Rich Chocolate Cake with Whipped Chocolate Frosting

Obviously I have no issues with excessive chocolate on this blog. Rich chocolate cake with rich, whipped chocolate icing -- bring it on. I'm one of those odd people who doesn't even need milk or ice cream to balance it out. I just go for it. And though I didn't keep this word in the title, this cake is incredibly moist, and that's one of the main reasons I decided to make it after seeing it on other blogs. Funny how everyone (myself included) hates that word, yet it's just about the top adjective I want to describe any baked good.

I first made this for round one of my family's Christmas dinner. We had this before Christmas itself this year, and all of my step-siblings and brother/sister-in-laws were there. As I've mentioned before, I have a large family (this dinner was for 16), so whatever I choose has to feed a crowd. That's where cakes are great. The only risk in trying out a new cake recipe for an occasion is that you will spend hours baking and perfectly decorating it only to discover after slicing into it that you don't like it..at all. It's happened to the best of us.

Thankfully this cake spared me that experience. Everyone loved it. In fact, everyone loved it so much that when I was debating what to make for my family's Christmas dinner on Christmas day (a different large group), I decided I'd make it again. Points detracted for lack of originality, but no one complained.

I like my cake cold, so that's how I served it. Because it's such a moist cake, the longer you allow it to set in the fridge the better your slices will look. I had it in the fridge for 4-5 hours before serving, but it was even easier to cut the next day. With all of the cakes I've made I probably start to sound like a broken record on here with things I like in a cake, but I'll say it again, every bite should be a good bite. This cake falls in that category. It's my new favorite chocolate cake, and on a blog titled Chocolate Therapy I think that's saying something!

Enjoy!

Rich Chocolate Cake

Recipe from Foodess

Ingredients

• 1¾ cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups granulated white sugar
• ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1½ tsp baking soda
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk (or substitute by putting 1 tbsp white vinegar in a cup then filling the rest up with milk; let stand 5 minutes until thickened)
• ½ cup butter, melted
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup hot coffee (or 2 tsp instant coffee in 1 cup boiling water)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9-inch baking pans (or line with parchment paper circles) and set aside.
2. In the large bowl of a standing mixer, stir together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Add eggs, buttermilk, melted butter and vanilla extract and beat until smooth (about 3 minutes). Remove bowl from mixer and stir in hot coffee with a rubber spatula. Batter will be very runny.
3. Pour batter evenly between the two pans and bake on middle rack of oven for about 35 minutes, until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean with just a few moist crumbs attached.
4. Allow to cool 15 minutes in pans, then run a butter knife around the edges of each cake. Place a wire cooling rack over top of each pan. Wearing oven mitts, use both hands to hold the racks in place while flipping the cakes over onto the racks. Set the racks down and gently thump on the bottom of the pans until the cakes release. Cool completely before handling or frosting.

Whipped Chocolate Frosting

Recipe from To Food With Love

• 1½ cups butter (375g), softened
• 1 cup cocoa
• 4-5 cups confectioner’s sugar
• ½ cup milk (approx)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon espresso powder (optional)

For the Chocolate Frosting:

1. Add cocoa to a large bowl or bowl of stand mixer. Whisk through to remove any lumps.
2. Cream together butter and cocoa powder until well-combined.
3. Add sugar and milk to cocoa mixture by adding 1 cup of sugar followed by about a tablespoon of milk. After each addition has been combined, turn mixer onto a high speed for about a minute. Repeat until all sugar has been added. You may not use up all the milk if the consistency is right i.e. not too runny.
4. Add vanilla extract and espresso powder and combine well.
5. If frosting appears too dry, add more milk, a tablespoon at a time until it reaches the right consistency. If it appears to wet and does not hold its form, add more confectioner’s sugar, a tablespoon at a time until it reaches the right consistency.