Old Fashioned Chocolate Cake Sokolatopita Food

SOKOLATOPITA (GREEK CHOCOLATE CAKE)

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan combine all chocolate syrup ingredients EXCEPT FOR brandy and vanilla, and cook until sugar is melted. Remove from heat and whisk in brandy and vanilla. Remove 1 cup of the chocolate syrup and set aside. Proceed with recipe.
• Preheat oven to 180C/355°F Butter and flour a 13 x 9 " baking dish (I use a pyrex one).
• Whisk flour and eggs in a large bowl. While whisking, slowly dribble in chocolate syrup remaining in pot. Make sure everything is incorporated. Pour into prepared baking pan and bake for exactly 20 minutes. Remove, cut in middle lengthwise and then crosswise into a total of 10-12 pieces. Pour reserved chocolate syrup over and cool. (the cake will not have risen much, it is low, dense and fudgy).
• Make ganache: Break up chocolate into small pieces and place in small bowl. In a small saucepan, scald cream. Pour hot cream over broken-up chocolate and whisk until chocolate has fully melted into the cream. Allow to cool for about 1/2 an hour, whisking occasionally, and pour over sokolatopita.
• Serving the sokolatopita warm elicits moans of delight from eaters that sound -- well, make it and find out for yourself.

OLD-FASHIONED CHOCOLATE CAKE

Steps:

• Take everything out of the refrigerator so that all ingredients can come room temperature.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Put all the cake ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder and soda, cocoa, butter, eggs, vanilla, and sour cream into a food processor and process until you have a smooth, thick batter. If you want to go the long way around, just mix the flour, sugar and leavening agents in a large bowl and beat in the soft butter until you have a combined and creamy mixture. Now whisk together the cocoa, sour cream, vanilla, and eggs and beat this into your bowl of mixture.
• Divide this batter, using a rubber spatula to help you scrape and spread, into the prepared tins and bake until a cake tester comes out clean, which should be about 35 minutes, but it is wise to start checking at 25 minutes. Also, it might make sense to switch the 2 cakes around in the oven halfway through cooking time. Remove the cakes, in their tins, to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes before turning out of their tins. Don't worry about any cracks as they will easily be covered by the frosting later.
• To make this icing, melt the chocolate and butter in a good-sized bowl either in the microwave or suspended over a pan of simmering water. Go slowly either way: you don't want any burning or seizing.
• While the chocolate and butter is cooling a little, sieve the confectioners' sugar into another bowl. Or, easier still, put the icing sugar into the food processor and blitz to remove lumps.
• Add the corn syrup to the cooled chocolate mixture, followed by the sour cream and vanilla and then when all this is combined whisk in the sieved confectioners' sugar. Or just pour this mixture down the funnel of the food processor onto the powdered sugar, with the motor running.
• You may need to add a little boiling water, say a teaspoon or so, or indeed some more confectioners' sugar, depending on whether you need the frosting to be thiner or thicker. It should be liquid enough to coat easily, but thick enough not to drip off.
• Choose your cake stand or plate and cut 4 strips of baking parchment to form a square and sit 1 of the cakes, uppermost (i.e. slightly domed) side down.
• Spoon about 1/3 of the frosting onto the center of the cake-half and spread with a knife or spatula until you cover the top of it evenly. Sit the other cake on top, normal way up, pressing gently to sandwich the 2 together.
• Spoon another 1/3 of the frosting onto the top of the cake and spread it in a swirly, textured way (though you can go for a smooth finish if you prefer, and have the patience). Spread the sides of the cake with icing and leave a few minutes until set, then carefully pull away the paper strips.
• I love to dot the top of this with sugar pansies, and you must admit, they do look enchanting, but there really is no need to make a shopping expedition out of it. Anything, or indeed nothing, will do.

OLD-FASHIONED CHOCOLATE CAKE

Steps:

• Cream oil, sugar and cocoa.
• Add eggs.
• Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk.
• Add soda and salt. Add vanilla to hot water and fold water into cake. Bake in 9 x 13-inch pan at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes or until done.
• Icing For Old-Fashioned Chocolate Cake: Bring margarine, cocoa and whole milk to boil.
• Remove from heat and add powdered sugar and vanilla.
• Mix until smooth and of spreading consistency.
• This is my favorite chocolate cake.

OLD FASHIONED CHOCOLATE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan. In a saucepan, melt 1 cup of butter. Stir in 1 cup water and 4 tablespoons cocoa powder. Remove from heat and set aside.
• In a medium bowl, dissolve the baking soda in 1/2 cup of buttermilk. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Mix in the cooled cocoa mixture.
• In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Make a well in the center and pour in the cocoa buttermilk mixture. Stir until blended. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Ice the cake with Buttermilk Pecan Icing while it's still warm.
• For the icing: In a large saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter with 4 tablespoons cocoa. Stir in 1/3 cup buttermilk, and heat until almost boiling. Stir in confectioners' sugar, vanilla, salt and pecans. Remove from heat. Mix well and pour over warm cake.