Two of my very favorite things are chocolate and coffee, so this cake is easily satisfies two of my guilty pleasures.
All week I’ve been craving chocolate cake so today I decided to make one. The problem was I couldn’t decide what kind of chocolate cake I wanted. I didn’t feel like going through all the steps of the Sharffen Berger Chocolate Cake and I wanted something a little more than Hershey’s Perfectly Chocolate Cake. So I decided to try the Devil’s Food Cake from the Baked Explorations: Classic American Desserts Reinvented
This cake is very moist and chocolaty, but most of all the recipe is pretty simple recipe. I followed the cake recipe to the letter, even putting parchment paper in my cake pans (which I don’t usually do). The frosting is my own concoction.
pans greased and floured, lined with parchment paper and dusted with cocoa
the last time i ate the chocolate off the beater, i was a child but i couldn’t resist
divide batter between two 8” cake pans
after baking, cool completely
slice and share (or not)
My husband and I are empty nesters and neither one of us needs to have a lot of sweets around the house. When I bake, I usually give part of my baked goods to my daughter and son-in-law, my mom and a few friends. This cake was so good that I immediately sent my daughter a text to come get part of the cake. And the mocha frosting YUM, YUM, YUM. This just begs for a cup of coffee or an ice cold glass of milk.
Ingredients
- 1 ounce dark chocolate (60-72%) broken into pieces
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably dark)
- 2/3 cup hot coffee
- 1/3 cup whole milk
- 1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, softened (10 tbls)
- 1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees
- Grease two 8" round cake pans (with butter or shortening)
- Line cake pans with parchment or wax paper
- Grease parchment/wax paper, then dust with cocoa (tap out excess)
- While mixing - scrape down bowl as necessary
- Place chocolate and cocoa in heatproof bowl and pour in the hot coffee, stir or whisk until combined; add milk and stir/whisk until smooth (set aside to cool)
- In a separate bowl sift together the flour, baking soda and salt (whisk to mix, then set aside)
- In a standing mixer, beat butter and both sugars on medium speed until fluffy
- Add vanilla and mix until incorporated
- Add eggs one at a time, beating until yellow disappears
- Add flour mixture, alternating with chocolate. End with flour mixture
- Divide batter into pans
- Bake for 35 - 40 minutes - rotate pans halfway through baking
- Bake until cake tester comes out clean
- Transfer pans to wire rack, cool for 15 minutes
- Turn cakes out on wire rack and cool completely
Ingredients
- 2 sticks butter, room temperature
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon chocolate extract
- 1 1/2 teaspoons espresso powder
Directions
- Mix the espresso powder into the vanilla and chocolate extract until dissolved; set aside
- In a stand mixer, on medium high speed, beat butter about 5 minutes
- Add espresso/vanilla/chocolate mixture until incorporated
- Reduce speed to low and mix in powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time; mix well after each addition scraping down sides of bowl as needed
- After all sugar has been added, mix on medium-high for about 2 minutes
- If frosting is not creamy enough, add cream (evaporated milk) or milk 1 teaspoon at a time until of desired consistency.
OMG!!!!! I was so fortunate to sample this marvelous cake. The cake was very moist and the icing was out of this world. There is no stopping Mrs. Valerie, you have a hidden talent that needs to be released to bakeries all over the United States.
Thanks Corwin.