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chocolate layer cake
i decided to shine the spotlight on the chocolate cake i mentioned in the previous post–it got overwhelmed by my being so chef-starstruck, and it really does deserve its own post.
this is currently The One, yes i have it on good authority: the cake we will bake for when we are chocolate-deprived.
plus, it’s got that Good Housekeeping seal of approval 
(latest issue on newsstands).
cake layers:
2 c. all purpose flour
1c. unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 tsp.baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 c. butter (1 & 1/2 sticks), softened
1 c. packed brown sugar
1 c. granulated sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 c. low-fat buttermilk
frosting:
1/3 c. unsweetened cocoa
1/3 c. boiling water
1 c. butter (2 sticks), softened
2 tbsp. confectioners’ sugar
12 oz. semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled
1. prepare cake layers: preheat oven to 350ºF, grease three8-inch round cake pans. line bottoms with waxed paper; grease paper. dust pans with flour.
2. on another sheet of waxed paper, combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. in large bowl, with mixer at low speed, beat butter and brown and granulated sugars until blended. increase speed to high; beat 5 minutes or until pale and fluffy. occasionally scraping bowl with spatula. reduce speed to medium-low; add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. beat in vanilla until blended. add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. beat just until batter is smooth, occasionally scraping bowl with rubber spatula.
3. spoon batter evenly among prepared pans. if necessary, stagger pans on 2 oven racks, placing 2 on upper rack and 1 on lower rack, so that top pans are not directly above bottom one. bake 22 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. with small knife loosen layers from sides of pans; invert onto wire racks. carefully remove and discard waxed paper; cool completely about 45 minutes.
prepare frosting:
in small bowl combine cocoa and boiling water, stirring until smooth. in large bowl with mixer at medium-high speed, beat butter and confectioners’ sugar 5 minutes or until fluffy. reduce speed to medium-low. add melted chocolate then cocoa mixture, beating until smooth and occasionally scraping bowl with rubber spatula. if frosting is too runny, refrigerate until just stiff enough to spread.
assemble cake:
place 1 cake layer bottom side up on cake plate; spread with 1/3 cup frosting. top with second layer, bottom side up; spread with another third cup of frosting. place remaining layer bottom side up on top. spread remaining frosting over sides and top of cake. (you may have to trim the tops off of the cake to make them even..i used a serrated knife.)
January 20th, 2010 at 3:06 am
te,
thank you sa recipe… i hope i could make it this weekend. lam mo nakakalungkot dito sa New Zealand, nun dati gumagawa ako ng ng hershey’s chocolate chip cookies ko using hershey’s semi-sweet chocolates chips, pero ngayon, wala ng stock sa supermarkets. i think hindi sya popular gamitin dito kaya tinigilan na nila mag-import. sarap pa naman ng cookies pag yun gamit ko. i even use those chips to make the recipe that i got from you, yung King arthur’s brownies. Making the cookies and brownies will never be the same for me without Hershey’s. I still make them, ibang brand, pero hindi kasing sarap…
ano ba itong nobela ko…
happy cooking and baking… :-)
January 27th, 2010 at 3:43 pm
I haven’t had a chocolate cake that looked this good in such a long time! I wonder if I can come up with a good reason to bake this (other than I really, really want a big slice)? 8-)
January 28th, 2010 at 1:58 pm
cindy i can’t believe you don’t have great chips in NZ! i find Hershey’s a bit sweet, i like Ghirardelli or Baker’s. you can even buy a block of chocolate and just chop them up coarsely
Ms. Noodle, any excuse is a good enough excuse. how ’bout mine: this cake is one big consolation for this long severe winter?
thanks for dropping by!
January 29th, 2010 at 1:49 am
te, i use nestle brand for my cocoa, and chocolate chips. the chocolate chips, they are not even, semi-sweet. they only come in milk chocolate or dark chocolate, but i use the later kasi more chocolate flavors.
there are 2 factors that i see kung bakit kakaunti yung mga selection ng products dito, una, malayo kami sa inyo, 2nd the population is small it cannot support more products/brands to be imported from other countries.
wawa naman kami…
January 29th, 2010 at 3:11 am
te,
i tested the recipe. hinulaan ko yung eggs, 3 pcs. ba? kasi wala pala sya dun sa ingredients list.
i like it, para syang very dark chocolate cake.
i tried putting the icing in my usual chocolate cake recipe, my husband said perfect pair daw. and i love the icing compared to my usual icing, kasi yung sayo mas spreadable.
super busog na ako sa kakataste test…
January 29th, 2010 at 7:14 am
salamat cindy, thank you for that, you’re an instinctive chef for getting the # of eggs right
!!!
be on the lookout for Dutch processed cocoa and give it a try, i prefer it but it’s a matter of taste.
email kita….
January 29th, 2010 at 7:16 am
p.s. to cindy, my eyes are getting bad!
and i even checked and double checked, i had “hired” my son to type the ingredients for me (pang practice daw ng typing nya hehehe) thanks again. 