“All You Need Is Love, But A Little Chocolate Now & Then Doesn’t Hurt.” – Charles Schulz
Let’s Blog Over Chocolate!!!
I wanted this blog post up this morning, but I had a long night. It’s Ralph’s birthday this weekend and celebrations have started. Which means I slept in. However, today is a new day and I’m ready to celebrate with cake.
So the most incredible chocolate cake ever, huh? Especially coming from a girl who doesn’t even eat chocolate? How would you even know what a good chocolate cake tastes like? Well to answer your questions it would be because of the endless compliments and endless requests asking for the recipe. I guess the one bite of this decadent and moist chocolate cake with the savory frosting is all they needed. You can make these in mini versions or your normal double or triple cake pan version.
Here’s What You’ll Need
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups of sugar
- 3/4 cups of unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons of baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder
- 1 cup of buttermilk
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup of boiling water
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350º F. Prepare two 9-inch cake pans by spraying with baking spray or buttering and lightly flouring.
- Add flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon and espresso powder to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Whisk through to combine or, using your paddle attachment, stir through flour mixture until combined well.
- Add milk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla to flour mixture and mix together on medium speed until well combined. Reduce speed and carefully add boiling water to the cake batter until well combined.
- Distribute cake batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center of the chocolate cake comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes, remove from the pan and cool completely.
For The Frosting
- 1 1/2 cups of salted butter softened (3 sticks)
- 1 cup of unsweetened cocoa
- 5 cups of confectioner’s sugar
- 1/2 cup of milk
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp of espresso powder
Directions
- Add cocoa to a large bowl or bowl of stand mixer. Whisk through to remove any lumps.
- Cream together butter and cocoa powder until well-combined.
- Add sugar and milk to cocoa mixture by adding 1 cup of sugar followed by about a tablespoon of milk. After each addition has been combined, turn mixer onto a high-speed for about a minute. Repeat until all sugar and milk have been added.
- Add vanilla extract and espresso powder and combine well.
- If frosting appears too dry, add more milk, a tablespoon at a time until it reaches the right consistency. If it appears to wet and does not hold its form, add more confectioner’s sugar, a tablespoon at a time until it reaches the right consistency.
The Wine
A Port wine would be a great pairing for this dish. Ruby Ports specifically have a sweet plummy, cherry, blackberry thing going that makes this pairing with chocolate phenomenal.
Xx
Ralijah
Thoughts?