And here we are again on Wednesday which means: cake!
If you’re curious as to why Wednesday means cake you can read about it here….
I have another chocolate one for you this week. There is a whole line up of chocolate cakes but I am not sure how I am actually going to go about it. I planned to go exactly in order, but chocolate cake isn’t my favorite – would you believe that? I love chocolate but it isn’t my favorite cake flavor.
I also don’t like chocolate in my coffee.
I like chocolate and coffee things, like chocolate covered coffee beans or a coffee ice cream with a fudge swirl – yum! But do NOT bring me a mocha – blech.
I won’t drink it.
Anyway, so I guess I’m picky about chocolate placement.
So over the next couple weeks there is a Devil’s Food, Sour-Cream Fudge and a Cocoa Cake but I might have to break up the chocolates with some of the super fun sounding ones that come after that (that I am super excited about).
But we’ll see.
I’ll surprise you 😉 Although if anyone has any opinions on what I should make next week, please leave a comment! I love your comments and suggestions and it would be fun to get some reader input.
This particular cake, this fudge cake, was a bit of a trial for me. It’s my own fault though. I have been trying to get a bunch of things photographed this week to post over the next couple weeks while I will be out of town.
So I had about 10 different cooking/baking projects going at once, which isn’t totally unusual for me (Insert my SIL Natalie rolling her eyes at that statement – she lives with us and does a lot of dishes) but doing it a couple days in a row gets a little overwhelming.
So I didn’t properly read the directions (also typical but usually not a huge problem except when baking cakes), well it wasn’t the cake that was so much a problem. It was the frosting.
The cake is wonderful, light and perfectly chocolatey, but I had trouble with the frosting and had to make it twice.
Not cool.
The first time I made it, I cooked it to quickly because I was trying to hurry so I could go for a run before I had to go pick up my son from a friend’s house and then I left and it cooled to much and was hard a rock and wouldn’t beat, so I ended up adding butter to it and that made a really nice  frosting but then I decided it wasn’t authentic since this was supposed to be a fudge cake so I redid it the right way and it turned out pretty well although it was not spreadable but I have always had trouble getting fudge type things to turn out correctly at high altitude so I am guessing that maybe was my problem. It was super good though. I think if I was going to make it again at high altitude I would try not cooking it as hot so it wouldn’t set up as much.
I did still put it on the cake, between the layers and on top so it still had that fudgy quality and boy was it good. I used the first icing to make it look pretty though and I could do without that – it was good, but the fudge stuff was amazing.
- 4oz dark chocolate
- ½ cup hot water
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 cups sifted cake flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup soft butter
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1¼ cups granulated sugar
- 4 eggs, beaten
- ⅔ cups milk
FOR THE FUDGE FROSTING - 4oz dark chocolate, broken into pieces
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup milk
- ½ cup butter, cut into small pieces
- 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
- Preheat your oven to 350Ëš and prepare two 8" cake pans by smearing with butter and then cut out a piece of parchment paper to fit into the bottom of the pan and smooth it into the pan. Set aside.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the chocolate and hot water. When the chocolate is melted, stir in the ½ cup granulated sugar until dissolved, set aside to cool.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter, 1¼ cups granulated sugar and vanilla extract until fluffy, about 2-3 minutes on medium high.
- Lower the mixer speed to low and add the eggs in 4 additions, mixing thoroughly between additions.
- Slowly pour in the chocolate mixture with the mixer running.
- Next, in four additions alternately add the flour mixture and milk starting with the flour, beating only until smooth between additions.
- Turn batter into prepared cake pans and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes.
- Allow the cakes to cool in their pans about 20 minutes and then run a knife around the edge and carefully turn out onto a cooling rack. Cool completely before icing.
TO MAKE THE FUDGE ICING - In a large saucepan combine all the ingredients except the vanilla extract, place over low heat and stir until all the sugar has completely dissolved (you can check this by rubbing a little of the mixture between your fingers, if you feel granules then keep stirring, just be careful it is hot).
- Once the sugar is completely dissolved, stop stirring allow the temperature to raise to 234Ëš or soft ball stage, stir every once in a while throughout this process.
- Once it reaches 234Ëš, remove from heat and allow to cool to 110Ëš.
- Add the vanilla extract and beat on high (use a stand mixer, if you try to use a hand mixer you will burn it out - trust me....) until creamy and of spreading consistency.
- Fill and frost the cake.
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