The Quintessential Chocolate Cake Food

THE BEST CHOCOLATE CAKE

Steps:

• For the cake: Arrange a rack in the center of oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat two 9-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray. Line the bottoms with parchment paper rounds and lightly coat the paper with nonstick spray. Dust the bottom and sides of each pan with Dutch-process cocoa powder, tapping out excess.
• Sift the cocoa powder, flour, baking soda and baking powder into the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on low speed to combine. Add the eggs, egg yolks, brown sugar, sour cream, oil, vanilla, salt and 1 cup of hot water. Beat on medium speed until completely smooth, about 3 minutes.
• Scrape the batter evenly into the prepared pans. Smooth the tops. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through, until a tester inserted into the centers comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes. Transfer the pans to a wire rack and let the cakes cool for 30 minutes. Run a knife around the sides of the cakes and invert onto the wire rack. Remove the parchment and let the cakes cool completely.
• Trim the domes of the cake rounds with a large serrated knife so the tops are flat.
• For the frosting: Melt the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl set over simmering water in a medium saucepan. Remove from the simmering water and let it cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
• Beat the butter and salt in a large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to low, drizzle in the chocolate and beat until completely blended. Gradually beat in the confectioners' sugar, cocoa powder and vanilla. Increase the speed to high and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
• To assemble the cake: Place one cake, cut-side down, on a platter. Spread 1 1/2 cups of the frosting evenly over the top. Place the remaining cake, cut-side down, on top. Spread the top with 1 1/2 cups of the frosting. Frost the sides of the cake with 3/4 cup of the frosting and smooth out completely to make an even crumb coat. (It's ok if some of the cake shows through. This is just a base layer.) Refrigerate for 30 minutes to let the frosting set.
• Spread the remaining frosting over the top and sides, swirling decoratively.

WORLD'S BEST CHOCOLATE CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit/170 degrees Celsius. Grease a 9-inch/23-centimeter round springform pan with butter and line with parchment paper, then set aside.
• Make the cake: Place butter, chocolate and hot coffee in a large heatproof bowl and mix well until everything is melted, combined and smooth. Whisk in sugar by hand until dissolved. Add eggs and vanilla extract and whisk again until thoroughly combined and smooth. Sift flour, cocoa powder and salt together into a bowl and then whisk this into the melted chocolate mixture. The batter here is liquid, but don't think you have missed something; this is how it should be.
• Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour, or until the cake is cooked and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few dry crumbs attached. The top will form a crust and crack a little, but don't worry, this is expected. Leave the cake to cool for 20 minutes before removing from the pan, then set aside until completely cool.
• Make the chocolate ganache, if desired: Place chocolate pieces in a food processor, process until fine and set aside. Combine cream and corn syrup in a small pan and place over medium-high heat. As soon as bubbles begin to appear (just before it comes to a boil), remove from the heat. Get the food processor running again, with the chocolate still inside, and pour in the hot cream in a steady stream. Process for 10 seconds, then add butter. Continue to process until mixture is shiny and smooth. (You can also make the ganache by hand; just make sure the chocolate is chopped fairly finely before adding the cream mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon until almost melted, then add the butter. Stir again until the ganache is smooth.)
• Use a rubber spatula to scrape the ganache into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap, with the plastic actually touching the top of the ganache. Set aside until it has set to the consistency you want. If you want a thin layer to spread over the cake, it can be poured over while liquid so that you get an even, light and shiny coating. For a thicker ganache with a spreading consistency, leave it for about 2 hours at room temperature. (The ganache can be stored at room temperature, providing it's not too warm, for 3 days or kept in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. It can also be frozen, although it will lose a bit of its shine when defrosted.)
• Make the espresso cinnamon mascarpone cream, if desired: Place all the ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat for 1 to 2 minutes, until soft peaks form.
• Peel the parchment from the cake and discard. Transfer to a serving platter and spread the ganache, if using, on top of the cake. Slice into wedges, divide the cake among plates and, if using, spoon the mascarpone cream alongside. With or without icing, the cake will keep well for 4 to 5 days in an airtight container.

THE QUINTESSENTIAL CHOCOLATE CAKE

Steps:

• 1. For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350*. Grease and flour 2- 8-9" round cake pans. Sift (or whisk) all dry ingredients in a bowl. Beat together the eggs, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla. Slowly mix in the dry ingredients, and beat for two minutes. Once well combined pour in the hot coffee and mix well. Pour into the cake pans and tap each pan on the counter a few times to remove any large bubbles. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool for 10 minutes, then use the edge of the pan as a guide to cut of the round top. This makes a great mid-cake-baking snack! Run a knife around the edges and flip out onto a cooling rack. I like to "slam" the cakes out of pan to (hopefully) insure they come out in one piece! Once totally cooled, carefully slice through the middle to make 4 thin round disks. Stack with wax paper in between, then wrap in plastic wrap. Freeze, until ready to assemble. Frozen cakes are SO much easier to handle while frosting. It also helps to keep the frosting from getting crumby!
• 2. For the ganache: Place the chocolate chips in a glass bowl. Heat the cream, butter and sugar in a small pan. Once the cream is just barely simmering, pour it over the chocolate and allow it to sit for 5 minutes. Then whisk until perfectly smooth. Allow the ganache to cool another 10-15 minutes before assembling layers.
• 3. For the frosting: Heat the cream in the microwave until hot to the touch, then add the instant coffee to it and mix. Place the cream in the freezer for a few minutes to cool rapidly. Using an electric mixer, mix the melted butter, vanilla and cocoa powder until well combined. Alternate, adding the cooled coffee-cream and powdered sugar until smooth. Add a little more cream or powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached.
• 4. To assemble: Take the cakes out of the freezer. Slather 1/3 of the ganache in between each layer, until all four layers are stacked. Press the top of the cake to level it. Using a large spreader, smooth the frosting around the sides. Then frost the top and re-smooth the edges. Use a damp paper towel to clean up the edges of the cake stand. Place the last bit of the frosting in a piping bag to "fancy-up" the edges, if you want!
• 5. Leave the cake out, at room temperature so the insides can thaw. Cake taste better when the frosting and filling are room temperature and soft!

CHOCOLATE STOUT CAKE

Steps:

• For cake:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter three 8-inch round cake pans with 2-inch-high sides. Line with parchment paper. Butter paper. Bring 2 cups stout and 2 cups butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.
• Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt in large bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined. Divide batter equally among prepared pans. Bake cakes until tester inserted into center of cakes comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Transfer cakes to rack; cool 10 minutes. Turn cakes out onto rack and cool completely.
• For icing:
• Bring cream to simmer in heavy medium saucepan. Remove from heat. Add chopped chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth. Refrigerate until icing is spreadable, stirring frequently, about 2 hours.
• Place 1 cake layer on plate. Spread 2/3 cup icing over. Top with second cake layer. Spread 2/3 cup icing over. Top with third cake layer. Spread remaining icing over top and sides of cake.

THE QUINTESSENTIAL CHOCOLATE CAKE!

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 F.
• Grease and flour two 9-inch round pans or one 13x9x2-inch baking pan.
• Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl.
• Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of electric mixer 2 minutes.
• Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin).
• Pour batter into prepared pans.
• Bake 30 to 35 minutes for round pans, 35 to 40 minutes for rectangular pan or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
• Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks.
• Cool completely.
• (Cake may be left in rectangular pan, if desired.) Frost with One-Bowl Buttercream Frosting.
• To make One-Bowl Buttercream Frosting: Beat butter in medium bowl.
• Add confectioners' sugar and cocoa alternately with milk, beating to spreading consistency (additional milk may be needed).
• Stir in vanilla.