Chocolate Cathedral Cake Food

BEATTY'S CHOCOLATE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 8-inch x 2-inch round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans.
• Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.
• Place 1 layer, flat side up, on a flat plate or cake pedestal. With a knife or offset spatula, spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake.
• Chop the chocolate and place it in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until just melted and set aside until cooled to room temperature.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until light yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and continue beating for 3 minutes. Turn the mixer to low, gradually add the confectioners' sugar, then beat at medium speed, scraping down the bowl as necessary, until smooth and creamy. Dissolve the coffee powder in 2 teaspoons of the hottest tap water. On low speed, add the chocolate and coffee to the butter mixture and mix until blended. Don't whip! Spread immediately on the cooled cake.

CHOCOLATE LAVA CAKES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Spray four custard cups with baking spray and place on a baking sheet.
• Microwave the butter, bittersweet chocolate and semisweet chocolate in a large bowl on high until the butter is melted, about 1 minute. Whisk until the chocolate is also melted. Stir in the sugar until well blended. Whisk in the eggs and egg yolks, then add the vanilla. Stir in the flour. Divide the mixture among the custard cups.
• Bake until the sides are firm and the centers are soft, about 13 minutes. Let stand 1 minute. Invert on individual plates while warm and serve with vanilla ice cream.

THE ONLY CHOCOLATE CAKE RECIPE YOU'LL EVER NEED! (DEVIL'S FOOD)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F.
• In a large mixing bowl, sift together dry ingredients. Add oil, coffee and milk and mix at medium speed for 2 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla and beat 2 more minutes. Expect batter to be thin.
• Pour into a 9" x 13" greased and floured pan or 2- 9" round pans. Bake 9 x 13 pan for about 45 minutes or 9" pans for about 30 minutes. Cool in pans for about 15 minutes and then cool completely on racks.
• While cake is cooling make the icing: Combine the milk and flour in a saucepan and cook over low heat until thick, whisking constantly. Cover and refrigerate until chilled.
• In a medium bowl, beat butter, shortening, sugar and vanilla until creamy. Add chilled milk and flour mixture and beat for 10 minutes. Frost cooled cake and enjoy! The frosting sounds intimidating, but it is worth it! By the way, for some reason, we prefer this cake chilled, right out of the refrigerator. The rich chocolate and cool frosting just seem to taste best this way.

CHOCOLATE CHEVRON CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter an 8-by-2-inch round cake pan, line the bottom with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pan, tapping out the excess flour.
• Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. With the mixer on low, add the eggs, one at a time, then mix in the chocolate syrup and vanilla. Add the flour and mix until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until just set in the middle. Allow to cool in the pan for 30 minutes, then remove from the pan, turn the cake upside down on a wire rack set over a sheet pan and cool completely.
• For the icing, whisk together the confectioners' sugar with 1 tablespoon water until smooth, thick and just barely pourable. When you lift the icing from the bowl with the whisk, it should slowly fall back on itself in a ribbon. (You may need to add a few more drops of water.) Fit a pastry bag with a small round pastry tip and fill it with the icing. Set aside while you make the ganache.
• For the ganache, place the heavy cream, chocolate chips and coffee in a bowl set over a pan of simmering water and heat the mixture until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally. Pour the ganache evenly over the top and sides of the cake, tilting the rack until the ganache is smooth all over.
• Immediately, before the ganache sets, pipe parallel lines about 1 inch apart on the entire cake, stopping just short of the edge. Lightly drag the back of a small paring knife through the ganache perpendicular to the white lines also 1 inch apart, alternating directions (first left to right, then right to left, and so on) and covering the whole cake. Allow the ganache and icing to set. Cut into wedges and serve at room temperature.

CHOCOLATE CATHEDRAL CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Blend all ingredients (except the chocolate chips) until the mixture is smooth and free of bumps.
• Once the mixture is fully blended, fold in the chocolate chips. Make sure the chips are evenly distributed across the entire mix.
• Grease your bundt pan. [Note: the more grooves, nooks, corners, and crannies your pan has, the more grease you will need.).
• Lightly dust the pan with flour. This will assist in post-oven cake removal.
• Bake for 1 hour. [Note: this does not mean open the door every five minutes to check on it. I highly doubt your cake will get up and run away!].
• Allow to cool in the pan for 1.5 hours. A complex bundt pan will require more cooling time.