Finding the Best Chocolate Cake Recipe (Part 1)

[Steven Blaski]

^Wow, thanks for typing all that out, Steve. That's the version I'm going to use from now on. I think there was one more adjustment that you left out--nightscotsman suggested subbing in butter for some of the veg. oil. 

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You're right about nightscotsman's butter addition, Ling -- thanks! He reduced the oil from 3/4 c to 1/2 c and added 4 oz. of melted butter to the coffee-chocolate mixture.

Here's the updated version:

Double Chocolate Cake

1½ oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped

1½ oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

1½ cups cocoa powder (regular or Dutch process)

1½ cups hot brewed coffee

1 TB espresso powder

4 oz. (8 TB) unsalted butter, melted

1½ cups white sugar

1 cup light brown sugar

2¾ cups cake flour

2 teasp baking soda

¾ teasp baking powder

1¼ teasp salt

3 lrg eggs

¾ cup vegetable oil

1½ cups sour cream (or buttermilk)

2 teasp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 300°F. Grease two 9”x2" pans. Line bottoms with rounds of wax paper/parchment and grease paper.

2. Into a medium bowl, pour the hot coffee, mixed with the espresso powder, over chocolate, cocoa, and melted butter; blend till smooth. Let mixture cool slightly, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is smooth.

3. Into a large bowl sift together sugars, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

4. In another large bowl with an electric mixer beat eggs until thickened slightly and lemon colored (about 3 minutes with a stand mixer). Slowly add oil, sour cream, vanilla. Add melted chocolate mixture, beating until combined well.

5. Add dry ingredients and beat on medium speed until just combined well.

6. Divide batter between pans and bake in middle of oven until a tester inserted in center comes out clean, about 60 to 70 minutes (watch carefully--timing may vary).

7. Cool layers completely in pans on racks.

8. Run a thin knife around edges of pans and invert layers onto racks. Carefully remove wax paper.

Ahead of time note: Cake layers may be made 1 day ahead and kept, wrapped well in plastic wrap, at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

[CanadianBakin']

One more thing I want to check, the original calls for 2 - 10"pans. Does this all fit in 2 - 9"pans?

[Ling]

^Yes, I always use my 9" inch pans.

[freddurf]

Thanks for typing the updated version! I've been wanting to try the tweaked version, but didn't have time to go through the thread and decipher all the tweaks.

[Majra]

This cake is in the oven, making a huge MESS. I used 2 nine-inch pans, and made a late-binding bad decision to *not* bake a couple of cupcakes with the last bit of batter. I have tasted this cake and loved it, but this is my first time baking it. I hope the results are worth the houseful of smoke I've got on my hands, not to mention the night of oven cleaning ahead.

[Ling]

^That's too bad! I always use my 9" pans (with 2 inch sides and they have NEVER spilled over for me!) I feel bad now...

[Majra]

I think I figured out the cause of the disaster. My pans are 9" in diameter, but only 1.5" deep. Live and learn. These cakes weren't just spilling over, they were *pouring* over the sides of the pans. I did persist in finishing the baking, and now am left wondering if the cakes are salvageable. The edges are crunchy where they were spilling, and then there's the matter of them having cooked in a cloud of smoke. Is there any hope at all for me to grasp???

[Patrick S]

I think I figured out the cause of the disaster.  My pans are 9" in diameter, but only 1.5" deep.  Live and learn.  These cakes weren't just spilling over, they were *pouring* over the sides of the pans.  I did persist in finishing the baking, and now am left wondering if the cakes are salvageable.  The edges are crunchy where they were spilling, and then there's the matter of them having cooked in a cloud of smoke.  Is there any hope at all for me to grasp??? 

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Sure. Just cut the top of the cakes off and proceed.

[Majra]

Thanks for the advice Patrick. The cakes popped right out of the pans once I cut around the edges and peeled away the overflow bits. I wrapped and froze the layers. Unfortunately, due to the size of my pans, the finished cake won't be as tall and gorgeous as I had hoped, unless I make 2 more layers and build up with all of them. Alternatively, my husband has been suggesting all night that I start over, and let him have the first batch. Isn't it just so kind of him to offer to put my cake out of its misery.

[CaliPoutine]

I made the latest version on Sunday for my spouse's bday. I wasnt that impressed. It was a tad dry( I might have overbaked a bit) and while it was very chocolaty, I found it no better than my go to chocolate cake( Black Magic by Hershey's). I frosted with a sour cream ganache and used some cherry butter in between the layers.

Edited November 30, 2005 by CaliPoutine (log)

[Ling]

^Well, the proportions aren't too far off from the Hershey's Black Magic cake, but the Epicurious one should be less sweet and contains proportionally more chocolate/cocoa. It does look a little drier than my cakes, though. I hope you weren't terribly disappointed! (And happy birthday to your spouse! )

The recipe above that we "tweaked" says to bake at 300F for 60-70 minutes, but I check my cakes at 55 minutes and they are always done by then, so that's when I take them out. (I use the 9" pans too.)

[CaliPoutine]

^Well, the proportions aren't too far off from the Hershey's Black Magic cake, but the Epicurious one should be less sweet and contains proportionally more chocolate/cocoa. It does look a little drier than my cakes, though. I hope you weren't terribly disappointed! (And happy birthday to your spouse!  )

The recipe above that we "tweaked" says to bake at 300F for 60-70 minutes, but I check my cakes at 55 minutes and they are always done by then, so that's when I take them out. (I use the 9" pans too.)

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Mine only went for 45min, at 250f. My oven is way off!!

I also baked a few cupcakes which were a tad less dry( took them out sooner).

I also used bittersweet choc. in place of semi sweet. I didnt have any semi-sweet. I used the last of my hershey's and Im bummed because I cant find that in Canada. Does anyone know if its sold here? I usually make a border run and pick up a few but if someone sells it here, that would be better.

[Patrick S]

I made the latest version on Sunday for my spouse's bday.  I wasnt that impressed.  It was a tad dry. . .

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Something has gone very wrong if your cake turned out dry. No matter how good a recipe you start with, the resulting chocolate cake will be terrible if it turns dry. I made the recipe as written and it was extremely moist, as much as or even more so than the Hershey's recipe I have used many times in the past.

[CaliPoutine]

I made the latest version on Sunday for my spouse's bday.  I wasnt that impressed.  It was a tad dry. . .

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Something has gone very wrong if your cake turned out dry. No matter how good a recipe you start with, the resulting chocolate cake will be terrible if it turns dry. I made the recipe as written and it was extremely moist, as much as or even more so than the Hershey's recipe I have used many times in the past.

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As i said previously, I might have overbaked it. However, I didnt overbake the cupcakes and I wasnt impressed with the flavor. Maybe it was the type of chocolate i used, I just had higher expectations.

[freddurf]

If you used bittersweet chocolate instead of semi sweet, that's going to make a big differance in taste. I made this cake this weekend for the first time and the flavor was great. Mine was a little dry, but I know I over baked it, I just had too many things going at once!

[JayBassin]

I made the latest version on Sunday for my spouse's bday.  I wasnt that impressed.  It was a tad dry( I might have overbaked a bit) and while it was very chocolaty, I found it no better than my go to chocolate cake( Black Magic by Hershey's).  I frosted with a sour cream ganache and used some cherry butter in between the layers.

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Did you make with the buttermilk version or sour cream version of the recipe? I haven't tried the buttermilk, but as I noted elsewhere on this thread, the sour cream version turned out very rich and moist.

Edited December 1, 2005 by JayBassin (log)

[cookman]

^Wow, thanks for typing all that out, Steve. That's the version I'm going to use from now on. I think there was one more adjustment that you left out--nightscotsman suggested subbing in butter for some of the veg. oil. 

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You're right about nightscotsman's butter addition, Ling -- thanks! He reduced the oil from 3/4 c to 1/2 c and added 4 oz. of melted butter to the coffee-chocolate mixture.

Here's the updated version:

Double Chocolate Cake

1½ oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped

1½ oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

1½ cups cocoa powder (regular or Dutch process)

1½ cups hot brewed coffee

1 TB espresso powder

4 oz. (8 TB) unsalted butter, melted

1½ cups white sugar

1 cup light brown sugar

2¾ cups cake flour

2 teasp baking soda

¾ teasp baking powder

1¼ teasp salt

3 lrg eggs

¾ cup vegetable oil

1½ cups sour cream (or buttermilk)

2 teasp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 300°F. Grease two 9”x2" pans. Line bottoms with rounds of wax paper/parchment and grease paper.

2. Into a medium bowl, pour the hot coffee, mixed with the espresso powder, over chocolate, cocoa, and melted butter; blend till smooth. Let mixture cool slightly, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is smooth.

3. Into a large bowl sift together sugars, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

4. In another large bowl with an electric mixer beat eggs until thickened slightly and lemon colored (about 3 minutes with a stand mixer). Slowly add oil, sour cream, vanilla. Add melted chocolate mixture, beating until combined well.

5. Add dry ingredients and beat on medium speed until just combined well.

6. Divide batter between pans and bake in middle of oven until a tester inserted in center comes out clean, about 60 to 70 minutes (watch carefully--timing may vary).

7. Cool layers completely in pans on racks.

8. Run a thin knife around edges of pans and invert layers onto racks. Carefully remove wax paper.

Ahead of time note: Cake layers may be made 1 day ahead and kept, wrapped well in plastic wrap, at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

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Just to be precise, I think that this recipe should now read: 4 oz butter, and 1/2 cup, not 3/4 cup of oil, right?

[Steven Blaski]

Just to be precise, I think that this recipe should now read: 4 oz butter, and 1/2 cup, not 3/4 cup of oil, right?

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Well, there was much tweaking of Ling's Epicurious recipe, which the above is based on, and when I typed up the "summary" version I tried to include eveyone's tweaks, but couldn't include them all, so I sought a compromise here and there.

I think what you're referring to is that nightscotsman reduced the oil in the original ingredients list to 1/2 cup. BUT he added two sticks--one cup--of butter. In the original there is no butter at all. So his version contains 1.5 cups of fat (not counting the dairy) and the one I typed up has 1.25--I used the original oil amount but only added in one stick of butter. So if you lower the oil to 1/2 cup, as you suggest, that would bring the total down to just 1 cup of fat. Also note that subbing sour cream for buttermilk is also adding more richness. So I imagine just 1/2 cup oil would probably work. But I'm sticking with the higher fat version myself.

[improvista]

wow, this is one good cake!

i made the "ultimate" recipe with the following changes:

- used 1 cup of 2% milk and 1/2 cup full fat yogurt instead of 1.5 cups of buttermilk/sour cream because i didn't have either

- kept the fat content at 3/4 cups (0.5 cup oil and 0.25 cup butter)

the resulting product was moist even after three days. i wrapped the cake up in plastic in the fridge, and that seemed to have protected moisture loss pretty well. although i must say i should have chilled the cake layers in the fridge first before frosting them as they were quite delicate at room temperature.

definitely a keeper recipe. i would up the butter amount a little more next time to make the texture a little bit firmer next time.

thanks for all that testing, folks!

[Darcie B]

I made the last version of this cake last night and left it at room temp to ice this morning before work. The cake looked and smelled wonderful, but as soon as I put the first blob of icing on the side of the cake and started to smooth it, big chunks of the cake fell off. Not just crumbs, 1-2" pieces of cake. I was so disappointed (and pissed!). I was using a "fake" buttercream (butter, powdered sugar, flavoring, thinned w/corn syrup). I don't think the icing was too stiff. Any ideas about what went wrong? Should I have chilled the cake before icing? I never do with other cakes.

I ended up smashing the cake in frustration (catharsis, but a HUGE mess to clean up). This is for a co-worker's b-day celebration at work, so I baked a chocolate sheet cake and will frost it at lunch (oops which is right now). I just couldn't bring myself to buy a grocery store cake so was an hour late to work. I'm not a happy camper and would appreciate some advice. Thanks.

[Patrick S]

Sorry it turned out so bad for you, Darcie!

The only thing I know that might be helpful is to spray the pans with a good coating of oil+flour spray, or butter and flour, so you get a more tear-resistant crust on the outside of the cake. This cake is definitely delicate. I finished mine with a warm ganache, which is thin enough to easily apply, but I can imagine it would be alot more difficult to finish with buttercream.

[Darcie B]

Sorry it turned out so bad for you, Darcie!

The only thing I know that might be helpful is to spray the pans with a good coating of oil+flour spray, or butter and flour, so you get a more tear-resistant crust on the outside of the cake.  This cake is definitely delicate. I finished mine with a warm ganache, which is thin enough to easily apply, but I can imagine it would be alot more difficult to finish with buttercream.

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Thanks, Patrick. I used ChefPeon's "baker's grease" but still had a little bit of a sticking issue on the sides. I'll have to be more careful next time; maybe let the cakes cool longer in the pan (I gave them 10 minutes or so). I think ganache is probably better than buttercream for this cake; there are just so many of my co-workers who don't like chocolate on chocolate. (Actually, I expect they would have been satisfied with a grocery store cake, but I want to eat it too...)

[middydd]

Thanks, Patrick. I used ChefPeon's "baker's grease" but still had a little bit of a sticking issue on the sides. I'll have to be more careful next time; maybe let the cakes cool longer in the pan (I gave them 10 minutes or so).

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[parkbench]

This thread has been great.

I'd made the Epicurious Double Chocolate recipe several times in the last couple of years, but will try this new 'revised' version, I'm excited to try it.

What are some favorite toppings for this recipe? I've found that for my audience, the ganache recipe on the Epicurious site is a bit too much, too heavy, too rich, too chocolate (I suppose someone could assume that's possible).

Anyway, given that I'm testing out a whole new recipe, I'm open to any and all suggestions for what would go well with it.

I'm also going to try my hand at a Dobostorte...would it be too much to have buttercream with each? Wish me luck on both. Holler with any other adds or suggestions.

[Ling]

^I serve it with (Italian) buttercream and ganache. If your audience finds ganache too rich, perhaps a mousse would be better?