Grandma's Chocolate Cake

If I had to pick one food that represented my childhood, it would be this Chocolate Cake made by my paternal Grandma. This is a very special recipe. It is the cake she made for every single birthday in my family. And even today, long after her passing, it is still a must-have at birthday time! It is a superbly delicious family favorite, and has been a family tradition for well over 50 years.

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Preparing Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Served Person: 10

bake heavy cream vanilla buttermilk salt baking soda cake flour eggs sugar brown sugar cake chocolate american german sweet chocolate unsweetened baking chocolate unsalted butter cocoa powder evaporated milk snacks desserts brunch american south vegetarian white meat free tree nut free nut free contains gluten red meat free shellfish free contains dairy contains eggs pescatarian

Carbohydrate 195.1520175 g
Cholesterol 261.285 mg
Fat 32.934701 g
Fiber 4.71462511056662 g
Protein 19.174531 g
Saturated Fat 18.59539325 g
Serving Size 1 1 Serving (452g)
Sodium 243.58015 mg
Sugar 190.437392389433 g
Trans Fat 2.84712335 g
Calories 1130 calories

desserts

Step-by-step

Place oven rack in center position and heat oven to 350 degrees F. Generously butter or grease two 9-inch round cake pans, or a 9-by-13-inch baking pan; dust pans with cocoa powder, knocking out excess; set aside.
Blend chocolate into hot water until melted; set aside to cool. In a large bowl, cream together butter and brown and white sugars with an electric mixer on high speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Carefully beat in melted chocolate, scraping down the sides of bowl with a spatula as needed. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk to the chocolate mixture and beat on low to medium, scraping down the sides of bowl with a spatula as needed, until evenly combined and batter is smooth and glossy. Beat in vanilla. Pour batter into prepared pans and spread evenly.
Bake 9-inch rounds for 30 to 35 minutes, or 9-by-13-inch pan for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean and sides are slightly pulling away from edge of pans. When done, remove from oven and let cool in pans on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pans onto a wire rack and let cool completely before frosting.
Combine sugar, salt and milk in large heavy saucepan. Heat on low, stirring until sugar melts. Raise heat to medium and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low; simmer 6 minutes without stirring. Remove from heat. Add chocolate; stirring until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in butter and vanilla, until melted and well combined. Chill until mixture begins to thicken (or if you're short on time, place the bowl over an ice bath). Beat until thick and creamy enough to spread. Makes enough to fill and frost one 2-layer 8- or 9-inch cake. (If making a 9-by-13-inch cake, cut the frosting recipe in half.)
Before frosting cake, place 4 strips of waxed paper around edge of a cake plate (waxed paper will protect plate as you frost), and brush loose crumbs from sides and edges of cooled layers. Place one layer, rounded side down, on prepared cake plate, spread about 1/2 cup of frosting to within 1/4- inch of edge. Place second layer, rounded side up, on frosted layer. Coat side with very thin layer of frosting to seal in crumbs. Swirl more frosting on side, forming a 1/4-inch ridge above top of cake. Spread remaining frosting over top of cake, just meeting the built-up ridge around side. Make attractive swirls or leave the top smooth for decorations. Remove waxed paper pieces by easing them gently to the left and then the right. Slide each one out the side; don't pull them out. Remove each piece by sliding in the same direction.
To slice cake, do so with a thin, sharp blade. Cut straight down to the bottom. When slice is free, slide it out; do not lift it through the cut otherwise it will take cake and frosting with it.

When counter space is at a premium and a heavy-duty stand mixer is out of the question, baking a multilayer cake requires careful coordination of bowls, hand tools, and surface area. Because this recipe combines melted chocolate, butter-sugar aeration, and alternating additions of dry ingredients and buttermilk, managing your workspace efficiently prevents flour dust clouds and batter splatters. A standard handheld electric mixer paired with two medium glass mixing bowls will accomplish the creaming and folding steps just as effectively as bulky countertop appliances, provided you scrape down the bowl walls consistently to prevent pockets of unmixed fat.

Managing Pans, Cooling, and Frosting Viscosity

Proper thermal transfer depends heavily on your oven rack placement and pan preparation. Positioning the oven rack in the exact center ensures even heat circulation around both 9-inch round pans at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, preventing domed tops or uneven browning. Dusting the greased pans with Dutch-processed cocoa flour instead of all-purpose flour prevents a chalky exterior crust while adding a hint of extra bitterness to complement the sweet crumb. Once baked, let the layers rest in their pans on a wire rack for precisely ten minutes before turning them out; removing them too early will cause structural tears, while leaving them too long traps steam and makes the edges soggy. For the frosting, simmering the evaporated milk, sugar, and salt base for six minutes creates the ideal sugar concentration before the chocolate and butter are stirred off the heat. If the frosting is too runny to hold its characteristic swirls, chilling the bowl over an ice bath accelerates crystallization until it achieves a spreadable consistency.

If you lack two identical 9-inch round pans, a single 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish works, though baking time extends to 35 to 40 minutes.
Freeze baked, unfrosted cake layers wrapped tightly in plastic wrap for up to two months; thaw them overnight in the refrigerator before assembling.
Use a thin, sharp blade sliced straight down to divide portions cleanly without dragging crumbs through the frosting.

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Grandma's Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

Nutrition facts

Step-by-step

Managing Pans, Cooling, and Frosting Viscosity