Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Double Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Butter Cream




OK- this settles it, I’m on some sort of cake kick.

There are many things that could be worse of course. I could want to have butter shakes, bacon sprinkles over frosted lard, or deep fried peanut butter burritos…come to think of it that last one sounds kind of good.





Yes I made all of those up, but I simply had to prove a point. I need an addiction to lettuce not cake. I mean why can I not get addicted to working out, saving my money, or tossing out barely full shampoo bottles?

Those things would actually help me, but no cake is my kick.





Let’s see one of my very first kicks was hair related. Let me take you back, here are the items you will need to join in on my kick.

1. Aqua Net
2. Blow Dryer
3. Zits
4. No self esteem
5. New Kids on the Block tapes





I would wake up every morning and perform the following : Get dressed, brush teeth, turn blow dryer towards hair, close in on my bangs, reach for Aqua Net and…..

Spray, Spray,Spray…stop to breathe

Spray, Spray, lean a certain way, Spray & breathe





Now this is all with the blow dryer still pointed at my bangs. The point was to get those bangs pointed straight up…only on one side though, the other side was reserved for a sort of waterfall affect created with the curling iron.

HOT





Double Chocolate Cake
Delightfully borrowed from Handle the Heat
{Printable Recipe}


· Butter, for greasing the pans
· 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
· 2 cups sugar
· 3/4 cups good cocoa powder
· 2 teaspoons baking soda
· 1 teaspoon baking powder
· 1 teaspoon kosher salt
· 1 cup buttermilk, shaken
· 1/2 cup vegetable oil
· 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
· 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
· 1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee





DIRECTIONS


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour 2 (8-inch) round cake pans.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. (I used my hands, burn those cake calories ladies!))  In a large measuring up or small bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry.





With mixer still on low, add the hot coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Don't over mix. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35  minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.





Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then carefully turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.





Place 1 cake layer, flat side up, on a flat plate or cake pedestal. With a knife or offset spatula, spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake.





Chocolate Butter Cream

· 6 ounces good semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
· 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
· 1 extra-large egg yolk, at room temperature
· 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
· 3 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
· 1/2 tablespoon instant coffee powder (optional)




DIRECTIONS


With a mixer beat your butter for at least one minute. Add in the yolk and vanilla extract. Next add in the confectioner’s sugar cup by cup until well blended.

In a double boiler melt your chocolate and then mix into your butter mixture. Frost your cake! I did a crumb coat, placed in the fridge for one hour, then a second coat of frosting.

I made the stripes by cutting stripes of parchment that I placed in a pattern over the top. I sprinkled with cocoa powder then blew off the excess…it was a *wee* bit messy but worth it.

CHOW


52 comments:

Mary said...

This cake looks amazing. Your cakes are all beautiful, but this one makes me grin. I NEED some cake today. YUM.

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

What a beautiful cake! So tempting. *drool*

Cheers,

Rosa

Donna Elick said...

This cake looks incredible, aside from the buttermilk I have all the ingredients... What is that about adding vinegar to milk... Hmmm.

So, how did you make the stripes on the cake???

Nichicakes said...

oh man that cake looks delicious...

and i have to ask did you also aquanet the sides so they sort of stuck out... only thing i compare it to is like puppy dog ears meet flock of seagulls... yeah i had the hair up on the top with the really poufy bangs and the side wings....

Jo-Anna@APrettyLife said...

Oh my gosh! Seriously this cake looks amazing! And your photography is out of this world! Love!
Jo-Anna

Annalise said...

Oh my god, I think I died and went to chocolate cake heaven!

Mari Nuñez said...

Looks so delicious and very tempting! I will try your recipe, chocolate cakes are always welcome. Thanks :)

Fun and Fearless in Beantown said...

I am totally feeding an ice cream addiction lately. If that lettuce addiction ever catches on, will you send it my way?

Bite my cake said...

wow what a powerful cake, this is splendid!

GratefulPrayerThankfulHeart said...

This looks I.N.C.R.E.D.I.B.L.E! Rich, moist chocolate cake and fluffy frosting... wow!

Jihane @ Sinful Sundays said...

This is just what I need right now,. So good! Those stripes are really pretty too. :)

Anonymous said...

Irresistible! It looks soo moist! Love the way you decorated it too.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!! and of course delicious
Mary

Kristen said...

i love the stripes! so creative!

sherri lynn said...

This looks AMAZING!!! All of these images are beautiful too :)

Unknown said...

I am not even a big chocolate fan and I am wanting a piece of this cake...NOW!

Unknown said...

Oh wow! That chocolate cake looks so rich and moist and delicious!

Unknown said...

Very creative cake decoration! A piece of chocolate cake like this one will make you forget all about your bad hair days, I guess that's the idea:-)

Unknown said...

Oh my gosh your cake is so pretty and looks SO delicious. There's nothing better than a deep dark chocolate cake. I have a serious chocolate craving now, and it's all your fault :-)

Peggy said...

That is one great looking cake. I would love a slice right now!!! With a glass of milk please. Yum.

Val said...

How did you get that cake sliced so perfectly? ; ) How about we do an equal trade some butter for cake? Thanks your the best!

Renata said...

O.M.G!! This cake looks soooo good! I'm drooling over here! I love the stripes of cocoa, thanks for sharing the trick :)

Candace said...

ohmygosh! I could get so addicted to that cake. It looks amazing! And your photos? They are fantastic!

meghan @ scratch-made wife said...

And you listened to NKOTB while blow drying your bangs, right? My husband was recently very unimpressed to learn I had two of the New Kids dolls -Donny and Jordan -when I was younger. BTW, your cake looks fab. I could easily get addicted to that!

art is in the kitchen said...

What a cake Jennifurla! This chocolate cake is for me! The hot coffee addition and the cream icing takes the cake! Now that I know you are from San Diego, I won't wonder why you cook so deliciously and have a great sense of humor! Thanks for sharing!!!

Reeni said...

Good old Aqua Net! I used to go through a can a week to keep my permed hair as puffy on top as humanly possible. The cake is downright dreamy!

Unknown said...

You had me at Double Chocolate Cake! WOW! This is a gorgeous cake!

Unknown said...

WOW!! How pretty!! Stunning clicks..

Bo said...

I could benefit from a lettuce addiction too, but I'll take cake.

The Harried Cook said...

That is super impressive! I love the pictures of the cake... You've done a phenomenal job with it! Thanks for sharing the recipe... I hope I'm brave enough to try it soon! :)

Unknown said...

This cake looks beautiful!

Taylor said...

Holy cow this looks good!!

Meow said...

Wow, is it weird that I could actually taste the cake by just looking at the pictures? *drool*

Sara Louise said...

Sweet heaven above that cook looks delicious! You are one talented lady.
And you want to know something ridiculous? When I was in 7th grade I desperately wanted hair like yours, but I couldn't get my curliness to do that crazy straight up bang thing. But I really wanted it to though.

Alexa said...

You are making my mouth water! Looks amazing!
xo
Alexa
www.theshortandthesweetofit.com

Anonymous said...

Oh the things we did for bangs to look good :) My sister still rags on the amount of hairspray that was "wasted" on them. I'll never live it down. Unless. Maybe. If I make her this cake it will help her forget. Seriously I think it would have the power to do such things. It looks fantastic!

trump said...

Great job with the instructions on making that cake, and man does it look good. Richard from the Amish community of Lebanon,Pa

Unknown said...

That cake is gorgeous!!!

teresa said...

a cake like this is a rather worthy addiction if you ask me! and i sooo remember the day of bangs, i too rocked the waterfall look, it was stunning.

Kim said...

Oh my goodness I totally remember 80's hair. In a way it was certainly quicker and easier than my hair today.

What a beautiful cake. I'd love to dive right into it and gorge myself:)

Laurie {Simply Scratch} said...

This is one delicious looking cake... I was gonna say droolicious... but didn't want to come off nerdy. Too late? Awesome.

Tracy said...

LOL. Any pictures of the hair? ;-) The cake looks fabulous!

Joyti said...

New Kids on the Block tape - hehe. I remember my (older) cousins loving them, and me wishing I was big enough to.
O, and the cake looks spectacular. Love the stripes.

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Monet said...

All I know is that I want more cakes...send them my way please! This looks so pretty. I love the stripes. Thank you for sharing, my friend!

enestvmel said...

O....M.....G....This looks soo good! Hate that I'm on Weight Watchers when I see things like this! Someone asked about vinegar instead. I always do about a tablespoon of white vinegar to a cup of milk. The best chocolate cakes are made with vinegar, in my honest opinion. :)

enestvmel said...

Oh, and by the way, I totally remember the "get the tallest hair possible" days, and I am SOOOO glad they are over with. It kind of went along with pinning your pants at our school...another equally horrifying experience! :)

aipi said...

Can I please please please get a slice, I won't ask for more, I promise. I am literally drooling over it. Simple gorgeous looking cake and presentation!!
US Masala

Angie's Recipes said...

Very chocolate, rich and gorgeous!

Kris Ngoei said...

Love the stripe decoration on top of the cake! So elegant! And the texture of the cake reminds me of the most delicious chocolate cake I have tasted..

 gmirage said...

I can only utter "wow" as I scroll down the page to your comment box. My son is looking with me too :) Yummy-looking cake! Thanks for sharing! (cute toddler on the sidebar too) :) - Mirage

Lori said...

I so want a piece of this, like right now!