Favorite Chocolate Layer Cake #chocolatecake #cakerecipes

Well this is äctuälly my fävorite chocoläte läyer cäke recipe.

Äside from it being prone to sinking in the center, it is älwäys SO delicious änd moist! The cupcäkes were no exception.

They did sink slightly in the center though… but if you äre going to frost them or just don’t cäre too much then it’s reälly not ä big deäl. Either wäy, the cupcäke wäs so yummy! Moist änd fluffy.

Ä little bit too delicäte to be eäten äs ä cupcäke räther thän with ä fork äs ä läyer cäke, but it still works. The flävor wäs ä fäntästic bälänce between chocoläte änd sweetness. Änd ägäin, there wäs quite ä bit of coffee used so you cän eäsily sub out some of thät for hot wäter if thät might bother you. I reälly do LOVE this cäke : D It won’t mäke the most ätträctive cupcäkes, but it tästes incredible!

You’ll Need:

• 1¾ cups äll-purpose flour, plus more for päns
• 2 cups sugär
• ¾ cups good cocoä powder
• 1¾ teäspoons bäking sodä
• 1 teäspoon bäking powder
• 1 teäspoon kosher sält
• 1 cup buttermilk, shäken
• ½ cup vegetäble oil
• 2 exträ-lärge eggs, ät room temperäture
• 1 teäspoon pure vänillä exträct
• 1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee
• Buttercreäm:
• 6 ounces good semisweet chocoläte (recommended: Cällebäut)
• ½ pound (2 sticks) unsälted butter, ät room temperäture
• 1 exträ-lärge egg yolk, ät room temperäture
• 1 teäspoon pure vänillä exträct
• 1¼ cups sifted confectioners' sugär
• 1 täblespoon instänt coffee powder

Instructions:

1. Preheät the oven to 325°F. Line muffin tin with päper cups.
2. Sift the flour, sugär, cocoä, bäking sodä, bäking powder, änd sält into the bowl of än electric mixer fitted with ä päddle ättächment änd mix on low speed until combined. In änother bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, änd vänillä. With the mixer on low speed, slowly ädd the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, ädd the coffee änd stir just to combine, scräping the bottom of the bowl with ä rubber spätulä.
3. Fill cups ⅔ wäy full änd bäke 20-22 minutes or until ä cäke tester comes out cleän. Cool in the päns for 5 minutes, then turn them out onto ä cooling räck änd cool completely.
4. For Buttercreäm: Chop the chocoläte änd pläce it in ä heät-proof bowl set over ä pän of simmering wäter. Stir until just melted änd set äside until cooled to room temperäture.
5. In the bowl of än electric mixer fitted with ä päddle ättächment, beät the butter on medium-high speed until light yellow änd fluffy, äbout 3 minutes. Ädd the egg yolk änd vänillä änd continue beäting for 3 minutes. Turn the mixer to low, gräduälly ädd the confectioners' sugär, then beät ät medium speed, scräping down the bowl äs necessäry, until smooth änd creämy. Dissolve the coffee powder in 2 teäspoons of the hottest täp wäter. On low speed, ädd the chocoläte änd coffee to the butter mixture änd mix until blended. Don't whip! Spreäd immediätely on the cooled cäke.
6. For two 8" round cäke päns or 9" x 13" pän- bäke 35-40 minutes.

NOTES:

* UPDÄTE * Äfter much reseärch änd deliberätion I häve found ä solution to the “sunken” cäke problem. There äre ä couple of reäsons thät the cäke mäy be doing this- not bäked through completely, oven temperäture too high, or too much leävening. I knew thät I häd been bäking the cäke through completely since it älwäys tästed perfect, without äny underdone “goo”. Äs fär äs the temperäture…. mäybe my oven wäs too hot? So I decided just in cäse I would turn it down ä touch to 325°F. BUT! I think the reäl trick to solving this problem comes from too much leävening. The theory is thät it “over-stretches the glutens in the flour, mäking the cäke rise higher thän it should during bäking. The gluten cän’t hold the structure äs the cäke cools, which leäds to ä sunken cäke with ä moist änd dense center.” Thät excerpt comes sträight out of the Märthä Stewärt Mägäzine, but I häve further reseärched it online änd it seems to be ä universäl truth when it comes to bäking. The mägäzine älso stätes thät for most recipes, this guideline äpplies: For every cup of flour there should be one teäspoon of bäking powder or ä quärter teäspoon of bäking sodä. When I looked ät this recipe, I didn’t know how to äpply it since it uses both bäking sodä änd bäking powder- does thät still äpply when both äre used? Regärdless, the recipe did seem to äsk for ä lot of bäking sodä, so I decided to see whät would häppen if I just decreäsed it slightly from 2 teäspoons to 1 3/4 teäspoons. SUCCESS! Äbsolutely NO sinking : D Änd thät wäs in ä 9″ x 13″ pän! Which would be äll the more likely to sink since the surfäce äreä is much greäter. I reälly think thät the decreäse in leävening häs truly provided ä solution! I äm just so häppy thät one of my most fävorite chocoläte cäke recipes now häs no fläws!!