Blackout Pie Food

BLACKOUT CAKE

Steps:

• To make the Chocolate Pudding: Combine 1 cup milk with 2 tablespoons sugar in a small saucepan and bring to just under a boil.
• In a mixing bowl, combine remaining sugar with salt, cocoa, and cornstarch. Whisk in remaining 1/2 cup unheated milk. Gradually whisk in hot milk and place entire mixture back into the saucepan. Heat, over medium heat, stirring, until mixture thickens and just starts to bubble.
• Whisk in egg and egg yolk and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and whisk in chopped chocolate and butter. When both are melted, strain pudding through a fine-mesh strainer, and cool. Cover with plastic and reserve in refrigerator.
• To make the Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter 2 (8-inch) cake pans and line with parchment. Butter the parchment and flour pans, shaking out the excess.
• Sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Reserve.
• In a mixer with a whip attachment, beat eggs and sugar until thick and lemon-colored. Beat in vegetable oil. Alternately add dry ingredients with buttermilk, scraping the bowl once or twice. Add the coffee and vanilla to form a thin batter. Divide between prepared cake pans.
• Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cake comes out clean, about 40 to 45 minutes. Cool in pan for 15 minutes. Invert onto cooling racks, peel off paper and cool completely.
• When cool, split each cake in half with a serrated slicing knife. Reserve 1 layer for another use. Spread bottom layer with half of the reserved Chocolate Pudding. Place second layer on top and spread with remaining pudding. Top with last cake layer.
• To make the Icing: Over a double boiler, melt chocolate with butter. Remove from heat, whisk in brewed coffee, corn syrup, and vanilla. Place icing over an ice bath and chill, whisking often until the mixture is of soft but a spreadable consistency. Working quickly, ice the sides and top of cake.
• In a food processor, pulse the cookies into crumbs. Press the crumbs onto sides and top of cake.
• Serve cake at room temperature. If holding for more than 2 hours, store in refrigerator for up to 48 hours, but bring to room temperature before serving.

BLACKOUT CAKE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 375 degrees.
• To make the cake, place the cocoa in a small bowl and whisk in the boiling water to form a paste. Combine the chocolate and milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir frequently as the mixture warms and the chocolate melts, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Whisk a small amount of the heated chocolate milk into the cocoa paste and then whisk the cocoa mixture into the milk mixture. Return to heat, stir for one minute, remove and cool until tepid.
• In the bowl of a mixer, cream the sugar and butter together. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time and add the vanilla. Slowly stir in the chocolate mixture.
• Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Using a spatula or a wooden spoon, slowly add the flour mixture to the chocolate mixture. In another bowl, whip the egg whites to form soft peaks and, using a rubber spatula, gently fold the egg whites into the batter.
• Butter and lightly flour two 8-inch round cake pans and divide the batter between the two pans. Bake for 45 minutes and cool on a rack for 15 minutes. Gently remove the cakes from the pans and continue to cool.
• While the cake is baking, make the filling. Put the cocoa into a saucepan and pour in the boiling water and place over low heat. Add the sugar and chocolate. Dissolve the cornstarch in the cold water to make a smooth paste. Whisk the cornstarch into the water and chocolate, add the salt and bring it to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil for one minute.
• Remove the pan from the heat, whisk in the vanilla and the butter, and transfer the mixture to a bowl and refrigerate until cool.
• Make the frosting. In a double boiler, melt the chocolate. Remove from heat and whisk in the butter, one tablespoon at a time, returning to heat if necessary to melt the butter.
• Whisk in the hot water all at once and stir until smooth. Whisk in the corn syrup and the vanilla. Refrigerate for 20 to 30 minutes before using.
• Assemble the cake. Use a sharp knife to slice each cake into two disks to form four layers. Set one layer aside. Place one layer on a cake round or plate. Generously swath the layer with filling. Add the second layer and repeat. Add the third layer. Quickly apply a layer of frosting to the top and the sides of the cake and refrigerate for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, crumble the remaining cake layer. Apply a second layer of frosting to the cake, press cake crumbs into the top and sides of the cake, and serve within 24 hours. Store in a cool place.

BROOKLYN BLACKOUT CAKE

Steps:

• In a small bowl, whisk together the ¼ cup whole milk and the cornstarch until smooth. Set aside.
• In a medium saucepan, combine the remaining 1¾ cups milk, sugar, dark chocolate, dark Dutch-process cocoa powder, vanilla extract and sea salt. Heat over medium-low heat, whisking, until the chocolate is melted.
• Whisk the cornstarch mixture into the chocolate mixture until fully incorporated.
• Reduce the heat to low, and continue to stir briskly with a wooden spoon or a heatproof spatula. The mixture will come to a simmer and will slowly begin to thicken.
• Continue to cook for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the pudding coats the back of the spoon and slowly drips off. It will be thick and will just be starting to bubble. Remove the pudding from the heat and pour into 4 serving ramekins or bowls. Let cool.
• Cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate the pudding until it sets, and serve.
• Cut the cold butter into ½-inch pieces. Let it come to room temperature.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the butter, 3 cups of the confectioners' sugar, ½ cup dark Dutch-process cocoa powder, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ¾ cup Salted Dark Chocolate Pudding, and mix on low until just incorporated. Then beat on medium-high until the mixture is creamy and ingredients are incorporated, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
• Add more confectioners' sugar, 1 cup at a time, and mix on low until the frosting is thick but spreadable. Beat for 1 minute after each addition. You may not need to add all the remaining sugar. Once you have your desired consistency, scrape down the sides of the bowl.
• Raise the speed to medium-high, and beat for 3 to 4 minutes, or until very light and fluffy. The buttercream should be thick but spreadable. If the buttercream appears too thick, add more cream, 1 tablespoon at a time. If it appears too thin, add more confectioners' sugar, 1 heaping tablespoon at a time.
• Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease two 9-inch cake pans with butter and dust with flour. Line with parchment rounds and grease the rounds.
• In a large heavy saucepan over medium heat, bring the stout and unsalted butter to a simmer. (You can also melt the butter in your oven or in a large, microwave-safe bowl in a microwave oven and then whisk in the beer.) Remove the stout-butter mixture from the heat, add the Dutch-process cocoa powder and whisk until the mixture is smooth. Let cool for 5 minutes.
• While the stout-butter mixture cools, in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.
• In a separate large bowl, whisk together the sour cream and eggs.
• Add the stout-butter mixture to the egg mixture and whisk to combine. Then add the flour mixture, and combine with a rubber spatula until all the ingredients are incorporated and the batter is smooth, with no lumps. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl to incorporate any dry flour bits.
• Divide the batter equally between the prepared cake pans. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of each layer comes out clean. Transfer to a rack to cool.
• Frost the cake with the Dark Chocolate Pudding Buttercream.