Libby Klein I was determined to make my husband a birthday cake no matter how much of a fuss he put up against it. When I found a chocolate cake on Food and Wine Magazine's 40 best recipes I knew it had to be the one. He was very happy I didn't listen to his earlier protests. This recipe is everything you hope for in a rich chocolate cake. It's very dark and moist, but the true highlight was the frosting - which isn't even one of the 40 best recipes. I don't think I've ever made a boiled and beaten ganache before. And I doubt I would have forgotten this one. It's not as sweet as an American buttercream - which is a good thing in my opinion - but it is richer and chocolatier than a buttercream too. The frosting is so good I've made it twice in two weeks and I'm about to make it a third time. It's the perfect amount for a normal two layer cake without much leftover, so be sure to double it if you're making something larger.
Classic Chocolate Cake
Yield 12 servings
Ingredients
6 tablespoons unsalted butter,
plus more for greasing the pan
2 cups all-purpose flour, *Or a one to one gluten free blend - plus
more for dusting the pan
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups sugar
2 cups water
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate,
chopped
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Chocolate Frosting Recipe
follows
Directions
Step 1
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour two 8- x 1 1/2-inch round cake pans. Line bottoms of pans with parchment paper. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.
Step 2
Combine sugar with 2 cups of water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat and stir until sugar dissolves; pour into a large bowl. Add chocolate and butter and let sit.
Step 3
Beat eggs into chocolate mixture by hand or at medium speed with an electric mixer, until combined. Add dry ingredients all at once and beat at medium speed until smooth. Divide batter evenly between the prepared pans and bake until top springs back when pressed lightly and a cake tester comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool cakes in their pans for 25 minutes, then invert onto a rack to cool completely.
Step 4
Set one cake, right-side up, on a serving platter. Using a metal spatula, spread one-third (about 1 1/4 cup) of the Chocolate Frosting evenly over cake. Top with second cake and frost top and sides with remaining frosting.
Chocolate Frosting
Yield 3.5 cups
Ingredients
1 1/3 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups sugar
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate,
chopped
1 stick (4 ounces) plus 2
tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Pinch of kosher salt
Directions
Step 1
Bring cream and sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan over moderately high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until liquid reduces slightly, about 6 minutes. Pour mixture into a medium bowl and add chocolate, butter, vanilla, and salt. Let stand, stirring occasionally, until chocolate and butter are melted.
Step 2
Set bowl in a larger bowl of ice water. Using a hand-held electric mixer, beat frosting on medium speed, scraping the sides occasionally with a rubber spatula, until thick and glossy and lightened in color, about 10 minutes.
Layla Virtue, a blue-haired, 30-something recovering alcoholic and former cop is trying to reinvent herself as a musician—between AA meetings, dodging eccentric neighbors at her trailer park, and reconnecting with her mysterious dad—in this unforgettable new mystery brimming with hilarity and heart.
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