This Ina Garten recipe has been waiting patiently for me to make it, ever since I stopped short on it in one of the Barefoot Contessa's cookbooks.
Rich, dense but not too much so, moist, dark and so chocolatey that you'll wonder why you've ever bothered with boxed mixes - there's absolutely no comparison.
It's Chocolate Cake, of course - Beatty's Chocolate Cake.
The cup of hot coffee in the cake batter really does enhance the chocolate flavor...although we preferred it the next day, after a good chill in the fridge. The coffee overpowered the chocolate flavor the day of making, and while it wasn't terrible (it's chocolate cake, after all!), it was just too strong for us. After it's refrigerator stay, the coffee just sinks into the cake; the frosting firms up, and all in all, renders it a truly deep and delicious cake.
Beatty's Chocolate Cake
Barefoot Contessa At Home
Serves 8
butter, for greasing pans
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour, plus more for pans
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup good cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk, shaken
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 extra large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee
1 Recipe Chocolate Buttercream, follows
Preheat oven to 350F. Butter 2 (8 inch) round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, butter again and flour both pans.
Sift and combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt in large bowl. In a medium bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs and vanilla. With a mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to 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.
Chocolate Frosting
6 ounces good semisweet chocolate
1/2 pound (2 sticks or 1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 extra large egg yolk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups sifted icing sugar
1 tablespoon instant coffee powder
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 a large bowl, beat 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 icing 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.
13 comments:
what a gorgeous cake! wish my cakes could come out perfect like that ;)
(and ina's my absolute favorite!)
I don't like the coffee flavour to be too strong either, but this sounds amazing. Also, I have to say, that's the most perfect-looking slice of cake I've ever seen, haha!
Yum! Ive been looking for a grat chocolate cake recipe, and this looks like a keeper! Thanks for sharing! Great blog!
This is one of the 1st cakes I ever blogged about. Delicious!!
I made this cake a couple year's ago for New Year's Eve after doing exactly that - seeing the photo in Ina's cookbook and stopping short. This is my GO-TO chocolate cake and you're right - it gets better on day 2 and day 3 (if it lasts that long.)
Geez. Now I'm afraid I'm gonna have to make it again. :)
wowzers! that cake looks fantastic.
Gorgeous, gorgeous - and I do agree that coffee enhances the chocolate and I do agree - it's nice to wait! Ina's recipes are always mighty fine. I wish it was sitting in front of me.
This recipe sounds a lot like the old classic Hershey's Black Magic cake! It's delicious and the coffee in it just enhances the depth of the chocolate flavor, but doesn't outshine it. It's a super moist cake too. Just discovered your blog and I like it very much. Lovely photos!
Jane
is the completed batter very runny?
Yes, I found that it was quite runny due to the hot coffee addition - don't worry, it bakes up beautifully!
yes you're right! serving it today for dessert! thanks for your quick response
I used to make a cake similar to this all of the time (but it was 3/4 of strong coffee)it was my sure crowd pleaser then I lost the recipe :( I am so glad to find this one. Thank you:)
Tip to all...don't let the runny batter scare you, just like Rina the Mama Bear says it bakes beautifully and I will add perfectly.
Post a Comment