REC: Michael' Favorite Chocolate Cake. I get requests for this for...
...certain birthdays in our circle.
Michael's Favorite Chocolate Cake
1 cup standard cocoa (not dutched)
4 tsp. instant coffee powder
2 cups boiling water
1 cup butter, unsalted, softened
2 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs, room temp
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3 tsp. vanilla extract
Combine cocoa and instant coffee. Add boiling
water, stirring until smooth; set aside until
mixture comes to room temp. Stir in vanilla.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Line the bottoms of three 8-inch greased
cakepans with parchment; grease parchment and
flour pans. Remove excess flour by inverting
pans and tapping edges sharply. Note: 9-inch
pans work fine. With 3 layers, sometimes a 9
-inch layer is preferable --not as tall.
Cream butter; gradually add sugar, beating
well at medium speed of an electric mixer,
scraping down sides when needed. Add eggs,
one at a time, beating well after each
addition, one full minute for each egg.
Combine flour, soda, baking powder, and salt
in a medium bowl; add to creamed mixture
alternately with cocoa mixture, beating at
low speed of electric mixer, beginning and
ending with flour mixture. Do not overbeat.
Pour batter into cakepans. Smooth to the
edges with a spatula.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or
until a wooden pick inserted in center comes
out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes; remove
from pans, peel off parchment, and cool
layers completely on wire racks.
Frost top of each layer with Chocolate Cream
Frosting as you stack. Frost sides, and then
top.
**************
Very tasty, easy to make and the spreading
consistency was perfect. It's going to be my
new standard, I think.
Chocolate Cream Frosting
12 ounces good quality semisweet chocolate (OR,
6 oz of milk chocolate and 6 oz of semi-sweet
chocolate, SEE NOTE)
1 2/3 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup light corn syrup
Break chocolate into pieces, or chop with a
chef's knife to break up. Process chocolate
in a food processor with a metal chopping
blade until it is the consistency of coarse sand.
Bring cream to a boil in a saucepan. Start
the food processor and while it is running,
pour the hot cream (carefully!) through the
feed tube. Add corn syrup and process just
until combined.
Scrape frosting into a bowl set inside a
bigger bowl of ice cubes and water. Stir
often, until frosting is of spreading
consistency, 15 minutes to 45 minutes.
Frosting can be refrigerated, covered
tightly, for several days, or kept at room
temperature, covered, for several hours.
Bring to room temp before using.
Notes:
I used two king-sized 6 oz. bars of Hershey's –
one milk chocolate and one Special Dark. It was
delicious! I broke them up with my hands while
they were still in the wrapper, then into the
food processor.
It took a good 45 minutes to set, but once it
did, it was a dream to work with!
Adapted from Cook's Illustrated.
