It is this recipe that I used to make the cupcakes that were on my treat table, paired with Chambord buttercream.
I have given you a chocolate cake recipe before. This is my newer and better version. It is also slimmed down a bit. An added bonus! As always, I recommend that you weigh your ingredients to get the most consistent results. If you do not have a kitchen scale or just don't want to weigh, please sift your flour into the measuring cup. Otherwise you will end up with too much flour and the recipe might not work for you.
Now with that word of caution, on to the good stuff! If you try making this cake yourself, let me know if you like it!
Darkest Chocolate Cake
1-3/4 cup (7 ounces) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (2-1/4 ounces) unsweetened cocoa, Dutched or a mix of Dutched and Natural (I use Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa)
1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar
1 cup (7-3/4 ounces) packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons espresso powder
3/4 cup (6 liquid ounces) hot water (not boiling, hot tap water is fine)
1/2 cup (4 liquid ounces) canola oil
4 ounces good-quality dark chocolate, melted and cooled
3 whole large eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
1/2 cup (4 liquid ounces) buttermilk
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare one 8X3-inch round cake pan or two 8X2-inch round cake pans by greasing the bottom and sides with shortening and lining the bottom with a greased parchment paper round. Set the pan(s) aside.
Combine the flour, cocoa, sugars, baking soda, baking powder, salt and espresso powder in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix with the paddle attachment for at least 30 seconds. Add the hot water and the canola oil. Mix on low until moistened, then on medium for 1-1/2 minutes. Add the melted and cooled chocolate and mix to combine.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, extracts, and buttermilk. Add in three parts to the flour mixture, mixing after each addition first on low then on medium for 20 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary. The batter will be thin.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan(s) and bake for 45 to 55 minutes (35 to 40 minutes for 2-inch high pans) or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs attached. Remove from oven and cool in pan(s) for 5 minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely on a wire rack.
If I do cupcakes with this recipe, how many does it make? and how long to bake?
ReplyDeletethanks!
Amy Miller
And if I made a light type filling for these, what would you suggest? I'm thinking for todd's bday. Maybe a BC frosting or a cream cream cheese frosting?? although, a filling AND a frosting might be too much for these! Maybe i'll just do a frosting.
ReplyDeleteAmy
I think I baked the mini cupcakes for 15 minutes, so for regular cupcakes, I would start checking at 15 or 20 minutes. Sorry I can't be more specific! For frosting and filling, a ganache is always really good, but very rich. I like it with simple vanilla bean Swiss Meringue buttercream, made with vanilla bean paste. The SMBC is lighter than a powdered sugar based buttercream.
ReplyDeleteFruity fillings/frostings are also really good. I loved the Chambord buttercream with it - that's raspberry. It's also good with peanut butter buttercream, but I guess that's also a pretty rich filling.
Pretty much anything goes with chocolate, but the cake itself is pretty rich, so many lighter flavors might get a little lost on it. Let me know how you like them!