ATK Old-Fashioned Chocolate Layer Cake (single tier)
Desserts
Ingredients
Cake
6 tablespoons unsalted butter (3/4 sticks), very soft, plus extra for greasing pans
7/8 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (4 3/8 ounces), plus extra for dusting pans
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/8 cup Dutch-processed cocoa (3/8 ounce)
1/4 cup hot water
7/8 cups sugar (6 1/8 ounces)
3/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolks
Description
The mixing method was the key to getting the right texture for our chocolate layer cake recipe. After trying both creaming and "reverse creaming," we turned to ribboning— whipping eggs with sugar until they double in volume, then adding the butter, dry ingredients, and milk. The egg foam aerated the cake, giving it both the structure and the tenderness that neither creaming nor reverse creaming could provide. To give our open-crumbed cake rich chocolate flavor, we simply melted unsweetened chocolate and cocoa powder in hot water over a double boiler, then stirred in sugar until it dissolved before adding the chocolate mixture to the batter.
Directions
Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease one 9-inch-round by 2-inch-high cake pans with softened butter; dust pan with flour and knock out excess. Combine chocolate, cocoa powder, and hot water in medium heatproof bowl; set bowl over saucepan containing 1 inch of simmering water and stir with rubber spatula until chocolate is melted, about 2 minutes. Add 1/4 cup sugar to chocolate mixture and stir until thick and glossy, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove bowl from heat and set aside to cool.
Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl. Combine buttermilk and vanilla in small bowl. In bowl of standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment, whisk eggs and yolks on medium-low speed until combined, about 10 seconds. Add remaining 5/8 cups sugar, increase speed to high, and whisk until fluffy and lightened in color, 2 to 3 minutes. Replace whisk with paddle attachment. Add cooled chocolate mixture to egg/sugar mixture and mix on medium speed until thoroughly incorporated, 30 to 45 seconds, pausing to scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula as needed. Add softened butter one tablespoon at a time, mixing about 10 seconds after each addition. Add about one-third of flour mixture followed by half of buttermilk mixture, mixing until incorporated after each addition (about 15 seconds). Repeat using half of remaining flour mixture and all of remaining buttermilk mixture (batter may appear separated). Scrape down sides of bowl and add remaining flour mixture; mix at medium-low speed until batter is thoroughly combined, about 15 seconds. Remove bowl from mixer and fold batter once or twice with rubber spatula to incorporate any remaining flour. Add batter to prepared cake pan; smooth batter to edges of pan with spatula.
Bake cake until toothpick inserted into center comes out with a few crumbs attached, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool cake in pan 15 minutes, then invert onto wire rack. Cool cake to room temperature before frosting, 45 to 60 minutes.
Nutrition
Calories: 9175