Chocolate Cake-My Favorite Recipe
This is my favorite chocolate cake recipe for a special occasion. It tastes better than anything you will ever buy in a store. It is a real treat. I even make it and take it to the restaurant for birthdays and ask them to serve it instead.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups(3 sticks) unsalted butter, plus more for pans
3/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder, plus more for pans
1/2 cup boiling water
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 cups sifted cake flour(not self-rising)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup milk
Chocolate Frosting
24 ounces semisweet chocolate morsels
1 quart of heavy cream
1 teaspoon light corn syrup
Preheat oven to 350 degrees with two racks centered. Butter three 8 x 2-inch cake pans, and line with parchment paper. You can buy the parchment paper precut at Chef Central and online if you don’t want to cut it yourself. Dust the bottoms and sides with cocoa; tap out the excess. Sift the 1/4 cup cocoa into a medium bowl; whisk in the boiling water. Set aside and let cool. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter on low speed to soften, increase speed to medium, and beat until light in color and fluffy. Keep beating while gradually adding the sugar; beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the vanilla. Gradually drizzle in the beaten eggs, beating between each addition until the batter is no longer slick, scraping down the sides twice. Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Whisk the milk into the cooled cocoa mixture. With the mixer on low speed, alternate adding the flour mixture and the cocoa mixture, a little of each at a time, starting and ending with the flour. Divide evenly among the three pans. Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of each comes out clean, rotating the pans for even baking, if needed, about 45 minutes. Transfer the pans to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Remove the cakes from the pans, and return to the rack to cool, top-sides up.
To assemble the cake, remove the papers from the bottoms of the cakes. Save the prettiest layer for the top. I use a inexpensive plastic rotating cake stand to decorate cake. You can also just put on the platter you are using. I place it on a 8 inch piece of round card board that you can buy in any craft/baking shop so I can move it if I need to. Place one layer on platter or cake stand and spread with 1 1/2 cups of the chocolate frosting, and repeat with the second layer; top with the third. Cover the outside of the cake with the remaining 3 cups of frosting and serve.
