Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Dark Chocolate Cake with Rich Chocolate Icing

Using oil in the batter makes the cake moist and dense. The icing is smooth and shiny. The combination is deadly delicious!

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups strong, hot, brewed coffee
¾ cup canola oil
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla

½ cup butter, melted (1 stick), room temperature
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 ¼ cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1 ¼ cups cream
¼ cup sour cream
1 teaspoon instant coffee powder mixed with 1 tablespoon warm water
2 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

Whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, ½ cup cocoa, baking soda and salt into a large bowl.

Place the coffee into a separate bowl. Stir in the canola oil, vinegar and vanilla. Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined.

Divide the batter between 2 (8-inch) round cake pans, coated with vegetable oil spray and lightly dusted with flour. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a tester inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean. Transfer to a rack and cool completely.

For the frosting, use an electric mixer to combine the melted butter with the confectioners’ sugar until smooth. Stir in 1 ¼ cups cocoa. Stir in the cream, sour cream, coffee mixture and vanilla, until smooth and shiny. If the mixture is too thin, add more confectioners’ sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, until spreadable.

Use a serrated knife to split each cake layer horizontally. Place one cake layer onto a cake stand. Spread a layer of frosting over top. Continue layering and frosting. Spread the frosting on the sides and finally, the top of the cake.

Servings: 8 to 10
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Bake Time: 30 to 35 minutes

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I just made this and it came out horribly. It doesn't taste good at all. Is the recipe missing something?

Jorj Morgan said...

I've gone back to the original frosting recipe for this cake. It's the one my husband's grandmother used: 6 cups confectioners' sugar, 3/4 cup cocoa powder, 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) melted butter, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 cup brewed coffee, 2 teaspoons almond flavoring and 1/3 to 1/2 cup milk. Use an electric mixer to combine the ingredients. If the frosting is too thick add more coffee or milk. If it is too thin add more sugar. This is the recipe found on page 359 of At Home Entertaining! Enjoy!!

Anonymous said...

Is there anyway you can translate the cup measurement to lbs and oz or grams and kg. whenever I use cups the mixture always comes out bad.

Jorj Morgan said...

Hi there Anonymous : ) Thanks for your August 16 comment. I find this cooks conversion chart VERY helpful and easy to use. Let me know if this helps:
http://www.cooks.com/rec/convert/

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