Gift of the Gods Chocolate Cake
This is my favorite fudge cake. It is light, but also buttery, chocolaty, soft, and moist. Its texture is strong enough to hold up to buttercream, which can drag a lesser cake down. This cake goes with each of the four icings presented in this chapter.
Recipe information
Yield
makes 2 (8-inch) cake layers
Ingredients
Chocolate Choices:
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Step 2
Prepare two standard cake pans (8 inches in diameter, 2 inches deep) by lightly spraying the bottoms and sides with cooking spray. Cut out circles of parchment paper to fit on the bottom of each pan. The paper should be flat, not inching up the sides of the pan. Set pans aside.
Step 3
Mix together the cake flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a bowl with a whisk and set aside.
Step 4
Combine the chocolate, brown sugar, and milk in a stainless steel bowl and place over simmering water. Stir the ingredients together as they melt. This creates a chocolate base for the cake, which you can transfer to a big mixing bowl.
Step 5
Put the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and mix at medium speed until the butter is light and soft. Change to the whisk attachment, and slowly add the granulated sugar and continue whipping until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, and beat until each one is incorporated. Add half of the dry ingredients and mix in slowly. Add half of the buttermilk. Repeat this process until all the flour mixture and milk is incorporated. This is your batter. Add the batter to the chocolate base and combine lightly using a large rubber spatula. Stir in the vanilla, then set aside. You now have a chocolate batter.
Step 6
Thoroughly rinse and dry your mixer bowl and whisk attachment, then mix the egg whites at medium speed for about 3 minutes, or until they hold a medium peak. Gently fold half of the whipped egg whites into the chocolate batter until the mixture is smooth. Repeat with the remaining egg whites, and fold just until all the egg whites are incorporated. The egg whites should be fully incorporated—no streaks. Pour the completed cake batter into the prepared cake pans equally.
Step 7
Bake for about 35 minutes, or until the cakes springs lightly in the center when touched, or a toothpick comes out clean with a few crumbs but no batter. Remove the cakes from the oven and cool on a rack until room temperature. Remove the cake layers by using a paring knife to gently cut the cake from the sides of the pan. Take a cake circle or sturdy paper plate, and place it over the pan. Invert the cake onto the plate and remove the parchment circle the cake baked on. Repeat this process for the other cake layer. Ice the first layer with the icing of your choice, with about 1/2 inch of icing on top. Place the second layer onto the cake with the bottom side up, which will give you a flat, undomed top. Ice the whole cake thinly (this is a crumb coat to stabilize the cake and hold the crumbs in place), chill it for at least 20 minutes, then apply a final coat of icing.
