Old-Fashioned Milk Chocolate Cake with Frosting
Submitted by Janet E
Old-fashioned three-layer milk chocolate cake with buttermilk, melted unsweetened chocolate, and brown sugar, topped with milk chocolate frosting. A towering, bakery-worthy celebration cake.
YIELD
8 servingsPREP
30 minCOOK
60 minREADY
90 minThis is the kind of chocolate cake that makes people go quiet when you set it on the table. Three tall layers of tender, deeply chocolatey crumb, frosted in sweeps of milk chocolate frosting. It’s old-fashioned in the best sense: no shortcuts, no box mix tricks, just proper technique and real ingredients.
The chocolate is melted over simmering water with a full cup of water, creating a smooth, pourable chocolate base that distributes evenly through the batter. Six ounces of unsweetened chocolate gives this cake a serious depth that cocoa powder alone can’t match.
Using both granulated and brown sugar is a detail that separates good chocolate cake from great chocolate cake. The granulated sugar provides clean sweetness while the brown sugar adds moisture and a caramel undertone that deepens the chocolate flavor. Adding the sugars a tablespoon at a time and beating until very light creates an airy, tender crumb.
Buttermilk is the other key player. Its acidity reacts with the baking soda for lift, and it tenderizes the cake flour into an impossibly soft texture. Adding the flour in three parts alternating with buttermilk in two keeps the batter smooth and properly emulsified.
Warming the eggs in their shells before beating them in prevents the butter from seizing up cold, which would create a lumpy batter.
Chef Tips
- Soften the butter to the consistency of mayonnaise, not melted. This is a very specific softness that creams properly without being greasy
- Stagger the three pans in the oven so no pan sits directly over another. Even heat circulation means even baking
- Cool layers in their pans for exactly 15 minutes. Too long and they stick; too early and they break
- Frost up to 6 hours before serving, but do not refrigerate. Cold firms the frosting and dulls the chocolate flavor
Variations
- Use dark chocolate frosting instead of milk chocolate for a more intense, less sweet finish
- Add a tablespoon of espresso powder to the melted chocolate for a deeper, more complex flavor
- Split each layer horizontally and add raspberry preserves between for a Black Forest-inspired version
Ingredients
Directions
Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together in bowl.
In medium heat-proof bowl over (not touching) barely simmering water, melt chocolate in water, stirring occasionally until perfectly smooth.
Remove from heat.
In large mixing bowl, beat butter on medium speed until creamy.
Continue beating while sprinkling in granulated and brown sugars, 1 tablespoon at time.
Add vanilla and beat until very light.
Add eggs singly, beating until thoroughly blended after each, then beat until very light and creamy.
Blend in chocolate.
Add flour in 3 parts by sprinkling over bowl.
Alternate with buttermilk in 2 parts.
Beat on lowest speed manageable just until each addition disappears.
Fold batter with large flexible rubber spatula just until thoroughly blended.
Divide batter among buttered 9-inch round cake pans with bottoms lined with wax paper.
Smooth tops, then push batter slightly up against sides.
Bake 2 layers on middle oven rack and 1 layer on lower oven rack at 350℉ (180℃).
Stagger so top pans are not directly over bottom pan.
Bake until wood pick emerges clean from center of cake, 30 to 35 minutes.
Cool in pans on racks 15 minutes.
Then turn out onto racks, top sides up, to cool completely.
Up to 6 hours before serving, set thickest layer on platter, bottoms up.
Spread with ⅔ cup frosting.
Repeat with second layer.
Place last layer top side up.
Frost top and sides, making decorative sweeps in frosting with knife.
Keep cool.
Do not refrigerate.
Just before serving, wreathe leaves around bottom of platter.
Comments
where does the pumpkin come in exactly? O_o