I HOPE YOU'RE HUNGRY, because I've made you a chocolate cake. A chocolate cake that is naturally-moist, euphorically-dense, and decadently-delicious. One bite and you'll hear angels sing. I certainly did. Here's the recipe in photographic steps, followed by a copy-and-paste version:
Chocolate Layer Cake with Milk Chocolate Frosting
Adapted from Gourmet Magazine; step-by-step instructions by Kevin Lee Jacobs
The cake:
2 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs at room temperature for 30 minutes
2 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups well-shaken buttermilk
To start, place a wire-mesh sieve over a mixing bowl...
Add the flour...
The cocoa powder...
The baking soda...
And the salt.
Then, repeatedly tap your hand against the side of the sieve. The ingredients will fall into the bowl in a fine, powdery heap. Nifty, huh?
And what about the little clumps of cocoa or baking powder that remain in the sieve? Just rub them with your finger, and these, too, will get sifted into the bowl.
Personally, I think sifting dry ingredients is a fun job. You might have a different opinion.
Now grab a 4-oz bar of good-quality unsweetened chocolate...
And break it in half. The other half of the bar will be used later, when we make the frosting.
Break the chocolate into smallish bits, and place them in a microwavable cup. Then microwave on "high" for 90 seconds or so, until chocolate melts. Set aside.
Meanwhile, take two 9-inch by 2-inch cake pans, and coat them with butter and flour. Or, even easier, spray them with non-stick "Baking" spray. Baking spray contains flour.
To insure the cake will unmold without a hitch, line each pan with a cut-out round of either wax paper or parchment paper (I used parchment). Lightly coat the paper with with butter and flour, or, if you are lazy like me, with baking-spray.
Now hook up the paddle attachment to your standing mixer. We've got some creamin' to do.
Scoop the softened butter into the mixer's work-bowl.
Add the dark brown sugar...
And the granulated sugar.
Blend them on medium-high speed until light and fluffy -- about 3-4 minutes.
One at a time, beat in the room-temperature eggs...
Then the melted chocolate...
And the vanilla extract.
Now, bit by bit, and with the mixer running at low-speed, add a little of the flour mixture...
And a little of the buttermilk.
Continue adding the flour mixture and buttermilk in alternating batches until combined.
Divide the batter between the two prepared cake pans. A rubber spatula will help you to spread the batter evenly.
Bake in the preheated 350 degree oven until a toothpick inserted in the center of each pan comes out clean -- about 25-35 minutes. My oven, which is gas-fueled, required the full 35 minutes.
Oh. While the cake is baking, be sure to lick the paddle attachment.
And the rubber spatula.
And finally, the bowl.
Cool the layers on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Then run a thin knife along the edge of each pan, and invert the cakes onto a rack. Remove the paper top.
Let the layers cool completely before attempting to frost.
This will require all the willpower you can muster.
And by the way, you can frost these layers with any delicious frosting you like. But if you want to make the Milk Chocolate Frosting from Gourmet Magazine, here's the recipe:
Milk Chocolate Frosting
2/3 cup whole milk
3 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cups confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon pieces and softened
8 oz milk chocolate, melted and cooled
2 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
First, melt the two types of chocolate. I poured my milk chocolate bits and broken up unsweetened chocolate into a glass cup, and heated them in the microwave for 90 seconds.
They came out looking like...something I wanted to drink.
Whisk together the egg yolks, flour, salt, and 1/3 cup of confectioners sugar in a bowl.
Bit by bit, whisk in the hot milk.
Transfer the milk mixture to a saucepan, and, while continuously whisking, bring to a boil over moderate heat. Remove from heat when the mixture forms a thick custard, as pictured above.
Scoop the custard into a large bowl, and cover with buttered (or non-stick-sprayed) wax paper. Let cool for 45 minutes.
And during those 45 minutes, you will probably ask yourself why, on earth, you decided to make this frosting. Wouldn't it have been easier to simply dust the cake with confectioners sugar?
But this frosting is truly delicious, folks. It's worth the work. And the wait.
Beat the vanilla and the remaining confectioners sugar into the custard until they are well-combined.
Then, two tablespoons at a time, beat in the softened butter.
Tip: Beat thoroughly, or you'll end up -- as I did -- with bits of butter that are clearly visible in the finished frosting.
Finally, beat in the chocolate.
And please forgive me for taking such a ghastly, unappetizing photo.
Next, lick the beaters.
And then frost the cake. I won't get into a cake-frosting tutorial here, because such a tutorial deserves a post of its own.
This Chocolate Layer Cake with Milk Chocolate Frosting is about as delicious as delicious can be. Promise me you'll try it some time.
Meanwhile, may I offer you a bite?
Here's a copy-and-paste version of the above recipe:
Chocolate Layer Cake with Milk Chocolate Frosting
Adapted from Gourmet Magazine
The cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs at room temperature for 30 minutes
2 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups well-shaken buttermilk
The frosting
2/3 cup whole milk
3 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon all purpose flour
1 1/3 cups confectioners sugar
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon pieces and softened
8 oz milk chocolate, melted and cooled
2 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
Making the cake - Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour (or spray with "baking" spray) two 9x2 round cake pans and line bottom of each with a round of parchment or wax paper. Butter and flour (or spray) the paper.
Sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt into a small bowl. Beat together butter and sugars in a large bowl using an electric mixer at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes in a stand mixer or 4 to 5 minutes with a handheld. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add chocolate and vanilla and beat until just combined. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately in 3 batches, beginning with flour mixture and mixing until just combined.
Divide batter between cake pans, spreading evenly, and bake until a wooden pick or skewer inserted in center of each cake layer comes out clean, 25 to 35 minutes.
Cool cake layers in pans on rack 10 minutes. Run a thin knife around edge of each layer, then invert onto racks. Peel off paper and cool layers completely.
Making the frosting - Heat milk in a 1- to 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat until hot. Whisk together yolks, flour, 1/3 cup confectioners sugar, and a pinch of salt in a bowl, then add hot milk in a stream, whisking. Transfer custard to saucepan and bring to a boil over moderate heat, whisking. Reduce heat and simmer, whisking, 2 minutes (mixture will be very thick), then transfer to a large bowl. Cover surface of custard with a buttered round of wax paper and cool completely, about 45 minutes.
Add vanilla and remaining cup confectioners sugar to custard and beat with cleaned beaters at moderate speed until combined well, then increase speed to medium0-high and beat in butter, 2 tablespoons at a time, until smooth. Add chocolates and beat until combined well.
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