Saturday, December 11, 2010

Chocolate Butter Cake

Chocolate Butter Cake is two layers of moist and tender butter cake that are sandwiched together and topped with a smooth chocolate frosting. It is one of our family favourite cakes. I baked this for the first time for my hubby's birthday. I searched for this recipe for almost 3 hours in the net and gathered around five recipes for this cake, after that I spent again an hour to put all the recipes together and came out with this final method. My family and friends enjoyed the cake and gave me a credit that was the best cake I baked ever. So here I am going to share my chocolate butter cake experience with you. So come on lets get indulged into the chocolate…….


  








Ingredients
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-processed)
1 cup boiling water
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups granulated white sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup milk

Frosting
5 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1/3 cup (80 ml) milk
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened and cut into pieces
4 cups confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted to remove lumps
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

To prepare Chocolate Cake: Preheat oven to 350 deg F (177 deg C) and place rack in center of oven. Grease the 9 x 2 inch deep (23 x 5 cm) round baking pans with butter and line with parchment paper.
In a stainless steel or heatproof bowl place the chopped unsweetened chocolate and cocoa powder. Pour the boiling water over the chocolate and cocoa powder and stir until they have melted. Set aside to cool while you make the batter.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In the electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the sugar and continue beating until the mixture is fluffy (this will take about 3-5 minutes). Add one egg at a time and mix well after each addition. Now add the vanilla extract and melted chocolate mixture and beat to combine.
Add the milk and flour mixtures in three additions start and end with the flour mixture. Beat only until the ingredients are incorporated.
Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans and smooth the tops. Bake for about 35 - 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the tops spring back when lightly pressed. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 10 minutes. Then remove the cakes from their pans and cool completely on a greased wire rack before frosting.

For Frosting:  Melt the chopped chocolate in a stainless steel bowl placed over a pan of simmering water. Remove from heat and let cool. Then place the melted chocolate, milk, confectioners' sugar, salt, vanilla extract and softened butter in the electric mixer, or you can even use a hand mixer and beat on low speed for about 2 minutes. When the frosting starts to come together increase the speed to medium and beat for about 2 to 3 minutes or until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the mixer bowl, Increase the speed to high and beat the frosting for 1 - 2 minutes more or until it is of spreading consistency. If necessary, add more milk or sugar.

To assemble the cake: Place one layer of cake, top side down, on your serving plate and cover with a layer of frosting. Then on top place the second layer of the cake, top side down, and then frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting.
Now get creative and garnish the cake with fresh berries or shaved chocolates on top. White chocolate can also be used for decorating, but I prefer the dark chocolates as it would be more chocolicious……  (oops pardon my language)

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