Light Chocolate Layer Cake with Chocolate Cream Frosting
By America's Test KitchenPublished on August 22, 2007
Time
1¾ hours, plus 2 hours 20 minutes cooling and 1 hours chilling
Yield
Serves 12
Ingredients
Old-Fashioned Chocolate Layer Cake
½ cup natural cocoa powder 2 teaspoons instant espresso powder, or instant coffee1 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour ½ teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon table salt 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 cup whole milk plus 2 tablespoons, room temperature12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 ½ sticks), softened1 ¼ cups granulated sugar 2 large eggs, at room temperatureChocolate Cream Frosting
12 ounces (340 grams) semisweet chocolate 1 ⅔ cups heavy cream ¼ cup light corn syrupBefore You Begin
This cake resembles a traditional yellow cake with a great deal of chocolate added. The milk slightly mutes the chocolate flavor while giving the cake a sturdy, pleasantly crumbly texture. Cream enriches the frosting, making it compatible with the less assertive chocolate cake.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 8-by-1 1/2-inch round baking pans with shortening. Line pan bottoms with waxed or parchment paper; grease paper as well. Dust pans with flour; tap out excess.
- Whisk the cocoa, instant coffee, flour, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl until no lumps of cocoa remain, and set aside. Add vanilla to the milk and set aside.
- Beat butter in bowl of electric mixer set at medium-high speed until smooth and shiny, about 30 seconds. Gradually sprinkle in sugar; beat until mixture is fluffy and almost white, 3 to 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating 1 full minute after each addition.
- With mixer on lowest speed, add about 1/3 of dry ingredients to batter, followed immediately by 1/3 of milk/vanilla mixture; mix until ingredients are almost incorporated into batter. Repeat process twice more. When batter appears blended, stop mixer and scrape bowl sides with rubber spatula. Return mixer to low speed; beat until batter looks satiny, about 15 seconds longer.
- Divide batter evenly between pans. With rubber spatula, run batter to pan sides and smooth top. Bake cakes until they feel firm in center when lightly presesd anad skewer comes out clean or with just a crumb or two adhering, 23 to 30 minutes. Tranfer pans to wire racks; cool for 20 minutes. Run knife around perimeter of each pan, invert cakes onto racks, and peel off paper liners. Reinvert cakes onto additional racks; cool completely before frosting.
- Break up chocolate and pulverize in food processor until it is the texture of coarse sand. Bring heavy cream to a boil, and with machine running, pour hot cream over the chocolate. Add corn syrup; process until just combined. Turn mixture into a bowl and refrigerate until spreadable, stirring with a wooden spoon every 15 minutes; about 1 hour. Apply frosting onto first cake layer and spread with a long metal spatula, top with second cake layer, top second layer with frosting, spread and then frost sides. Serve.
for the cake
for the chocolate cream frosting
Time
1¾ hours, plus 2 hours 20 minutes cooling and 1 hours chillingYield
Serves 12Ingredients
Old-Fashioned Chocolate Layer Cake
½ cup natural cocoa powder
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder, or instant coffee
1 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup whole milk plus 2 tablespoons, room temperature
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 ½ sticks), softened
1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
Chocolate Cream Frosting
12 ounces (340 grams) semisweet chocolate
1 ⅔ cups heavy cream
¼ cup light corn syrup
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Old-Fashioned Chocolate Layer Cake
½ cup natural cocoa powder
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder, or instant coffee
1 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup whole milk plus 2 tablespoons, room temperature
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 ½ sticks), softened
1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
Chocolate Cream Frosting
12 ounces (340 grams) semisweet chocolate
1 ⅔ cups heavy cream
¼ cup light corn syrup
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Old-Fashioned Chocolate Layer Cake
½ cup natural cocoa powder
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder, or instant coffee
1 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup whole milk plus 2 tablespoons, room temperature
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 ½ sticks), softened
1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
Chocolate Cream Frosting
12 ounces (340 grams) semisweet chocolate
1 ⅔ cups heavy cream
¼ cup light corn syrup
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
While developing our light chocolate layer cake recipe we found very little difference between cakes baked with standard American cocoa and “Dutched” cocoa. We chose water over milk or buttermilk to moisten our cake batter, discovering that cakes made with dairy had a more muted chocolate flavor.
Before You Begin
This cake resembles a traditional yellow cake with a great deal of chocolate added. The milk slightly mutes the chocolate flavor while giving the cake a sturdy, pleasantly crumbly texture. Cream enriches the frosting, making it compatible with the less assertive chocolate cake.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 8-by-1 1/2-inch round baking pans with shortening. Line pan bottoms with waxed or parchment paper; grease paper as well. Dust pans with flour; tap out excess.
- Whisk the cocoa, instant coffee, flour, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl until no lumps of cocoa remain, and set aside. Add vanilla to the milk and set aside.
- Beat butter in bowl of electric mixer set at medium-high speed until smooth and shiny, about 30 seconds. Gradually sprinkle in sugar; beat until mixture is fluffy and almost white, 3 to 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating 1 full minute after each addition.
- With mixer on lowest speed, add about 1/3 of dry ingredients to batter, followed immediately by 1/3 of milk/vanilla mixture; mix until ingredients are almost incorporated into batter. Repeat process twice more. When batter appears blended, stop mixer and scrape bowl sides with rubber spatula. Return mixer to low speed; beat until batter looks satiny, about 15 seconds longer.
- Divide batter evenly between pans. With rubber spatula, run batter to pan sides and smooth top. Bake cakes until they feel firm in center when lightly presesd anad skewer comes out clean or with just a crumb or two adhering, 23 to 30 minutes. Tranfer pans to wire racks; cool for 20 minutes. Run knife around perimeter of each pan, invert cakes onto racks, and peel off paper liners. Reinvert cakes onto additional racks; cool completely before frosting.
- Break up chocolate and pulverize in food processor until it is the texture of coarse sand. Bring heavy cream to a boil, and with machine running, pour hot cream over the chocolate. Add corn syrup; process until just combined. Turn mixture into a bowl and refrigerate until spreadable, stirring with a wooden spoon every 15 minutes; about 1 hour. Apply frosting onto first cake layer and spread with a long metal spatula, top with second cake layer, top second layer with frosting, spread and then frost sides. Serve.
for the cake
for the chocolate cream frosting
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