Deluxe Chocolate Cake.
Submitted by doofa
A from-scratch chocolate layer cake made with cocoa, buttermilk, cake flour, and both white and brown sugar. Creamed butter method for a velvety, tender crumb. Frost with your favorite icing.
YIELD
1 cakePREP
40 minCOOK
25 minREADY
1 hrsThis is the kind of chocolate cake that baking books are written about.
The method is meticulous for good reason. Butter gets creamed with both granulated and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Cocoa dissolved in water creates a deep, rich chocolate base without the fuss of melting bar chocolate. Buttermilk adds tang and tenderness, and cake flour keeps the crumb incredibly soft.
Dry and wet ingredients get alternated in carefully so the batter stays smooth and airy. The result is two layers of pure chocolate velvet, ready for whatever frosting you want to pile on.
This is a project cake, not a dump-and-stir. But the payoff is worth every minute.
Chef Tips
- Cream the butter and sugars for the full 5 to 7 minutes. This step builds the cake’s structure and lightness. Don’t rush it
- Let the cocoa mixture cool completely before adding it to the batter. Hot cocoa will melt the butter and deflate everything you just creamed
- Alternate dry and wet ingredients in small additions. Never add liquid if you can still see dry flour, or the batter will curdle
- Line the pans with parchment paper. It guarantees a clean release every time
Ingredients
Directions
Adjust rack in lower third of oven.
Preheat oven to 350℉ (180℃).
Grease and flour two 8-inch round cake pans, and insert parchment paper or waxed paper to line the bottoms.
Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt onto a sheet of waxed paper; set aside.
Place the cocoa in a 1-quart mixing bowl.
Add the ½ cup lukewarm water, and whisk to combine; set aside to cool.
Pour the buttermilk, the ½ cup water, and the vanilla into a liquid cup measure.
Crack the eggs into a small bowl, and whisk together to combine the yolks and whites.
Place the butter in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer, preferably fitted with a flat beater.
Cream the butter on medium speed until the butter is smooth and lighter in color, about 30 to 45 seconds.
Reduce the speed to low, add the sugars in a steady stream.
When all the sugar is added, stop the machine, and scrape the mixture clinging to the side of the bowl into the center.
The mixture will appear sandy.
Increase the speed to medium again, and cream until the mixture is light in color, is fluffy in texture, and appears as one mass, about 5 to 7 minutes.
With the mixer still on medium speed, pour the eggs slowly at first.
Continue to cream, scraping the sides of the bowl at least once, until the mixture appears fluffy and velvety.
Stop the machine and spoon in the cooled cocoa mixture, resume at medium speed and mix just until incorporated.
Using a rubber spatula, stir in one-fourth of the flour mixture.
Then one-third of the buttermilk mixture, stirring to blend together.
Repeat this procedure, alternating dry and liquid.
With each addition, scrape thesides of the bowl, and continue mixing until smooth, never adding liquid if any flour is visible.
Pour the batter into the pans and spread it level.
Bake for 25 minutes, or until the baked surface springs back slightly when touched lightly in the center and the sides contract from the pan.
Place the cake pans on a rack to cool for 5 to 10 minutes.
With mitts, tilt and rotate pans gently tapping them on the counter to see if the cake releases from sides.
Layer cake and frost.
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