Post by Aussie on Jun 8, 2004 15:27:31 GMT -5
I made this chocolate layer cake from a Gourmet magazine. It is the best recipe I've found for a moist, densely flavored, chocolate phenomenon. Though the task is a bit involved, it's worth the practice. The custard-based frosting shouldn't give anyone here too much trouble.
Cake ingredients:
2 cups plain flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
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
60g unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups well-shaken buttermilk
Frosting ingredients:
2/3 cup whole milk
3 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon plain flour
1 1/3 cups icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon pieces and softened
250g milk chocolate, melted and cooled
60g cooking chocolate, melted and cooled
Make cake:
This bakes at 175C in 2 (22cm) buttered and floured round cake pans lined with baking paper.
Sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt into a small bowl. Cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add chocolate and vanilla and beat until just combined. Beat slower now, adding flour mixture and buttermilk alternately in 3 batches, beginning and ending 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 racks 10 minutes. Run a thin knife around edge of each layer, then invert onto racks. Peel off paper and cool layers completely.
Make frosting:
Heat milk in a heavy saucepan over moderate heat until hot. Whisk together yolks, flour, 1/3 cup icing 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 icing sugar to custard and beat with cleaned beaters at moderate speed until combined well, then increase speed to medium-high and beat in butter, 2 tablespoons at a time, until smooth. Add chocolates and beat until combined well.
To assemble the cake, divide each cake layer in half the long way. After frosting and layering the entire cake, there's still plenty of frosting left over...
And it looks like this:
Cake ingredients:
2 cups plain flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
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
60g unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups well-shaken buttermilk
Frosting ingredients:
2/3 cup whole milk
3 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon plain flour
1 1/3 cups icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon pieces and softened
250g milk chocolate, melted and cooled
60g cooking chocolate, melted and cooled
Make cake:
This bakes at 175C in 2 (22cm) buttered and floured round cake pans lined with baking paper.
Sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt into a small bowl. Cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add chocolate and vanilla and beat until just combined. Beat slower now, adding flour mixture and buttermilk alternately in 3 batches, beginning and ending 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 racks 10 minutes. Run a thin knife around edge of each layer, then invert onto racks. Peel off paper and cool layers completely.
Make frosting:
Heat milk in a heavy saucepan over moderate heat until hot. Whisk together yolks, flour, 1/3 cup icing 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 icing sugar to custard and beat with cleaned beaters at moderate speed until combined well, then increase speed to medium-high and beat in butter, 2 tablespoons at a time, until smooth. Add chocolates and beat until combined well.
To assemble the cake, divide each cake layer in half the long way. After frosting and layering the entire cake, there's still plenty of frosting left over...
And it looks like this:
Actually I rather like Gourmet magazine recipes. Sometimes they are a bit pretentious but if you look through the magazine you do find nice recipes.