my gosh what a beautiful place to live!!!!!

[Pixie]

Just made the cake part of this. Smells wonderful.



The Best Chocolate Cake, Ever!

1 3/4 cups flour, plus more for dusting cake pans
2 cups sugar
3/4 cups cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup hot, strong coffee*

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter two 8" cake pans and dust with flour. If you wish (but I didn't and it turned out just fine), you can butter each pan, line it with a circle of parchment paper, and then butter and flour the pans. Combine all dry ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix until combined. In a small bowl, combine buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Pour buttermilk mixture into dry ingredients and beat just until smooth. Add coffee and mix just until incorporated. Divide batter, which will be incredibly runny, evenly between the two pans. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until a toothpick stuck in the center of each cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool in the pans for 10-15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Frost cakes as desired (click HERE for my favorite recipe for chocolate frosting).

*I almost forgot my asterisk! We don't drink coffee, but adding coffee to chocolate cake deepens the chocolate flavor and really makes it sing, so I don't like skipping that or adding water instead (blah!). So I use Pero, which is just an instant beverage powder that is made from malted barley and chicory and smells vaguely coffee-esque. It can be found near the teas, coffees, and hot cocoas at the grocery store.

This looks like a great recipe!!!!!!

[StarryNightDave]

So I made this again. I think this is becoming my favorite cake. I used cocoanut oil, which I had to microwave to use. And I used Callebaut cocoa powder and my homemade vanilla extract. The batter was heaven!

This was originally from the Barefoot Contessa. I think I'll try her icing recipe.

Chocolate Frosting

6 ounces good semisweet chocolate such as Callebaut
½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 extra-large egg yolk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1¼ cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon instant coffee powder

Chop the chocolate and place it in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until just melted and set aside until cooled to room temperature.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until light yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and continue beating for 3 minutes. Turn the mixer to low, gradually add the confectioners’ sugar, then beat at medium speed, scraping down the bowl as necessary, until smooth and creamy. Dissolve the coffee powder in 2 teaspoons of the hottest tap water. On low speed, add the chocolate and coffee to the butter mixture and mix until blended. Don’t whip! Spread immediately on the cooled cake.

This is the frosting recipe (above) that I used. The cake is AMAZING when the frosting is at room temperature. If you must refrigerate it, let it sit out a while to warm up. The all butter frosting can set like butter and get kind of stiff.

The cake uses unsweetened cocoa powder.

And super fine is not the same as confectioner's sugar. Confectioner's sugar has some corn starch in with it to make it even smoother. I've only seen that for frostings - never in cake batters. The super fine doesn't have the corn starch and is meant to dissolve much quicker than regular sugar crystals. I've tried the super fine and I didn't really notice that much of a difference in a recipe like this. But for drinks like coffee or iced tea, it's fantastic.

[StarryNightDave]

Thanks!

I can't wait to make it! I'll need to buy the buttermilk, unsalted butter, and coffee powder first. I don't keep that stuff around the house.

That's just what I had to buy too.

I also have been having great success using coconut oil. I think it gives the cake a much better texture. If you use it, warm up your butter milk so you don't solidify the coconut oil.

[StarryNightDave]

Congrats! I think of all the cakes I've tried, this one has the best texture. And the icing I recommend above is best when you first make it. With the butter, it will harden when refrigerated. Just leave it out a bit before serving.

I made this 2 weeks ago myself. The coffee really makes it.

[Fatherducque]

Don't forget the bacon!

[StarryNightDave]

How did it turn out?

[StarryNightDave]

[StarryNightDave]

My friends are over from Amsterdam. So I'm making this for them.

[StarryNightDave]

Making 2 of these for Thanksgiving!!!!

[StarryNightDave]

I only had to make one. We had so many desserts that only 1/4 of my cake was eaten. So I just took the rest over for today's meal. Turned out great again.

[StarryNightDave]

[StarryNightDave]