Dragonfly Dark Chocolate Cake Food

DEEP, DARK CHOCOLATE CAKE

Steps:

• Arrange a shelf in the lower third of the oven, place a baking stone on it, and preheat the oven to 350°F/177°C.
• Spray VERY GENEROUSLY a 13 x 9 x 2-inch (33 x 23 x 5-cm) rectangular pan or two 9 x 2-inch (23 x 5-cm) round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray. Line the bottom of the round pans with parchment and spray on top of the parchment. With the rectangular pan, line and extend up the long sides with a piece of Release foil or parchment sprayed lightly with nonstick cooking spray.
• In a heavy saucepan, stir together the sugar, salt, cocoa, and baking soda. In another saucepan, bring 1 cup (237 ml) water to a boil. Stirring constantly, pour boiling water a little at a time into the cocoa mixture. It will bubble up at first and then get dark and thicken. Stir the cocoa mixture briskly. Place on the heat and bring back to a boil. Turn off the heat and allow to stand in the hot saucepan for at least 10 minutes.
• Pour the hot cocoa mixture into a mixing bowl. Add the oil and vanilla and beat on low speed for about 10 seconds. On low speed, beat the flour into the batter and then, with a minimum of beating, beat in the egg yolks, whole eggs, and buttermilk. This is a thin batter. Pour the batter into the prepared pan or pans. Place in the oven on the stone and bake until the center feels springy to the touch, about 25 minutes for round layers or 35 minutes for the sheet cake. Allow to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes on a rack. Run a thin knife around the edge and jar the edge of the pan to loosen. Invert onto the serving platter. Cool completely before icing.

DARK CHOCOLATE CAKE

Steps:

• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter three 9-inch cake pans and dust with cocoa powder, shaking off the excess.
• Mix the chocolate into the hot coffee in a medium bowl and stir to melt. Set aside to cool completely.
• In another bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and baking powder. Set aside.
• Combine the sugar, oil, salt and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed, 3 to 5 minutes. (This batter is fluid and tends to get lumps; mix carefully with the paddle, or even use the whisk attachment on low speed to avoid lumps.) With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape the bowl and continue mixing on medium-low speed until fully incorporated, 2 to 3 minutes. (Don't worry about overmixing at this stage; you need to make sure the batter base is fully mixed.)
• Stir the buttermilk into the coffee mixture. In alternating batches, add the flour and buttermilk mixtures to the batter base. Mix until just combined, being careful not to overmix. The batter should be thick but fluid. Stir or mix by hand to get rid of any lumps; strain if you feel compelled.
• Divide the batter among the prepared cake pans. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean or with just a few crumbs, 20 to 30 minutes. Let cool completely.
• For the toffee: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Combine the butter, sugar and salt in a heavy-bottom saucepan fitted with a candy thermometer. Heat over medium-high heat to 300 degrees F (the hard crack stage), 7 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Pour over the prepared baking sheet and let cool completely. Break into small pieces, then process into a powder using a food processor or coffee grinder.
• For the buttercream: Combine 339 grams of the sugar, the water, corn syrup and salt in a heavy saucepan fitted with a candy thermometer. Heat over medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat to medium, being careful not to let the flames go up the sides of the saucepan. The target temperature for the syrup is 250 degrees F.
• Meanwhile, combine the egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. When the syrup has reached 230 degrees F, run the mixer on medium speed until the egg whites get frothy. Sprinkle the remaining 30 grams sugar into the egg whites and continue to whip on medium speed. (The egg whites should increases in size and form soft peaks by the time syrup reaches 250 degrees F.) Once the syrup reaches 250 degrees F, increase the mixer to high speed and carefully pour the hot syrup down the side of the bowl, being sure not to hit the whip. Whip the mixture until it has cooled to room temperature, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Replace the whisk with the paddle attachment. Gradually beat in the butter, a few cubes at a time, on medium-low speed. Mix until the buttercream comes together, then mix in the vanilla bean paste.
• Mix 3 to 4 ounces of the powdered toffee into 1 cup of the buttercream and set aside.
• For the chocolate feuilletine crunch: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Melt the dark chocolate and milk chocolate in a double boiler. Remove from the heat and mix in the feuilletine. Spread on the prepared baking sheet and let cool. Crumble into bite-size pieces. Set aside.
• To assemble the cake: Set one cake layer on a serving plate. Spread with a thin, even layer (about 1/4 inch) of the buttercream, then spread with a thin, even layer (1/8 to 1/4 inch) of the toffee-buttercream mixture. Top with feuilletine crunch. Repeat with the remaining layers. Cover the cake with the remaining buttercream.

FUDGY DARK CHOCOLATE CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Butter two 20cm sandwich tins and line with non-stick baking paper. In a large bowl, beat all the cake ingredients together until you have a smooth, soft batter.
• Divide the mixture between the tins, smooth the surface with a spatula or the back of a spoon, then bake for about 20 mins until golden and the cake springs back when pressed. Turn onto a cooling rack and leave to cool completely.
• For the fudge frosting, heat the cream until it just begins to boil. Take off the heat and add butter, honey and chocolate (broken into pieces).
• Leave to melt for 5 mins, then stir briefly to combine - don't over-mix or it will lose its shine. Sandwich the cakes with a third of the just-warm frosting and spread the rest over the top and sides. Top with shaved or grated chocolate, if you like.

DARK CHOCOLATE CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Grease and flour two 9 inch round baking pans or one 13x9 inch pan.
• In large mixer bowl, stir together dry ingredients.
• Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla; beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
• Stir in boiling water by hand (batter will be thin). NOTE: I have tried it with 1/2 cup, 2/3 cup and 3/4 cup boiling water and we prefer it with less than 1 cup water. I usually use between 2/3 & 3/4 cups. The cake is still very moist but it doesn't seem to "fall" as much as it cools. This might have to do with our high humidity or brand of flour or other factors so I don't know if it will work for everyone.
• Pour into prepared pan.
• Bake 30 to 35 minutes for round 9-inch pans, 35 to 40 minutes for rectangular pan or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. (Do not use 8-inch pans or the batter will overflow.).
• Because they have a tendency to overflow if you fill them more than 2/3 full, I usually get about 27-28 cupcakes per batch. Bake for approximately 18-20 minutes.
• Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan to wire racks.
• Please note: baking cocoa isn't hot chocolate drink mix! Baking cocoa contains no sugar and it is found on the baking aisle. Chocolate drink mixes that you add to milk or water to drink WILL NOT work in this recipe.